Margate City Auto Repair

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What Can Cause Brake Pad Wear On One Side and Not The Other?

Brake pads are crucial to your vehicle's operation. It's a hassle when one set of pads wears down faster than the other. We all know that brake pads can be expensive and often people only replace the worn-down brake pad, but it is advisable to rather replace them all.

The first thing that springs to mind when considering this situation is that somehow the car has a broken shock absorber or the vehicle is overloaded on one side, but that is not the case.

Apparently, the most common cause of brake pads wearing down unevenly on one side is often when there is a discrepancy in the disc thickness on the brake pad. Even the smallest variation in thickness can cause the wearing on one side faster than on the other.

There are several other factors that could result in one side of the brake pads wearing down fast and one of these things is dirt and rust in the rotors. Dirt and debris need to be removed properly as they can affect old or new rotors. An anti-rust coating is usually applied to the rotors to prevent them from rusting.

The rotors can also become warped. Apparently, if cold water makes contact with a hot rotor, it may warp them and the advice is not to spray cold water on your car's wheels to wash the vehicle immediately after a long drive. The rotors need to cool down first.

Another probable cause could be misalignment in the caliper. Some automotive websites mention a bent bracket on the back of the pad that could cause it to wear down unevenly causing braking issues.

A further issue could be uneven thickness on the rotors and it is imperative to buy reliable brands or use a reliable mechanic who will offer you high-quality products to use when replacing brake pads.

Sometimes motor vehicle dealerships put the brake pads in too tightly and it takes a mechanic's know-how to get ill-fitting parts of the braking system fit correctly, by filing down the bits of protruding metal that prevents it from sliding into the brake system properly.

If you need brake repair, we invite you to bring your car into our shop today!

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