Work order line BRK
Brake repair and replacement on Oakwood Drive
Pads, shoes, rotors and fluid, plus ABS, traction control and electronic parking brake service, road tested before you leave.
Chapter 01
What goes wrong under the pedal
Brakes wear out on purpose. The pads and shoes are the part that gives up material every time you stop, so the day comes when they are down to the backing plate and the metal starts doing the work. Before that day you usually get a warning: a squeal, a grind, a pedal that sinks a little further than it used to, or a steering wheel that shudders on the way down from highway speed.
Rotors and drums go next. A scored or uneven rotor makes the pedal pulse under your foot, and a sticking caliper can drag one wheel while the other three do their share. Brake fluid is the quiet one. It sits in the lines for years, and low or tired fluid changes how the whole system feels long before a light comes on.
Newer cars add layers on top of the basics. Anti-lock brakes, traction control and electronic parking brakes all lean on sensors, modules and small motors, and those fail on their own schedule. If a dash light came on after a stop, or the parking brake will not release, that belongs on this list too.
Front corner of a car on a lift with the wheel off, showing the brake rotor and caliper, a new rotor boxed on the floor
How a brake job runs in our bays
We start with a look, not a quote. A technician checks the brakes for wear, inspects the shoes and the pads, and checks the fluid levels, so the repair we describe to you is based on what is actually on the car. The shop is built for it: 8,000 square feet, three large bays, and a lift ready when your car rolls in.
Then the repair fits the finding. Rotors that still have life get resurfaced. Parts that are past it get replaced, on drum brakes or disc brakes alike. When the problem sits in the anti-lock system, the traction control or the electronic parking brake, we service that side as well, so you are not sent somewhere else for the half of the job that involves a computer.
Nick Kindred at the service desk has been writing up repairs around the Des Moines area for more than 19 years. He explains what the technician found in plain terms before the work starts, and you decide from there. If you would rather talk it through first, the line is (515) 270-2096.
Chapter 03
A second set of eyes, and a road test
Every brake job ends the same way: we drive the car. A road test is how we find out whether the pedal is firm, the car stops straight and nothing new has turned up, and it happens before the keys come back to you, not after.
Brake problems also tend to show up when nobody is looking for them. One customer wrote that Erick Lutchman, an ASE certified technician with more than 17 years on the job, found a brake system problem on a car during a routine check, and then found a problem on a Jeep they were thinking of buying. That is the point of a routine check. It is cheaper to hear about worn pads on a Tuesday evening than to find out at a red light.
Because we open at 7 AM and stay until 9 PM on weekdays, you can drop the car off before work or bring it in after. Courtesy shuttle, vehicle pickup and delivery are available, and a free vacation car check comes with any service, so a brake visit before a road trip covers more than the brakes.
“Erick found a brake system problem on Anna’s car during a routine check,” wrote rich s in a 5 star Google review.
The repair order for a brake job
This is the checklist the shop itself works from. Nothing on it is optional decoration: it is the order a technician moves through the car, from the first look at the pads to the drive that closes the job.
- Where
- 5900 Oakwood Dr, Urbandale, a NAPA AutoCare Center.
- When
- 7 AM to 9 PM Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 6 PM Saturday. Closed Sunday.
- Ask first
- Call (515) 270-2096. A free vacation car check comes with any service, and financing is available.
Other work from the same bays
- Computer diagnosticsThat check engine light, read properly: ignition timing, sensors, crank and cam position, transmission and ABS faults. Vehicle programming available.
- Maintenance and tune-upsOil changes, tune-ups, factory-recommended maintenance, timing belts, alignment and rotation, wipers, and a free vacation car check with any service.
- TiresMichelin, BFGoodrich, Bridgestone, Uniroyal, Continental and Kumho, plus flat repairs, rotation, balancing, four-wheel alignment and rim replacement.