

You'll see a leak on the ground around where your car is parked at the affected wheel usually if this is the case. If there is a leak in the hydraulic fluid system, then your calipers won’t be able to do the job properly. You put your foot on the brakes, the pressure in the brake lines causes the calipers to squeeze on the pads and stop your car. The harder you press, we're more effective it might be, but it's not nearly as effective as normal braking.įluid Leaks : The brake fluid in your vehicle is part of the closed hydraulic system that uses pressure to make the brakes function. When that happens, you'll notice that pressing your foot down on the brake seems to have very little resistance. This could also happen when a piston seizes up or the sliders in your caliper have caused too much space to form between the pad and the rotor. Soft Brake Pedal : If there is a leak in your brake calipers then your brake pedal might feel spongy and soft. This is the result of the brakes working unevenly, so one side is your car won't be breaking bad as easily as the other, which throws you off balance. Pulling to One Side : When one of your brake calipers seizes up, it can result in your vehicle pulling sharply in one direction or another when you break. You don't want to hurt yourself or others on the road at risk of injury or accident. If anything's happened, you need to get your car to a mechanic as soon as possible before the situation gets worse. There are a number of ways that your brake calipers can go bad or seize up on you during the life of your vehicle. Problems with brake calipers are not usual, you need to be on the lookout for signs that something has gone wrong. If that happens, you need to get them repaired quickly. But, just like every other part of your vehicle, they can potentially fail or become damaged. The calipers should theoretically last for the life of your car. After all, the pads are what take the brunt of the friction when you apply the brakes.

Calipers should have a much longer life than your brake pads do. While most people realize that their brake pads need to be replaced every so often, the brake caliper is not something you think about very often. Obviously, that would be a problem if they were to fail. Without properly functioning calipers, your brake pads can't clamp down on the rotors, and you can't stop your car.

The brake pads are held inside the calipers to allow this to happen.Īnytime you put your foot on the brakes, hydraulic pressure in the brake lines creates pressure that forces the pistons close in the brake caliper that in turn makes the pads clamp down on the brake rotor, and that's what stops your car. They fit over the wheel rotor to stop the wheel from turning when the brakes are applied. Without your brake calipers you can't slow the wheels because you're unable to create friction in the brake rotors.Īs the name suggests, calipers are clamp-like devices. The calipers are what holds your car’s brake pads and pistons. Likely you have this in the front brakes of your vehicle. Brake calipers are part of a disc brake system.
