How Often Should You Change Your Brake Pads?

The wearing down of brake pads is generally a gradual process, but it is nonetheless important to pay attention to signs that your brake pads are ready for replacement. Failure to do so will not only make your car unfit for driving and increase the likelihood that you will be involved in a collision. It could also lead you to need expensive and entirely preventable repairs.

While there is no set period of time after which you should change your brake pads and the frequency with you should do so depends on many factors, many drivers find that it is necessary roughly every 20,000 miles. If your brakes have a wear indicator, a squealing sound will warn you that the time to change them is approaching every time you use them. If you don’t have a wear indicator, you will have to pay attention to signs that your brakes are losing their effectiveness and schedule an appointment at the body shop to get a professional’s opinion.

Have your brakes been squealing or growling at you? To have them replaced by a Bay Area auto expert who also offers full-service collision repairs, call Michael J’s Body Shop at 408-279-2070.