Is Your Brake Light On, But Brakes Still Work?

Is your car’s brake light on, but your brakes work fine? Nancy breaks down 4 reasons why that pesky light is illuminated on your dashboard!

Transcript:

Have you ever started your vehicle only to be startled that your brake light icon is illuminated on your dashboard?

Or are you my son?

Because he is currently dealing with that exact issue.

Now, this can happen while you are driving, which is how it happened to him.

You instantly check to make sure your brakes, which you do, but that brake light is still on.

What is it trying to tell you?

Hi, I’m Nancy at Kneble’s Auto Service Center. First off, don’t panic if you still have brakes and if you can still stop, but if you don’t have brakes, pull over safely and call a tow truck.

Before I tell you some reasons for the brake light coming on, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and check out our YouTube channel.

The brake light icon is designed to tell you there is a problem with your braking system as a whole, but what is the problem?

Since there can be a multitude of scenarios that can go wrong with your brakes.

Your parking brake may be slightly depressed. Now, this is an easy one to check. If the parking brake is slightly depressed, disengage it and see if that light goes out.

Or are you low in brake fluid? If you are, this can be tricky for you to figure out the cause. Is it low because of usage?

Or is it low in brake fluid because you’re losing brake fluid from your brake lines or another component of your braking system, such as the master cylinder?

Check out my video on the importance of brake line fluid, and schedule an appointment to see where that leak is originating from.

Are your brake pads low? Are you slamming on your brakes only to have them not work as well as you hoped?

Or did you hear a noise?

Some new vehicles have sensors that detect if your brake pads are low and need replacing.

To find out, you will need your auto technician to measure the thickness of your brake pads to determine if replacement is required.

Refer to my video on how you had your brake inspected recently.

Is your brake light bulb out? You may only require a new bulb in the rear.

Remember, if one side goes out, chances are the other side is not far behind. This is why we always recommend replacing both sides.

The next time you see an icon of a brake light on your dash, always verify you have brakes before proceeding. Make an appointment with your auto technician to fix the reason for that brake light being on.

Thank you for watching, and for all your car care needs, you can schedule an appointment online through our website.

Remember we are located here at 5473 Somers Point Road in Mays Landing. Next to, you got it, Freddy J’s Bar and Kitchen.

Thank you.