'Your Car Will Not Stop:' Car Flipper Says You Must Pump Your Brakes After You Get New Ones. Is That True?
"Bro learned this the hard way."
You can torque your lug nuts and double-check the calipers, but if you forget to pump your brakes after a pad replacement, all that effort could end in disaster. One TikTok creator found that out firsthand, and now hundreds of commenters are piling on with their own near-death confessions.
The viral clip from Levi Finlayson-Gumbs (@levifinlaysongumbs) shows him in a very nervous and agitated state telling viewers to be sure to pump their brakes numerous times after they put on new brake pads. The unspoken warning is that failing to do so could be a potentially deadly oversight.
The video struck a nerve with TikTok’s car-savvy audience. Shaky and breathless, the creator urgently warns: “You gotta pump your brakes—your car will not stop.” It didn’t take long for the comment section to erupt into a blend of comedy and commiseration.
One user joked, “Judging from the Naruto music, bro learned this the hard way,” while another deadpanned, “He didn’t pump his brakes apparently.” Others chimed in with personal horror stories: “Bro pushed his brakes 50 times in a matter of a second to survive just now.”
The shared lesson? This is a real-world problem waiting to happen.
Why Pumping Your Brakes Actually Matters
Whether you're swapping brake pads in your driveway or getting them replaced at a shop, there's a critical but often overlooked step once the job is done: rebuilding brake pressure by pumping the pedal.
When new pads are installed, the caliper pistons are pushed back to make room for the thicker pad material. This creates an air gap between the pads and the rotor. Until that gap is closed, your brake pedal may sink to the floor with little to no stopping power, because hydraulic pressure hasn’t been restored yet.
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According to veteran mechanics, after replacing brake pads, you should gently press the brake pedal multiple times to bring the pistons back into proper position and ensure the pads contact the disc evenly.
Even the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns about brake-related failures, which accounted for roughly 22% of critical vehicle failures that led to crashes in a crash causation survey.
While the comment section was full of jokes, the core advice behind the video holds up to professional scrutiny. Automotive experts and certified mechanics agree: pumping your brakes after a pad change is essential, especially in DIY jobs where no shop technician verifies pedal feel before releasing the vehicle.
EricTheCarGuy, another popular educator on YouTube, explains in his brake replacement tutorials that skipping this step can result in “a soft or dead pedal,” especially if you also change calipers or bleed the system.
In a dealership or pro shop setting, this step is done as part of final quality control. But for DIYers who throw the wheels back on and hit the road without testing, it’s a common and preventable mistake.
A Common DIY Car Repair Mistake
As more drivers turn to YouTube and TikTok for auto repair guidance, stories like Finlayson-Gumbs’ are becoming more common. Hashtags like #brakerepair and #diymechanic regularly generate millions of views, encouraging weekend wrenchers to take on projects that used to be left to professionals.
But with that empowerment comes risk. Inexperienced DIYers often skip critical steps, from improperly torquing wheels to failing to bleed air from the system. And because brake work involves hydraulics and heat-sensitive components, even small oversights can lead to catastrophic failure.
A 2015 AAA survey found that 35% of Americans admitted to skipping or delaying recommended vehicle maintenance. As road traffic deaths remain high nationwide, hovering near 40,000 annually in the U.S. according to the NHTSA, safety missteps like this carry real consequences.
Motor1 reached out to Levi via direct message. We’ll update this if he responds.
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