Question about brake pads on my car...?

Question

I need to get some new brake pads on my car. I was planning on going tomorrow (my brakes started getting really bad about 3 days ago and I've had to travel across town alot...) to get them, but have to drive about 60 miles tonight. Last night on my way home when I would press the brakes (even gently) my whole car would rumble and shake and the wheels (not the tires but the actual wheels) would sound like they were about to fall off. When I would try to accelerate after stopping it would stall a little bit... Could my car break down from needing new brake pads?

What I'm trying to ask is... if my car is making very loud grinding noises, shaking, rumbling, and stalling when I try to accelerate... how long would it be before my brakes fail?

Answer 1

They already have failed!

When your pads first started squealing you should have addressed the problem. Now what has happened is the pads have totally worn down to nothing and that grinding sound you hear is the rivets chewing away at your rotors.

So, because you procrastinated in doing a minor pad job, you now need pads and rotors.

Your vehicle is not safe to drive in the condition it is in and not only is a danger to you but also to everyone else around you.

I know this isn't what you want to hear but it's true. Not to mention, the longer you stall in repairing your car, the more it's going to cost you in the long run. If you can't afford to fix it, park it and take the bus or grab a ride with a buddy until you can afford the repair.

Answer 2

If your brakes fail use emergency brakes...or head for the nearest snowbank. Replace your pads and you will need rotors as the rumbling shaking and grinding is from metal on metal and your rotors will be warped form the heat generated from applying brakes without pads. The stalling would be another issue, and could be a plugged fuel filter, which are not too expensive to replace. When you are idling or coming to a stop, the pressure of the fuel in the fuel line drops and if the filter is dirty.....then the fuel will not flow into the engine very well. It also could be a bent fuel line, but most likely the filter. The other thing it may need is a tune up, but it would run rough all the time, not just when your coming to a stop. I wouldn't suggest driving without brake pads...get them fixed ASAP as it will be cheaper and safer then if you leave them. Hope this helps

Answer 3

You are now metal to metal from your brake pads to the rotors. Whatever rotor is being contacted by the brake pad without lining material is making the noise - there could be more than one. Drivng the car (or more specifically braking the car) will continue to groove the rotor or rotors. Most likely, these will need turning to smooth them out before new pads are installed. Apparently you have already messed up at least one rotor, so if you drive, I would do so very carefully to "cripple" in to your destination. You will be driving in a potentially unsafe situation, so avoid depending on your brakes entirely (no sudden hard stops). Please get them repaired as soon as possible - you are flirting with disaster here.

Answer 4

I would recommend getting a ride and parking the car till the brakes are fixed . It sounds like your brake pads are completely gone and it's metal grinding against metal . The more you drive it the more it will cost to fix besides it could get dangerous and the pads could actually get so worn they come off. Your brakes may be sticking badly , if you have a standard shift this could cause a tendency to stall if starting with the brakes locked up.

Answer 5

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Answer 6

If it is making that much noise, you probably needed new brake pads a couple of weeks ago.

Now you will probably need new rotors, since after the pads wear out, they start eating into the rotors. If you are lucky, they may be able to be turned (machined) - but if they have worn too much, they will need to be replaced. Always have your brake pads checked - they will usually make squeaking noises (due to little pieces of ferrite that they put in the pad to warn you when they need to be replaced).

(If everything looks like I think it does on your brakes, it may be stalling because the remains of your brakes are jamming up the wheels.)

Answer 7

Soumds like you've worn the pads down to the backing plate. this is unsafe and doing a lot of damage to your car. You'll probably have to get the rotors replaced and the pads too. Take the car to a brake place immediately and get this fixed. You could kill yourself or some other innocent persons. Don't play with this, it's not worth it. Good luck

Answer 8

You could have very bad damage to your braking system. If it's just the brakes and rotors it will cost a few hundred... if you damaged the calipers you are looking at alot more money. (depends on make/model of your car and how new it is)
But thats probably about all that you can damage... unless you smash into something for not having brakes.

Stalling when you accelrate is most likely a totally unrelated problem

Answer 9

Nothing can break down mechanically as far as the engine goes. However you are probably grinding your rotors if your break pads are completely worn. You may have to get them replaced. Also from the sounds of it, you may have locked calipers.

Answer 10

you better get someone to take you.by your brakes acting up,you could hit someone like a pedestrian or a small kid.no,its better just keep it parked till you find someone to fix it.all that noise,its probably the pads wore into the rotors.you probably have to get new rotors also.