a mechanic told me that my pads and discs were worn because i used my gears to slow down?

Question

he told me that had i used my brakes hard the discs would have not been damaged please could someone explain this to me as i thought it was best to use your gears to slow down then brake

Answer 1

Find a new mechanic!

If you take it to the extreme, your mechanic's ideas would say that when you drive down a steep mountain and use your engine to maintain your speed then your brakes will be worn out when you reach the bottom. On the contrary, I have seen people who have primarily used their brakes going down a mountain and not only did they wear out their brake pads and disks, but melted the rubber wheel cylinder seals and brake lines as well.

You are referring to Engine Braking or Compression Braking where you shift into a lower gear and let the compression stroke of your engine dissipate energy and slow down your car. This is a common method of slowing down used by large truck drivers and is now employed by the new hybrid cars (Toyota Prius calls it Hybrid Synergy Drive).

It's mostly beneficial if you drive in hilly areas and probably not that beneficial on flat terrain.

Answer 2

unfortunatly you are going to a mechanic who was either not well trained or needs your money worse than you do. either of which is true, you need a second opinion, he has told you a lie. you may infact need both pads and rotors, possibly more than that depending on the milage and condition of your car. if this is the first time the brakes have needed service, and if the metal part of the brake pad never made contact with the rotor, the rotors should be able to be machined and reused.
if the brakes made a grinding noise you may infact need to replace the rotors. unfortunatly with out seeing your car personally i cant tell you for sure. i've had several managers that will say just about anything to make the sale, and you need to be carefull where you take your car, a good mechanic will infact take you to your vehicle and show you the problem and explain why you need to replace these parts if asked. you should never leave the shop not understanding your problem and repair. on the down side using the gears to slow down or maintain speed is fine but remember everytime you down shift you are using your clutch(s) so its kind of a toss up, brakes vs. clutch/trans. either way something is taking wear. i prefer changing brake parts myself much cheaper.

Answer 3

Use your transmission to slow you down. Then start applying the brakes. If you are worried about the brake lights not coming on to warn the guy behind you, you can also just touch the pedal, there should be enough play in the brake light switch to light the lights without applying enough brake to wear them out... and get a new mechanic. This boy don't know what he's talking about

Answer 4

HUH???.........LOL......Yake it to a new mechanic hes taking you for a dumb ****...If you jump on your brakes at the last minute and are a hard braker then yes you will go through more brake pads and discs more often.Using your gear box (presuming its a manual) to slow down helps reduce wear on your brakes but still slowing down before you really need to jump on them is also better in conjustion with using the gearbox.Still in an auto you can use your gear box as well especially going down hills.But you will still have to use your brakes to slow it down a bit......Change mechanics

Answer 5

I think you should get another mechanic because he's wrong.
I was taught to use the gears to slow down when I was learning to drive but when I started to train for the Advanced driving test. I was then told to use my brakes as it was a lot cheaper to replace brake pads or Disc's than to replace a gear box on your car..

Answer 6

? what a crock brakes wear out by
A using them
B mechanical Failures (stuck Calipers, Bad hoses)
Disc become damaged BY
A pads worn out past the pads surface and into the bacning plate

B Mechanical Failure of other brake parts
c Stop and go driving ( rotors heat up and do not have time to cool off )
Running thru WAter while rotors are Hot.

Answer 7

if you were using your gears too much it would be your clutch in trouble, slowing down using your gears is rubbish you use your breaks to stop and after a while your discs and pads do wear down. I'd seek a different opinion he either has a lack of knowledge or is after more money. He'll change your discs and pads then tell you your clutch as gone. Good luck in finding a better mechanic

Answer 8

Dont downshift your car to slow down, Your not driving a racecar. Use your brakes to slow down unless youre coming down a very long or very steep grade. Brakes are made to be used to stop the car and therefor are meant to be worn down and replaced as basic maintainance. Rotors will also wear down and should be replaced if needed. A brake job is alot cheaper than transmission work.

Answer 9

He's talking out of his @rse.

ANY decent instructor will tell you

Gears to go, Brakes to slow.

If you don't press your brake pedal how does the guy behind know that you are slowing.

Sometimes it's best to press the pedal just enough to activate the switch and let the engine slow you But that is not using the gears that is called engine braking

Answer 10

I think ur being wound up.If u use ur discs hard, they will wear away quicker.Current thinking here in the UK is that it's better to use ur brakes to slow down cos ur brake lights come on & the guy behind knows what ur doing, but I was taught (many years ago) to slow down on the gears. Hope this helps, and take ur car to another mechanic!