The safety of a car is paramount. Even if the Kia Optima are economic holes, certain maintenance actions are crucial. In this article we will explain to you when to change the brake discs of your Kia Optima? To achieve this, to begin with, we will find out what the brake discs of your motor vehicle are used for, then, when to change the brake discs of your Kia Optima, and, finally, how to change them with new ones.

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Benefit of the brake discs of a Kia Optima

We start our guideline by explaining what the brake discs of a Kia Optima are used for, it will enable you to discover why it is necessary to be sure that they are always in good functioning order.
Brake discs are the most important part of your braking system. Indeed, braking on an Kia Optima is hydraulic, it is a system of hoses and pressurized oil that will come into action when you press your brake pedal. This pressure will actuate a piston that will push the brake pads on your brake disc which is installed on your wheel. When the brake pads will pinch the discs which will bring about your Kia Optima to brake.

When to change the brake discs of a Kia Optima?

We will now move on to the section that certainly attracts you to this article, namely, when replacing the brake discs of a Kia Optima? How we mentioned it to you just before, the brake discs and pads work in osmosis, however these two components are wearing auto parts and they will, after some time and especially the friction when braking wears out and loses braking power. We will now detail the different ways to know when to change them:

  • We consider that generally the brake discs should be changed every 80, 000 – 100, 000 km on a Kia Optima , however it is necessary to know that according to your driving style and the type of journey this can vary considerably. In fact, if you principally drive on the motorway and your brakes are only slightly used, this amount can increase, conversely, if you only drive in built-up areas, it can reduce.
  • A simple and successful technique to identify the state of the brake discs on your car is during the technical inspection. In fact this thorough control checks the state of your brakes and the controller will tell you if they are in good state or need to be changed.
  • A basic visual technique to know when to change the brake discs on your Kia Optima is to remove the wheels after the car has been set on stands. Once taken out, you will have the ability to access your discs and verify their state. If they have any big scratches or deformations you will have to change them. In any other case the second indicator to check is to measure the depth of the disk in relation to its edge, if this value exceeds 1 mm you will have to change them by new ones.

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How to change the brake discs on your Kia Optima?

Finally, to conclude this article we will fairly quickly explain how to change the brake discs of your Kia Optima. You must know that if you change the brake discs of your car, you will absolutely have to change the brake pads of your Kia Optima, don’t hesitate to consult our article which teaches you how to make this change.
As far as changing discs is concerned, here are the most important steps to stick to:

  • Put your Kia Optima on stands, take off the wheels you want to act on.
  • Using a large flat screwdriver, pry on your brake pads to compress the caliper piston as much as possible and have enough play to produce all your changes.
  • Using large Torx bits, remove the two nuts that lock the upper part of your brake caliper, remove it.
  • Remove your brake pads, then unlock your brake discs thanks to the two torx screws on the side of the disc, you may need a mallet to remove the discs.
  • Replace the discs and tighten them with the new torx screws provided, change your pads, reassemble the upper part of the caliper and tighten everything tightly.
  • Mounting your wheels, and make sure to do a 500-kilometer brake break-in before braking hard.

If you want more guides on the Kia Optima, go to our Kia Optima category.