Complaint Review: Just Brakes - Houston Texas

I'm a Master Mechanic, after reading the above report and rebuttal I can tell you the owner is not exaggerating one word. Most Brake shops do their best to inflate the "Needed" repairs way out of proportion to make a healthy profit. "Your rear wheel cylinders are leaking and not working" is one of the easiest scams there is, the rear wheel cylinders usualy have a small bit of seepage, this means absolutely nothing, if they were indeed "Leaking and not working" the inside of the drums would be soaked with fluid (A nasty brown sludge when it mixes with the brake dust) also a red warning light lights up on the dashboard, indicating a Brake system failure. This light is designed to light each and every time your vehicle is started as a check both of the system, and the light itself, when you start your vehicle it comes on for a few seconds then goes out. No light 5 seconds past startup or so, no failure. The shop reported that the front rotors were near minimum and could not be turned, this may be true, obviously there is no way I can measure them, most of the time the minimum thickness dimension is cast directly into the steel near the wheel lug holes, many "Brake Shops" use their own books, which are designed to replace rotors far before the real minimum thickness is reached. Ask to see the spec book, if it comes from a respectable firm like NAPA, Raybestos, AAMCO, Bendix, etc then it's a good spec book. If it comes from the "Brake Shop" (Has their Name printed on it) and does not come from the makers, do not believe it. This also goes for a computer screen, if it's from the "Brake Shop" again, don't believe it. Look directly at the rotor's hub area. Most folks do not know how to properly use a Micrometer, you're kinda at their mercy here. Front Calipers, If the front calipers were "Hanging Up" the front rotors will turn blue from the heat and will smoke like a fire is occurring. They can and do stick, and the correct repair is to replace them with either new or remanufactured units, this is the correct repair. If the brakes are "Squealing" that's what they are intended to do, there's a small piece of metal sticking out of the side of the disc pads that's deliberately designed to make a horrible "Squeal" when the brakes are worn down enough to need replacement, In fact we call those "Squealers". This squeals BEFORE any major damage is done, if you've heard a grinding, scraping noise, that's not a squealer sounding off, it means there is something really wrong, either a bad wheel bearing, or you've ignored the squealer and cut into the rotor (Common)Usualy this means a new rotor, sometimes they can be resurfaced, but the odds are great you'll need to replace it. No "Grind" no bearings are bad. Also you can easily get "Loaded" Calipers (A terrific deal) with the entire set of pads, all springs, anti rattle clips and new seals already installed, the price varies tremendously so check your parts house. this is a huge time and labor saver, all the work except mounting the new loaded calipers is already done, making a 3 or 4 hour job a 30 minute one. Do you the customer get a labor reduction? (hahahahahah) The Brakes will have to be "Bled" (Air removed)this is a very simple procedure done immediately after instalation, and part of installing new front calipers, don't let them charge you a second price to "Bleed" the brakes. Never "Bleed" the brakes unless a line has been removed, no "They need to be bled to eliminate the squeal" No, They need to be bled because the fluid is not getting to ----------- Whatever, if the fluid is not getting through, the car will pull hard one way or the other when the brakes are applied. or will not release (Smoke and stink) I have seen (And fired) mechanics who take new rotors, immediately put them on the brake lathe and turn them (Resurface) When the box is plainly marked "Factory Finished, DO NOT RESURFACE. This is done supposedly to "Ensure they're flat", No it's done to make more profit, you get "New" rotors that already have half their life removed, then you have to buy new rotors next time too. Simply take the rotors out of the box (Usualy sealed in plastic wrap to prevent corrosion) clean them with either Carburetor or Brake cleaner Spray, (They have an oil film for protection) and install with NO FURTHER SERVICE. To be plain, a complete front brake job, using new rotors and loaded calipers will take about one to two hours, and will cost around 300 bucks (Depending entirely on make and model of vehicle, do not say "He told me $300", it doesn't work that way) price will vary greatly from 200 to 800 (If you own a Mercedes or other high buck car, parts are NOT cheap) You can do the same for the rear if you have rear discs, there's a good bit more work if you have rear disc brakes, so don't think they will be cheaper than the front. Rear drum brakes can be repaired the same as front, new drum, clean it , install new shoes (More work involved than the front) adjust the rears and