Eye Spy: Broken Brakes

˙Could this be someone’s way of making brake pads last longer? David Kelsey of D. Kelsey Auto Repair in St. John’s, Nfld., found one brake pad welded onto another on a 2015 Civic. “It is unreal that our province of Newfoundland doesn’t require annual inspections!” he wrote.

While doing a safety inspection on a light truck, technician Ian Hughes at Barrie AutoCare Centre found an example of why amateurs should not be fixing brakes. One of the calipers was being held together with a wing nut! It’s not the first time they found an Eye Spy in the shop.

Chad M. Amell, a service advisor at Cornwall Honda, had to explain to a customer why his attempt to install front brakes lacked the all-important component of safety. The over-sized pads hung over the rotors, with barely an inch of friction making enough contact to stop the vehicle.

Dennis Bagnarol, owner of Corunna Auto Clinic in Ontario, took particular note of the wear pattern on the brake pad he removed from a new customer’s car. It had been installed upside-down. “This is a classic example of why only licensed techs should do brake jobs!” he wrote.

Got an EyeSpy to share? Send a high-res picture to allan@newcom.ca and make sure to give us lots of detail!