Breaks Are Acting Weird

Can hard braking harm your car?

The answer is a resounding yes. Not only will harsh braking wear the brake pads quicker,  it can also overheat and damage the rotors either by creating glazing, hotspots, parallelism and/or (if lug nut torque improper) excessive runout.In addition to this, just about every part of the car will be experiencing more stress. As the weight of the vehicle shifts forward your shocks and springs compress putting more pressure on the rest of the suspension; ball joints, bushings, wheel bearings, etc. This shift of weight will also put the tires under more stress and friction, causing them to wear faster. Your alignment angles can change as well under these conditions, causing the tire contact patch to change, increasing wear. The drive axles play a part in slowing the car down, as will the engine and transmission, and the sudden harsh shift in direction can stress the engine mounts. There is a lot of momentum, a lot of weight, and a lot of energy that the rest of the vehicle is fighting against, not just the brakes.I've seen many cars that get beat on and they need repairs much sooner than one that is reasonably operated. Consider, if you will, race cars. They change tires and brakes often, and sometimes in the middle of a race, not to mention their engines can sometimes need complete overhauls after each race, as well as the transmissions/clutches.So, yes, harsh breaking can harm your car. Watch for stale green lights, plan your route and travel time efficiently, brake lightly and early then more firmly (you want an even controlled stop but don't be afraid to make them stop the car if need be!), identify potential hazards/threats early, and save the race car braking for the professionals. Unless you can afford the repairs, of course, then have fun and come see me when something breaks.

What can happen to your brakes if you drive through heavy rain or standing water?

These days? Not much. Modern disc brake systems are just about immune to fading ...losing their ability to stop the vehicle ...due to water or excessive heat (due to hard braking).It wasn't always so.Back in “Ancient Tymes” when I was learning to drive, most cars on the road had drum brakes ...on all four wheels. And drum brakes were notorious for doing a lot of bad things ...one of which was just about completely fading …becoming exceptionally ineffective …when driving through standing water.As part of learning to drive we learned, and adopted, an important technique used when driving in or through standing water; you lightly applied the brakes while moving through the standing water. This technique required you drive with two feet; your left foot *lightly* on the brakes and your right foot working the accelerator. And generally this technique was only used when moving at slower speeds through standing water which is generally how you should approach relatively deep patches of standing water anyway...the better that you don't hydroplane across the puddle.The braking technique did two things: a) it limited how much water could actually accumulate in the brake shoes and drum area and; b) it allowed the lightly applied brake shoes to dry things quickly because the friction of application would generate heat ...just enough to dry things up rather nicely and quickly restore full baking capability.Fast forward to today with every vehicle having front disc brakes, and many vehicles with front and rear disc brakes, and the "soggy" brakes issue is a thing of the past. With disc brakes water is shed much quicker and the fact the brake pads are always just very lightly in contact with the rotor ...means things dry off much quicker ...not to mention the construction of the disc brake allows air to circulate more freely across the major components to aid in drying. The "brake" technique is still viable and will work quite well with disc brakes and especially those vehicles with rear drum brakes ...but in general isn't really needed.