Question about my cars brakes?

Question

I got new brake pads on my car 1 week ago. Everything was fine until I Iet my brother borrow my car. He brought it back and there was a horrible smell coming from the brakes. I am thinking he was driving my car very fast and slamming or using the brakes very heavily. (Driving my car crazily) But he tried to tell me that he slammed on the brakes when he was doing 55 in a 45 when he saw a cop. Now, I am not stupid and I beleive he was "beating" on my car. I just want to see what someone else thinks about this whole thing. Because I am very angry right now.

Answer 1

There's a good chance you can have a sticky or hanging up caliper and not allowing the brakes to release. If you wore your old brakes down too far, the piston has a chance to set crooked in the bore of the caliper, and when resetting the piston, it can go back into the bore crooked. Under normal operation, when you step on the brake, brake fluid flows from the reservoir to the calipers forcing fluid into the cylinder bore which pushes out the piston and forcing the brake pad against the rotor. If the piston is crooked, it will not release properly causing the brake pad to remain against the rotor, thus heating up and causing a brake odor.

Try this simple test, on a street or even in a parking lot with little to no traffic, drive your car about 25mph, just before applying the brakes, let go of the steering wheel momentarily, see if the steering wheel drifts to the left or right, if so chances are the side it drifts to has a bad caliper and should get it checked.

Usually slamming on the brakes will create a odor, but should dissipate after cooling, if you always get a odor, chances are your brakes are not releasing properly.

Answer 2

   The short answer is that the brakes are fine. If the cars not shaking upon braking then the rotors are fine. If you have ever been behind a heavy vehicle going downhill you would smell the same hot brake smell.

Answer 3

Don't change the car, change the brother!

Answer 4

sounds like he was been a hoon, sure it was burning brakes?? brakes need to bed in so the top layer might of burnt off that could cause the smell i guess. so if you think your brakes are working better now, he has got rid of the first layer.

if your brakes are shuddering he has braked really hard for a red light or similar and then kept his foot on the brake, this means the rotor isn't cooling evenly and has warped your rotor which you need to get them machined. i wouldn't lend your car to him again. if he is going to treat it like c**p he doesn't deserve to use it.

have a good one mate.  

Answer 5

i totally understand ur anger right now man.

car isnt something you want to share; especially when you completely own it and pay for the maintenance.

however if you knew ur brother wouldnt abuse ur car i'd be nice of u if u did lend it to him, but u probably should know ur brother is an abuser by now! so next time say NO

Answer 6

well you sound angry too.  you should check and see if he drives with 2 feet,  you know you use your right foot for gas and the left to brake.  its not a good idea because without realizing it some people have there left foot resting on the brake pedal.  Now if that's not it then it might have been that he used your brakes a lot with hard stops on your new brake pads which isn't all bad and really doesn't hurt anything but I would say you should just refrain him from driving your car if he is a hard driver that drives fast and corners hard and stop hard.

Answer 7

Those pads could have been wearing themselves in, fairly normal when new brakes are installed. If it was really smelling bad like hot brakes, it could be he drove with the parking brakes on. Ask him!

Answer 8

The moral of the story? Don't lend your car out. You pay for the maintenance, so you have the unique privilege of driving it. Tell them to get their own car.

Answer 9

Sounds like he did good - if he was a bit 'rough' on your brake pads he probably just helped to bed them in.

I get about 60,000 miles out of a set of front brake pads on my car if I bed them in correctly, and about 15,000 miles if I don't.