Brake Repair in Ottawa | King’s Automotive

What your brakes are telling you

A high squeal when you brake gently. Most pads have a small metal tab that squeals when the pad gets thin. It is a reminder, and you have a little time.
Grinding. The pad material is gone and metal is on metal. Book soon, because this chews through rotors quickly.
A pulsing pedal or a shaking steering wheel under braking. Usually the rotors are uneven.
The car pulls to one side when you brake. Often a sticking caliper, very common here after a winter of salt.
A soft or sinking pedal. Air or moisture in the fluid, or a leak. Do not wait on this one.
The brake warning light is on.

Worn, rusted brake rotor and pads beside a new rotor and new pads on the workbench — Old against new. We keep your old parts so you can see why they came off.

How a brake job is done here

We pull the wheels and measure pad thickness and rotor thickness against the spec. We check caliper slides and pins, which seize up with road salt and cause most of the uneven wear we see. We look at the hoses and the steel lines, because rusted brake lines are one of the most common failures on older cars in Ontario.

Then we call you with what we found. If the rear pads have plenty left, we say so and leave them alone.

When we do the work, caliper slides get cleaned and lubricated, hardware gets replaced where it is worn, and everything is torqued to spec. Then a road test.

Brake caliper being bolted over a new rotor

Technician torquing a brake caliper on an Audi on the lift

Brake fluid

Brake fluid pulls in moisture from the air over time, which lowers its boiling point and rusts the system from the inside. Most manufacturers call for new fluid every two to three years. We can test it and tell you where yours stands.

Questions about
brakes

How do I know if I need new brakes?

Squealing, grinding, a pulsing pedal, pulling to one side, a soft pedal or a warning light. If you are not sure, we can measure the pads and rotors and tell you how much is left.

Do I always need new rotors with new pads?

No. If the rotors are above minimum thickness and not warped or badly rusted, they can stay. In Ottawa, salt corrosion means rotors often do need replacing, but we show you why.

Why do my brakes wear unevenly?

Usually seized caliper slides or pins. Salt gets in, the caliper stops floating, and one pad does all the work. Cleaning and lubricating the slides is part of every brake job we do.

Can I see my old brake parts?

Yes. We keep them for you, and we are happy to walk you through them.

Do you replace rusted brake lines?

Yes. Rusted steel brake lines are common on older cars here, and a failed line means a sudden loss of braking, so we check them during every brake inspection.