Oldsmobile Alero Brake Pad Replacement at your home or office.

When to replace brake pads?

Here are several indications that you need new brake pads:

• Wear indicator on vehicle dashboard. When the friction material on the brake pads is worn to within 2 mm of the pad backing plate, replacement of the pads is necessary. Most newer cars today have electronics built into the brake pad. When the pad is at a point that it needs to be replaced, a symbol will appear on your vehicle dashboard’s instrument cluster. Consult your owner’s manual to learn what the symbol looks like.
  
• High pitched squeal when braking. When the friction material on the pads is worn close to the backing plate, you may hear a squealing or squeaking noise as you drive regardless of whether you are applying the brakes or not. That squealing or squeaking noise is designed to make you aware that the brake pads are getting low and need to be inspected. If all of the friction material on the brake pad has been worn away, you will hear grinding and scraping noises when you apply the brakes. Pad replacement is mandatory at this point and the vehicle is unsafe to drive until corrected.
• Brake pedal pulsation or vehicle vibration. Over time, brake rotors may develop excessive thickness variation (>.001 inches), excessive runout on the wheel hub (> .002 inches), or the brake rotor may warp due to high operating temperatures. If these defects exist, you may notice pulsation in the brake pedal or steering wheel during braking. New pads and rotor resurfacing or replacement will be required if the rotor has any of the above-mentioned deficiencies.
• Vehicle pulling or wandering on braking. If your car pulls to the right or left during braking, that could be a sign of a sticking brake caliper, misalignment of the suspension, and sometimes tire defects or uneven tire inflation from side-to-side. The mechanic who inspects your vehicle will determine if new brake pads alone will resolve the issue or if other repairs are needed.
• High mileage on existing pads. Regardless of whether any of the above brake system symptoms occur, every 10,000 miles a mechanic should measure the thickness of the remaining friction material on the brake pads and perform a thorough visual inspection of the braking system.
• Brake system warning lights and/or maintenance reminder messages. Should your brake system warning light ever illuminates, or a brake system related maintenance reminder message appears in the driver information display, have your vehicle inspected and repaired as soon as possible.