drive away, (A word here, the fronts adjust automatically, you simply step on the brake pedal repeatedly halfway to the floor until the pedal is hard and firm, do NOT push the pedal all the way to the floor, you'll set the emergency system off, if the pedal hits the floor it thinks there's a leak, that's all the adjustment needed, but the rears need adjustment before the wheel can be bolted on) To sum up, any "Brake Shop" saying "your rear cylinders are leaking and bad" simply go to the car and see if the rear is soaked with a nasty brown sludge, if not, you're being cheated. If they say "Your front brakes are locked up" (Probably not, or you'd need to be towed in) Well first, did you come in to the shop because the front was smoking, stinking and/or making a horrible "Burning" stench? If not go and see if the rotor is burned blue, (Yes, they're truthful, no it's steel color or shiny, they are lying) CHECK TO SEE IF IT IS TOO HOT TO TOUCH, if you can turn the wheel by hand, or if the wheels are off try to turn the rotor by hand (It's hard to turn, very stiff but it can be moved by hand) if you CAN turn the wheel or rotor ANY, you're being cheated. "Locked" brakes will stop a car dead, and you would have to be Superman to turn a locked rotor by hand. If they say, "Your Brake fluid needs to be flushed" check your mileage, this should not be needed under 60 to 90 thousand miles, don't let them say "It's Dirty" Brake fluid is normally clear, slightly yellow, and it stinks, if the fluid is a nasty looking black or brown, then yes it does need to be "Flushed" The trick here is they don't even bother to look, just recommend flushing. (It's highly profitable) So based on your "Rip-Off report" yes they did indeed try to "Get" you, regardless of their protestations.

Hello my name is K.J. The falsely accused person in this scenario. First of all I like to start off by apologizing for not responding earlier. I was not aware this article was written until yesterday, when a friend and former Just Brakes employee told me about this. After reading this article I do however remember Chris and the vehicle in question a white Ford F150. He called on the phone and asked about the $99.88 special and I explained to him what that consisted of. $99.88 consists of replacing the pads and shoes, machining the rotors and drums, packing the bearings adjusting the brake system and INSPECTING THE BALANCE OF THE BRAKE SYSTEM FOR ANY OTHER PROBLEMS. And that's just $99.88 IN MOST CASES. Now before I go any further how many people out there know what a caliper, wheel cylinder, proportioning valve, master cylinder or power booster is. These are a few of the hundreds of parts in your braking system that make the car stop. However the big perception is that when the brakes are bad it just needs new pads and rotors turned. Here's a crash course lesson in brakes, pads themselves do not move! The piston in the calipers move the pads. The brakes hoses control the calipers. The master cylinder controls the entire brake system. That is why it is referred to as a system. On Chris' truck not both wheel cylinders were leaking only one. I never said his back brakes aren't working at all. What I said was that his back brakes weren't working properly making the front work more. I never told him his calipers were frozen, they were however binding or holding pressure. I never once said he was driving with his brakes on the whole time. As for his rotors the Department of Transportation has a minimum specification rotors and drums can be machined to his rotors were below specs. I told him I could not machine them. Also I never told him he needed anything I did however explain to him to fix his brakes properly he should replace the wheel cylinders, rebuild not replace the calipers, and replace the rotors and bleed the braking system. As far as the shocks go I once again never told him he needed shocks. I did tell him his shocks were leaking and we could replace them if he wanted us to. Shocks are non brake related parts so it was not something I was concerned with. I was pointing it out to him for his own information. What Chris forgot to mention was that I told him about our open shop policy when he arrived there. I even asked him to stay and watch during the disassembly process so that he could see everything that was going on with his vehicle. I even told him I was physically walk him around the vehicle with me during the inspection process and we could measure the metal together. He declined to be apart of that left his cell phone # and told me to call him when it was inspected. The last thing he said to me before he walked out the door was and I quote I TRUST YOU. I am not defending Just Brakes as a matter of fact, I no longer work there. Some of the things that have been said about this company are more than likely true. I am defending myself as an individual. I am not or have ever been a crook. To be accused of being one is down right offensive. I ran one of the few honest shops in that company.