New driver, first MOT question

Evokazz

Hiya guys, I have been driving my car around a year, and never had issue with it at all. Had first MOT yesterday and failed due to a warped brake disc and needed front brake pads. Garage is a family friend so paid for MOT and he repaired the damaged parts and knocked a few quid off price for me, good times. They redid the MOT and it passed no issues.

Been driving last night and this morning with new discs on both front wheels and 2 new front brake pads. He said the fronts was pretty warn and the warping wasn't severe, but enough to fail. On driving the car after being repaired, the brake pedal seems raised ever so slightly than it's usual position, and the brakes are a ton more responsive. Hard to explain but prior, if coming towards a set of red lights I would gently press the brakes, and gradually increase pressure as I got close and the car would stop. After the repair the braking point seems a lot sooner, a slight pressure starts braking, and the car seems to stop with a lot less resistance. People are telling me it's because the new parts are fitted and the old parts was worn and that all is well. Is this completely normal? Car drives amazing, but I feel I need to re-learn my cars braking resistance as it feels totally different, not in a bad way, just a lot more sensitive. The work was only done yesterday.

noiseboy72

Totally normal. the pads and discs are new and therefore much thicker, so there's less travel on the brake pedal.

It won't take you long to adapt to the more responsive braking. If like me you drive dozens of different vehicles in a month, you adapt within the first couple of brake applications!!

AMc

Your people are telling you the truth - new brakes stop much better.
If your discs were warped enough to fail the MOT then the effectiveness will have been way off brand new discs and pads.
You'll get used to it pretty fast and won't notice as they gradually wear and become less effective until you get them replaced again .

nvingo

I don't know if your garage said anything like this, but apparently warped discs can occur as a result of holding the car still on the brake pedal, ie. waiting at red lights. This is because the brakepads heat up when stopping, then stay pressed against one part of the disc causing hot spots on the disc.
Operate the car as taught,  hand-brake/neutral and foot off the brake when stationary and they'll last longer (doesn't affect pad wear only disc warping).

Evokazz

Thanks guys that's fantastic to know it's all normal.

noiseboy72

Warping is also caused by using the brakes for long periods of time - IE on a long descent rather than using engine braking and occasional dabs on the brakes. It's just the build up of heat that causes the warping. The pad will probably actually cool that part of the disc down faster as it will remove heat through contact.

Evokazz

Thanks guys. In regards to fluid levels, had the car a year and only ever filled up screen wash and oil was done once by Halfords during one of their free Winter checks. Do I leave the coolant water and brake fluid or does that ever need filling up? I presumed they did this in an MOT but apparently it's not part of the MOT test. Reading conflicting info, some are saying all you need worry about is screenwash and oil, others are saying everything needs filling urgh.

car-man

Firstly, the brake fluid level would have been taken care of when the brake discs and pads were replaced.
You should check you oil and coolant level at regular intervals, at least every week and before every long journey....screenwash can be checked at the same time as your oil and coolant.

Regarding your new brakes feeling different to what you are used to, when I fitted new discs and pads for customers I always used to tell them that they will feel completely different to how they felt before the new kit was fitted...sometimes sharper than they were before and sometimes less effective than they were before....this is always a temporary issue until the new brakes bed in (around 100 miles or a day or two) there is usually a card in the box the new brake pads come in with that info on it which I sometimes left on the driver's seat if I didn't get to speak to the customer.

Doyle

You should have your car serviced by a competent mechanic according to the manufacturer's schedule, which does vary from one make/model to another.  The specifics for your car will be easily found online.  There are 2 types of service, a main service and an interm or minor service, usually done alternately.  Here is an examples of the difference What is the Difference between an Interim Service and a Full Service?

An MOT is just a set if statutory checks to ensure your car is in a roadworthy condition.  Lights, wipers, windscreen, corrosion, brakes, tyres, emissions, bushes, etc.  It does not actually include checking fluid levels.

You should check your oil regularly.  Most would say once a week, but even if you just check when you've got the bonnet up to fill the screen wash, that's better than nothing.  There are plenty of videos on Youtube which will help you learn what to check and how to check it.  That's probably better than me trying to give instructions here.  Hope that helps!

For info, warped brake discs is a misnomer.  They don't actually warp, it's an uneven build up of brake material on the surface of the disc which results in unever braking force and a shudder through the steering or brake pedal.  Everyone calls it warping though.

Delvey

Define competent mechanic
Some of these idiots at the dealers are neither competent, and in some cases even mechanics.
One example from VW is the fitting of a fuel filter the wrong way round. Obviously the car did not start and they tried to tell me the fuel pump had failed.
Or the idiot at Nissan who thought a 1.2 DIG-T Juke getting 10 MPG was not an issue