As you drive down the road, you notice that traffic is slowing down ahead of you. This means that you must apply your brakes. You suddenly feel the worst thing: your brake pedal hits the ground and you aren’t slowing down. You are becoming closer to the cars in front of you.
How To Deal With Faulty Brakes?
Don’t panic
This is easy to say if you aren’t heading for impending doom due to a brake system problem. It is important to keep your wits about you if you want to escape this situation. The other solutions are easier if you remain calm.
Turn Your Hazard Light On
It is important to inform those around you (both in front and behind) that you have a problem. This will allow them to give you more space. You should be familiar with the location of your vehicle’s hazard switch so that you can access it when necessary.
Pump the Brake Pedal
Two things can be accomplished by quickly pressing the brake pedal. The brake light will turn on and off quickly, alerting other drivers that there may be a problem. The goal is to build up brake pressure quickly. This could increase your operating braking power, allowing you to slow down.
Push the Hand Brake on
When you want to slow down, place your thumb on the parking brake button (or your foot if your car has a parking brake pedal). Keep your thumb on the button and pull the lever up slowly until it rises. Or press the pedal slowly and gently. You should not pull the pedal up or jam it down all the time.
This can cause your back wheels to lock and cause you to lose control. You should fully engage the emergency brake once your car is stopped. Once it has stopped, lock it in place so that it will stop. A parking brake has a braking power that is approximately half of a normal brake. This means that you will need to travel twice as far to stop or slow down.
Drop Your Gear Selector into a Lower Gear
If none of the above suggestions work, you can pull your gear selector from Drive to a lower gear. You should not downshift to a lower gear than necessary as this could cause damage to the engine/transmission. This will cause your car to slow down, and allow you to avoid danger. This will cause transmission damage.
Turn the engine OFF!
Although it may sound sensible to shut the engine off in such a situation, there is no way to be sure. You will be at greater risk of losing your power steering and brake boosting. Keep the engine running.
Take your car to an auto repair shop
It’s common sense. However, don’t drive if your brake system has failed. Bring it to an auto repair shop so that the problem can be fixed by professionals who are familiar with the process.
Brake system problems should not be taken lightly and should be addressed by auto repair experts who are trained in how to keep you safe and your family protected.
Call Miller Brothers Transmission Auto Repair and Body Shop now if you need help fixing your car’s brakes.
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Miller Brothers Transmission Auto Repair and Body Shop
7123 Tazewell Pike
Corryton, TN 37721
(865) 689-5072
https://www.millerbrosautorepair.com/
Serving Knoxville, TN and Knox County
Service areas include: All of Knox County, Corryton, Fountain City, Halls Crossroads, Powell and Knoxville
