Newer cars require more and more maintenance, however, there are some more or less important ones. Today, we will focus on a maintenance act that is essential to guarantee your safety at the wheel of your car. Indeed, we are going to explain to you how to change the brake pads of your car in a XXX? For this, in a first step, we are going to see why it is important to change the brake pads of your car, in a second step, we are going to see what is the method to change the brake pads of your car, and finally, what is the price of this part.
Why changing the brake pads of a vehicle?
Before we see how to change the brake pads of your car, we will start our article by explaining you what the role of the brake pads is, and when they should be changed.
Role of the brake pads
The brake pads on an vehicle have a crucial role in the proper handling of the vehicle. Indeed, they are the ones that will guarantee braking efficiency. They are a kind of pairs of metal pads that will pinch the brake discs when you press the brake pedal to slow down and stop your car. These parts are consumables and consist of a lining that will wear with time and use, hence the interest of changing them regularly to keep optimal braking.
When to change the brake pads of your car?
And now we will explain to you how to know if you need to change the brake pads of your car. Be aware that depending on the use you have of your car (city or highway for example), the wear of your brake pads will not be the same at all. Indeed, if you use your brakes frequently, their lifespan will inevitably be reduced. We consider that, in general, the brake pads of a vehicle have a service life of about 10,000 to 30,000 kilometres. However, there are certain signs that should alert you to the wear of your car’s brake pads:
- A squeaking sound.
- Longer braking distance.
- Brake pedal vibration: If this is your case, but your brake pads are in good condition, check our article on brake vibration on a vehicle, to find the origin of your problem.
- A brake pedal that’s too hard or too soft…
If you have any of these signs, do not hesitate to check the condition of your brake pads yourself, either by removing the front wheels and checking their condition, or by going directly to a garage.
How to change the brake pads of a vehicle?
We will now move on to the part you are most interested in, how to change the brake pads of a car?. Below we will detail the steps to follow to change the brake pads of your car correctly:
- Buy brake pads adapted to your car, to do this use your car registration to be sure of compatibility with your vehicle when ordering on a specialized website or in a shop.
- Put your car on stands (being careful to lock the handbrake and engage a gear and unlock the bolts of the wheels you want to act on before you get in the car).
- Remove the wheels in question.
- Before removing the clamp from your calipers, think about using a flat screwdriver to lever between the pad and the disc to completely retract the piston of your calipers, otherwise you will not be able to put the new brake pads.
- In general, thanks to a big Torx tip, you’ll have 2 screws to remove to be able to change the brake pads of your car and thus be able to remove the brake calipers from it.
- Once you remove the clamp from your calipers, you will be able to serenely remove the two old pads and replace them with the new brake pads.
- Make sure they are in the correct position before you re-install the brake calipers on your car.
- Remember to finish locking your wheels on the ground, otherwise your transmission will be damaged.
- Finally, think that brake pads require a running-in period of 500 to 1000km, so you will have to drive very carefully the first 100km and be careful until you reach 500km.
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That’s it, now you know how to change the brake pads on your car.
What is the price of brake pads for a car?
Finally, last part of our article on the procedure to change the brake pads of a car. It’s just to give you an idea of the price of the brake pads of your car. Depending on the finish of your car (sport or not), the pads will be different and therefore the price will also vary, however, most of the time it will take between 20 and 40 € for a set of 4 brake pads at a specialized online site like Oscaro, you can find here their entire offer of brake pads for your car. The advantage of this type of site is the choice, the price and the after-sales service you get. Finally, if you go to a car center or specialized shops you should be able to find the set of pads between 30 and 60€.
