Brake pedal and brake pad (Focus Turnier 1)

The free travel of the brake pedal (press by hand) should be equal to a maximum of one third of the entire pedal travel. But this check will not detect worn brake pads, since in brake calipers with free travel, the elasticity of the brake piston pads and the serial runout (0.05 mm) of the brake disc are sufficient to automatically press the brake pads away from the brake disc after each braking.

When the pedal is released, the basic setting of the pad relative to the brake disc and the free travel of the brake pedal remain the same, at least until the pads are completely worn out. Then the free travel of the pedal will increase significantly. In this case, assume that the brake pads are worn out or possibly jammed in the caliper; sometimes the brake caliper also jams. If the free travel of the pedal has decreased after repeated bleeding, there may be air in the system: find out the underlying cause, eliminate the damage and bleed the air from the system as described below.