After having a scare this week of brake failure in my car, I realized that I wasn’t prepared to deal with a situation like that if it were to ever happen. So, I decided to do some research to find out what to do if brakes fail.
What should you do if your brakes fail? In the event that the brakes in your car fail, your main goal should be to remain calm and try to revive the brakes as much as possible. Begin by shifting your car into a lower gear and pumping the brakes consistently to restore the pressure inside of the brake fluid.
If this doesn’t work, you can result to your parking brake, which will cause the car to skid on the surface of the road slightly when you use it. In the worst case scenario when you are not able to stop your car, pull over into a safe location until it rolls to a stop.
When you are driving in any scenario, brake failure is something that you do not want to deal with. It can be dangerous, stressful, and very scary on top of that. In this article, we will be going over exactly what you should do if you find yourself in this circumstance.
What To Do If Brakes Fail
For anyone that drives, it is important to know exactly what to do in emergency situations. That way, it will be easier to find a solution instead of panicking and possibly getting into more trouble.
While it is true that brake failure can be very scary to deal with if you are not prepared for it, there is a simple process that you can follow in order to safely bring your car to a complete stop.
Take a look at the list down below to find the steps of action that you should take when your brakes fail.
What To Do When Your Brakes Fail:
- Stay calm and understand the situation
- Shift the car down to a lower gear immediately
- Begin to pump the brake pedal repeatedly to regain brake fluid pressure
- Result to using the parking brake to stop yourself
- If all brakes do not work, pull into low gear and find a safe place to pull over (until car rolls to a complete stop)
The most important thing that you should focus on when you believe that your brakes are failing is remaining as calm as possible. Instead of panicking, understand what is happening to you and proceed with trying to solve the problem before it gets out of hand.
To begin bringing your car to a complete stop safely, you will shift the car down to a lower gear immediately. Once this is done, you will start to pump the brake pedal repeatedly for several minutes.
This action should help the brake fluid within the braking system to gain some of its pressure back, allowing the brakes to become restored and function as they normally would. However, depending on the severity of your brake failure, you might not be so lucky to solve the problem with this simple step.
If this does not work, you should result to the parking brake to stop yourself from moving. While this will usually be successful, there are some extreme circumstances where you will still not be able to stop your car.
In the event that this happens and none of the above methods prove to be effective, you should focus on pulling into a lower gear once again and finding a safe place to pull over.
As soon as your car is able to roll to a complete stop, you will be able to address the situation and take action toward actually fixing your brakes.
How Do I Know When My Brakes Are Failing?
So, now that you understand the process that you should follow when your brakes are failing in order to make it safely out of the situation, you might be wondering when you should take these actions.
Along with knowing how to handle brake failure, you should also know when your brakes are actually failing. While it might seem pretty self-explanatory that your braking system will simply fail to work, there are a few tell-tale signs that you can look out for in order to be sure that you are experiencing brake failure.
The list below will give you a brief outline of some signs that will tell you that your brakes are failing.
Signs That Your Brakes Are Failing:
- Loud noises (squeaks or screeching)
- Difficulty pushing the brake pedal
- Vibration in brake pedal
- Pulling on brakes from side to side
The first thing that you might notice when your brakes are failing is a loud noise. This can be anything from squeaking to screeching, depending on what is being affected inside of the braking system.
If you have any difficulty pushing on the brake pedal, this is also a sign that your braking system is failing. In fact, any issue with the brake pedal at all will be an indicator of this problem.
Including vibration and pulling, you will know that your brakes are failing when the pedals are behaving in a way that is not normal. Overall, if you are not able to stop your car for any reason or it is becoming more challenging to do so, you will have a pretty good hint of what is going on and you will be able to take the necessary actions.
Can Brakes Suddenly Fail?
Brake failure is the average driver’s worst nightmare. The thought of driving along the highway and not being able to stop your car is a nerve racking scenario. So, imagine if this happened unexpectedly, with no previous warning signs.
Usually, when the brakes on your car are going to fail, you will notice some indicators long before it happens. Since normal brake failure is usually due to bad parts in the braking system or neglect of maintenance from the driver, it is usually pretty evident that something is going on with the brakes before they actually fail.
Sudden brake failure, on the other hand, can happen to any vehicle, no matter how well maintained it is. In this section, we will be hitting the main points of brake failure.
Sudden Brake Failure:
- Can happen to any car (even the most well maintained)
- Is very unlikely to happen
- Usually caused by a leak in the brake lines (loss of brake fluid)
- Brake fluid is needed for the braking system to carry out any stopping functions
Sudden brake failure, as previously mentioned, can happen to any car at any time, since it does happen suddenly. However, this is not a very common occurrence.
Why Did My Brakes Fail?
When you find yourself in a situation where your brakes have failed, it is only natural to wonder why it happened in the first place. Was it more obvious that this was going to happen than you might have realized, or what there something that you could have done to stop it?
In this section, we will be going over some of the most common reasons why your brakes might have failed. Along with the possible causes, you can take away some tips of what to look for and how to prevent brake failure from this information as well.
Possible Reasons For Brake Failure:
- Overheated brake pads
- Rotor disk damage
- Leak of hydraulic fluid
- Driving through water, mud, etc.
- Loss of brake fluid pressure
- Loading too much weight onto your car
As you can see from the list that was provided above, most of the reasons for brake failure include wearing or overheating to the individual components of the braking system, as well as leaks and loss of pressure.
If you happen to drive through water or mud, you might be at risk for your brakes failing. This also applies to cars that have too much weight loaded onto them.
Almost all of these causes, however, can be prevented with proper maintenance and care. As long as you pay attention to the components of your car and regularly check up on all of the pieces of your braking system, you should be able to detect any potential issues before they occur.
It also helps to be careful of where you are driving in order to avoid any terrain that might cause your brakes to fail more than they usually would. In addition, you should stay away from exceeding the maximum weight limit of your vehicle by limiting how many items you are carrying.
In conclusion, brake failure is something that no one wants to experience, but it is something that we can always be prepared for in order to deal with the situation calmly and safely.
