My car suddenly started making a Thunder and lightning sound when I was driving.
I was terrified. But apparently it's just brake pads wear out and metal rubbing against other metal.
I don't know anything about brakes at the moment so please run me through it from the beginning.
Where are the brake pads located and how do i inspect them to see how much is left? Can anyone provide photos?
Are there early warning signs of brake pad wear? Like a noise? Can anyone link to a video or sound recording?
How much does it cost to replace? Pads, disc, callipers etc?
What are the different stages of wear? If I hear the thunder and lightning sound have I likely damaged the disc and callipers too? I drove like it for half an hour.
Has anyone else experienced this noise?
Anyone have any good diagrams to illustrate how the brake system works so I can understand the different parts etc?
Any other useful info for a beginner?
My advice is that if you don't even know where the brake pads are you need to get a garage to fix them for you, brakes are the most important part of the car and not to be messed with if you don't have basic skills.
If you heard a 'ringing, shrieking sound' that is just the wear indicator and it wont damage the discs, if you heard a lower pitched heavy rubbing / grating sound that means that there is no pad material left and the steel pad backing plate is rubbing on the steel disc, and that will damage the discs.
The other option is that sometimes a piece of the grit off road surface can get stuck between pad and disc and can really make an awful lot of noise, sometimes reversing and putting the brakes on can dislodge it, but if not you will need to get someone to look at the brakes.