Brake care is essential to maintaining a safely functioning car. At Lester Glenn Ford in Ocean, NJ, we’d like to make sure drivers all over the Asbury Park area know just how important maintaining your brakes really is.

We all know what brakes do, but what is less common knowledge is how they do it.

When you hit the brakes, it sets in motion a chain of events that eventually leads to your car slowing and then stopping. The heavy lifting of this process is performed by the brake pads and the brake disc.

The short version is that the pads come into contact with the disc to slow the wheel down. It’s a simple enough process with one major drawback. It causes regular wear and tear to both the pads and the discs.

Let’s be clear: so long as you continue to drive your car, replacing your brake pads and brake discs will be a necessity intermittently.

On the bright side, this doesn’t mean you can lengthen the amount of time there is between replacements.

The most practical way is with careful driving.

If you’re in the city and you’re racing to a red light, just to stop at the last minute, you’re doing your brakes no favors.

When you come to a more gentle and gradual stop, you are significantly diminishing the intensity of the friction taking place between the pads and the discs.

Brake problems are not likely to sneak up on you. If your dashboard is equipped with a check brake light, bring your vehicle into our Ford service center ASAP.

If the brakes start screeching or clicking, it will likely be hard to miss. This is another huge indication that you need new brake parts.

Should you find yourself hearing these sounds, Lester Glenn Ford is the place to come. We take brake safety seriously, and you should too.