A method of ensuring the braking effect of brake actuators in a vehicle is described, each brake actuator having first and second components for producing the braking effect, where films on the first components which would interfere with the deployment of the braking effect are removed. In this method, when an activation condition is met, the brake actuators are activated to remove the films so that the second components are applied to the first components, thereby setting the vehicle deceleration so that little or no deceleration is perceived by the driver. In checking on whether the activation condition is met, a quantity describing operation of the accelerator pedal is taken into account.