How to avoid brake stiction: Brembo advices
Lockdown has changed the way of life of many people. Many are working from home and car usage has decreased due to only essential journeys being permitted. This means the cars will be left parked without moving for quite some time. For those we don’t have the facilities for storing the vehicle in a garage, the cars are left exposed to the environment.
Unfortunately, this can cause the brakes to develop issues when left for a while, stopping it from being able to work correctly during the driving.
Corrosion will start to form on the surface of the brake discs and, with normal use of the vehicle, this rust is removed by applying the brakes.
But if the vehicle has not been driven for a while, this can cause the areas affected by corrosion to expand. Corrosion on the surface of the brakes can cause noise during braking and even more worrying can increase stopping distances due to a reduction in the performance of the braking system.
This is not the only issue, as the parking brake is engaged the pads/shoes have been left in contact with brake discs/drums. Corrosion will build up and can cause these components to stick to each other, and this will prevent the wheels from moving the next time that the car will be driven. This is known as brake stiction.
It is possible to avoid brake stiction by following some simple steps:
- Start the vehicle engine, with the engine running release the parking brake and move the car a short distance in forwards and reverse while gently applying the brakes;
- The brakes will “clean” off the surface corrosion when they come in contact and prevent the corrosion from building up and causing issues.
This is recommended to be done once a week and can be done in conjunction with running the engine for 15 minutes to recharge the battery and to keep the engine in good condition;
- If you haven’t been able to perform this maintenance recommendation, please take extra care when driving the vehicle for the 1st time after being left standing. Ensure to test the brakes by gently applying to make sure that they are operating correctly. Some brake noises (squealing, grinding, crunching) may occour for the first few miles due to the excessive corrosion build up;
- Should these noises continue, develop into other symptoms (juddering) or worse still you aren’t able to move your vehicle as the wheels are seized, please speak to your nearest Brembo Expert who will have the necessary skills to get your vehicle back on the road.
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