Your brake system is a crucial part of your car's safety mechanism. But the more mileage you cover, the more your brakes suffer wear, increasing the risk of an accident occurring even more. That is why you should inspect your brakes at the earliest indication of possible problems.

Here are a couple of surefire signs pointing out that you need to get your brakes inspected to see if brake repairs are necessary.

Noise

The most common sign of brake trouble is strange noise. Your brake system is meant to operate in silence. If you hear an unusual grinding or screeching noise each time you step on the brake pedal, you are surely experiencing some kind of braking problem. There are various possible reasons for the noise but in most cases, it could be that your brake pads are excessively worn leading to metal-on-metal contact, which in turn causes frictional noise.  

Light

Another clear indication that you have brake issues is illumination of the brake warning light found on your car's dashboard. The normal cause would be that your car is running low on brake fluid. You can try to fix the problem by pouring more fluid but the actual issue could be presence of a leak in the brake fluid reservoir.

An effective way to deal with the problem would be to inspect the reservoir for leaking as soon as possible before you can add more fluid.

Vibration

If your brake pedal pulses or constantly "grabs" when you step on it, it is a good sign that your current brake pads are bad. Brake vibration is usually as a result of worn brake pads, or brake pads that warped because of excessive heat. In order to remedy the problem, brake pads can be re-machined back into good shape. But, in the event that the current brake pads can't be re-machined, new brake pads will be needed.

Pulling

If your car pulls sideways when braking, it is another indicator of brake system trouble. The most likely reason for the problem is too much brake pad wear. This problem should be rectified immediately because it will cause you to lose total control of the vehicle while you are driving.

Now that you are aware of some of the common signs pointing out to braking issues, you should be able to identify these issues as soon as they start. It is recommended that you engage the services of a professional mechanic to correct brake system problems.