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Hi guys!
So I am looking into doing the brakes on my car. Now I am wondering (and a bit concerned) if say I were to do the brakes and a few months from now something happens where the brakes fail and I get into an accident, will the insurance company cover me?
I know it varies from country to country and company to company but from what you have experience how does that usually work. I am from Canada so it is a bit different here than say US or UK but just curious to know before I call the insurance company.
As always thank you very much!
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I’m from canada too and I can tell you without a doubt that it’s your life, so make a good choice.
If you know what you are doing, then you will take it out for a test run after and check it right away. If it’s good, then a few months down the line will be good too, so nothing to worry about.
If you are not sure, have a knowledgeable/experienced mechanic friend look over your work and see them do it in person and take notes.
Either way, don’t be reckless and don’t worry about a couple of months from now. If you mess up, you won’t make it past your neighbours front yard without noticing. Just be sure to torque all the bolts to spec and follow all the ERIC THE CAR GUY TIPS.
As for the insurance, not a big deal as we have no fault insurance in canada and liability insurance, so you’re good. If you have a warranty, it might void it if you demonstrate gross negligence though. Good Luck!
I’ve always wondered about this also…. it’s probably most important and high liability system of your vehicle… yet it’s the most DIY performed service… I lose sleep at night thinking about my brake jobs and torquing all the lug nuts correctly. I would die if someone was hurt as a result of my work.
I have faith in my work. Especially with the tips from Eric. However, I still wonder if my brakes were to fail and cause an accident and the insurance company tools and sees it is my fault. Mistakes do happen even with pros. Also ya Ontario is “no fault” but it is “no fault” in terms of the law. However, with insurance someone is still at fault, unlike michigan which is a true no-fault state.
It all boils down to what the insurance policy reads.
Insurance companies don’t pay out easily, and they have 99% of the power and resources.
If you did the brakes and a few months go by and
they fail. I would say mechanical failure and you
should be covered.Here in DK the insurance would generally cover, but in large accidents the police here calls out their own automotive investigator which takes a closer look at the car to try to determine the cause of the accident. If he then finds that the cause of your accident is down to you having not done the repair right, you can risk getting a hefty fine from the insurance etc.
But I wouldn’t “think” the police would automatically assume the average joe has tried to work on, or fix their own brakes and might originally suspect the shop where the car was fixed. BUT BUT BUT, you as the driver might still be “at fault” even if a shop/garage fixed your car, you will be given the blame and/or fined initially and then its down to you to hound the shop/garage for the bad job and hope they admit it and will pay the fine.
If not?, then you are SOL
In general, most of the things you could screw up on a brake job would be evident WAY before several months down the road. Look things over carefully once you have it back together, and go easy and careful when you first test it. If it works for a week, it’ll work until it wears out, or something breaks in it.
If brakes fail several months after you have done them, I would expect it to be a mechanical failure unrelated to the service you performed on them.
The ONLY thing I can readily think of that you can screw up on brakes which might take a few days to manifest it’s self is twisting the brake hose around buy turning the caliper over. If you do that, the brake hose will fail eventually, but might take several days to a week before it does.
Thank you so much for all the posts and replies guys. Been so helpful!
So this is the update:
Called the insurance company and I explained my question and they said that this matter is not with the insurance company but with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
So, I just called the ministry and they said. “you are aloud to do whatever work you want to do to your vehicle by law, either it be brakes, engine, transmission, etc, Except commercial vehicles” and that “you are only aloud to work on your own personal vehicle(s) because it is your property BUT NOT aloud to help or work on someone else’s vehicle, such as a friends and etc” (unless of course you are a certified profession)
Not sure the reason your not aloud to work on a friends car (or someone else’s) but it does make sense because by law it isnt your property and the liability is than on you and etc.
So this is the update:
Called the insurance company and I explained my question and they said that this matter is not with the insurance company but with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
So, I just called the ministry and they said. “you are aloud to do whatever work you want to do to your vehicle by law, either it be brakes, engine, transmission, etc, Except commercial vehicles” and that “you are only aloud to work on your own personal vehicle(s) because it is your property BUT NOT aloud to help or work on someone else’s vehicle, such as a friends and etc” (unless of course you are a certified profession)
Not sure the reason your not aloud to work on a friends car (or someone else’s) but it does make sense because by law it isnt your property and the liability is than on you and etc.
When you do the brakes on any vehicle you need to follow all of the procedures outlines by the manufacturer. To be safe replace all of the following components every time with new ones.
1) Rotor’s
2) Brake Pads
3) Caliper Mounting Bolts
Also check all the major components of the system like the Master cylinder, lines, etc.
I have been an Automotive Technician for over 40 years and I have enough confidence in my own ability that I never think of my work failing and killing someone.
If you’re afraid of liability in everything you do then stay in the house 24 hours a day and play with yourself.
If you’re a technician for over 40 years I would hope you have the confidence and ability.
However one should be cautious and worry. Your brakes fail and you could kill someone else’s father, mother or child and ruin someone’s life, or have a family member killed. My own safety is the least of my worries. I don’t want anyone to be injured.
Also if the insurance says it is the persons own error and doesn’t pay up then you literally lose everything and have to declare bankruptcy. Oh ya! and also have on your conscience the death of someone else or the death of your family member the rest of your life.
So in my mind it is worth to do a little research and inquire when you are repairing a safety item.
But hey if your happy with someone who did a bad safety repair and didn’t do their research driving around on the same street as your family members, than all the power to you.
The point I was trying to make that if you’re scared of something bad happening then don’t do the repair yourself.
I think that all Automotive Techs know the possibility of liability going in. If everyone was afraid of a liability nobody would sell tires, steering components, or brake parts or do car repairs.
when i did my own brakes for the first time ever, i never wondered about insurance or not. i would think it would be difficult to blame the owner (who did the brake job) the cause of the failure as long as the owner doesn’t say anything.
but like many posters have already mentioned, if you did your brakes for the first time, and something is wrong, you will know within the first test-drive 99% of the time. there is only so much that could go wrong. i think the biggest thing a beginner has to worry about is torquing down all the nuts, especially the lug nuts. the lug nuts were something i forgot to torque down on my very first brake job. never again though.
[quote=”wysetech” post=72599]I have been an Automotive Technician for over 40 years and I have enough confidence in my own ability that I never think of my work failing and killing someone.
If you’re afraid of liability in everything you do then stay in the house 24 hours a day and play with yourself.[/quote]
Love your quote Wise Tech !!! Great way to look at life…. keep it up
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