Brembo offers anti-stiction advice

With lockdown meaning many people are working from home, car usage has decreased. And this means many cars have been left unused and exposed. This, in turn, can cause brakes to develop issues that stop them working correctly during driving.

Specifically, corrosion will start to appear on the surface of the brake discs and, with normal use of the vehicle, this rust is removed by applying the brakes.

But if the vehicle has not been driven for a while, this can cause the areas affected by corrosion to expand. Corrosion on the surface of the brakes can cause noise during braking and even more worrying can increase stopping distances due to a reduction in the performance of the braking system.

This is not the only issue, as the parking brake is engaged the pads/shoes have been left in contact with brake discs/drums. Corrosion will build up and can cause these components to stick to each other, and this will prevent the wheels from moving the next time that the car will be driven. This is known as brake stiction.

Here’s Brembo’s advice: “Start the vehicle engine, release the handbrake while the engine is running and drive the car a short distance back and forth, while gently applying the brakes.

“The brakes will “clean” off the surface corrosion when they come into contact with the brake discs, preventing corrosion from building up and the problems associated with it. This is recommended to be done once a week.

“If it has not been possible to perform this recommended maintenance task, extra care should be taken when driving the vehicle for the first time after it has been parked for an extended period. Make sure to test the brakes by gently applying them to ensure that they are operating correctly. Some brake noises (squealing, grinding, crunching) may occur for the first few miles due to excessive corrosion build up.

“Should these noises continue, or develop into other symptoms (juddering) or get even worse, resulting in the vehicle being unable to be moved because the wheels have seized, Brembo recommends speaking to the nearest Brembo Expert who will have the necessary skills to get the vehicle back on the road.”