Besides knowing how to change a few key fluids and put on a spare tire, there’s nothing more important for drivers than knowing how to check if you have worn-out brake pads.
In a video that wracked up an impressive 3.7 million views, TikTok user Diandra C (@dcartago) captures a humorous moment with her mechanic of 10 years. Shot close up, viewers could take a good look at what the mechanic held.
The mechanic held two brake pads in his hands, one worn-out and one new.
Warning about worn-out brake pads
“Look how thick the new pad is and look how thick the other one is,” he says, trying to show her how one pad was thin with sharpened edges and the other was about 1/2 inch thicker than the other one.
“Damnnn,” Diandra says in mock sincerity.
“You don’t even see it,” the mechanic replies.
Diandra admits it straight away. “No, I don’t know,” she says.
Viewers see the same thing
The video has amassed more than 3.7 million views since it was posted on July 17. Some users also saw no real difference between the two brake pads.
“I thought these were broken iPhones,” one said.
“Babe me and you both saying ‘damnnn’ like we know what they talking about,” a second added.
“I was already thinking ‘they look the same’ before you said it,” a third agreed.
Others thought the difference was plain as day.
“Nah that crazy and I barely know anything about cars,” wrote one user.
“He’s trying to show you how close to [death] you were; you don’t even gaf,” another said.
“Brruhhhhh them brakes was SCREAMIN for help,” a user quipped.
What brake pads should look like
Mat Foundry Group describes brake pads as “steel backing plates, with a friction based material bound to their surface.” It’s friction that slows or stops a car by converting “the kinetic and thermal energies of the vehicle.” Two of these pads are found in each brake caliper, which clamp them onto the spinning rotor.
Brindley Group, a car dealer in the United Kingdom, describes them simply as “flat pieces of steel that have thick friction material on one side of them.”
Brake pads also come in different materials. Non-metallic/organic wear out fairly quickly. Semi-metallic is the most common type. But ceramic is the high performance, high expense option found on some race cars.
According to NRS Brakes, drivers should change their brake pads every 20,000-50,000 miles. However, it really depends on your driving style and the type of vehicle that you drive.
@dcartago Ah what now? I’m just a girl 👸🏽 #mechanic #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #wtfmoments #montreal #montreallife ♬ original sound – Diandra C
The Daily Dot reached out to Diandra via TikTok for comment.
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