Automotive spare parts and accessories/Testing Technology

Brakes particularly stressed in the winter
When changing to winter tires, have your brakes checked
Drivers should have their brakes checked when changing from summer to winter tires. With the winter season beginning, this is the advice from brakes expert Bosch. The combination of the temperature extremes encountered in winter and of salt spread on roads can place a great strain on braking systems and cause increased wear. Drivers should therefore get their brakes fit for the winter. Statistics provided by technical monitoring organizations show that brakes very often exhibit defects in parts that are subject to wear.

Before the vehicle goes on the car lift for a wheel change, the workshop can first check the braking effect on a test bench. When taking the wheels off, mechanics can see if the disk-brake pads, brake disks or brake drums are worn and have to be changed. They also check to see if moving parts such as the brake caliper, brake piston and pads, and the parking brake are stiff. The workshop will go on to check the brake hoses for cracks and bubbles, and measure the boiling point of the brake fluid. If it is too low, it can impair the braking effect when the brakes have been used a lot.

If defective or worn components have to be replaced, the workshop can find the replacement part it needs from among the 10,000 spare parts in the extensive range of braking system components made by Bosch, one of the world’s leading brake manufacturers. Bosch was the first company to bring important innovations in braking technology to the market, such as the antilock braking system (ABS) and electronic stability program (ESP), and has played a key role in their further development.


The Bosch Group is a leading global manufacturer of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology. In fiscal 2005, some 251,000 associates generated sales of 41.5 billion euros. Set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering,” the Bosch Group today comprises a manufacturing, sales, and after-sales service network of more than 280 subsidiaries and some 13,000 Bosch service centers in over 140 countries.

The special ownership structure of the Bosch Group guarantees its financial independence and entrepreneurial freedom. It makes it possible for the company to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future, as well as to do justice to its social responsibility in a manner reflective of the spirit and will of its founder. A total of 92 % of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by the charitable foundation Robert Bosch Stiftung. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG.

Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com.

PI5666 - December 2006

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Ulf-Malte Wünsch

Mass Media, TV, Radio

Robert Bosch GmbH

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