Honda Owners Say Brakes Are Made Of Worthlessness — Honda Hasn't Responded

[Drew Dowdell]

-Consumerist

While it's OK for messages from top-secret government agencies to self destruct, that's not the case for car brakes. But more than 200 owners of 2008 and 2009 Accords have complained that keeping their brakes in working condition has proven to be a mission impossible. Paul's 2009 Accord is suffering from bakes breakage:

I recently (March 7) bought a new 2009 Honda Accord, and after 2 days it has brake issues. I have taken it in to Honda 5 times to still have no resolution. They "deglazed" the rotors first, a few hours after I got it back, same thing. Now they claim Honda knows about the issue and is investigating the issue.

I've got a brand new $30K car with malfunctioning brakes, and Honda knows about it and won't fix the problem. I need help.

Paul should start here and keep pressing. Honda has been known to respond to pressure after putting off dealing with important issues for as long as possible.

[Drew Dowdell]

This doesn't sound like Honda.... at least the "not responding" part.

[G. David Felt]

Another reason to NOT buy Asian.

[Z-06]

Who needs breaks Yo! When Vee-Tyack has power to STOP ANYTHING.

[gm4life]

Yeah Honda has pretty good customer service, this sounds like a Toyota problem... Are we sure the owner hasn't confused his Camry as an Accord?

[A Horse With No Name]

200 cars is not a very large sample group. I wonder if they got some bad brake pads from a vendor or something.

Now if it was Toyota...

Chris

[siegen]

"Honda knows about the issue and is investigating the issue."

"Honda knows about it and won't fix the problem."

Maybe Honda has to finish their investigation before they can fix the problem? Honda will probably issue a TSB or recall given the number of similar complaints, once a fix is ready.

It seems like most of these complaints are people experiencing premature rear brake pad wear, and are having to replace the rear pads (and turn or replace rotors) around 12-15k. Not a big deal or a safety issue, given it is roughly 200~ complaints out of the 400,000~ 2008 Accords sold (not even counting 2009 models).

This likely is caused by a bad batch of rear brake pads or rotors, as 66Stang pointed out. After replacing with good pads/rotors I doubt they will have trouble again, as long as the maintenance was done right by the dealership, and not half-assed. The dealership should do this for free, although I imagine many of them will try to get labor out of it.

As for Paul, I think he should demand that the dealership replace the rear brake pads and rotors with new parts. Deglazing the rotors doesn't fix faulty parts. It sounds to me like his dealership is either dumb/lazy or he is. Why he got the privilege of being on the main page of an auto blog is beyond me.

Edited May 26, 2009 by siegen

[regfootball]

simply put its a QC issue and regardless of the origin and supplier, the product says honda and honda needs to own up to it.

i thought i read something recently about honda fit issues like no protection for the radiators or ac compressors or something and lots of owners having issues with rocks wrecking their fits. something a little extra protection in the front end would take care of. remember the last gen fits with corroded cables or gas tanks or whatever in the floor pan? honda likes to think it optimizes the engineering but that is merely another word for shortcuts i think.

these people can feel bad for buying a product that doesn't work but in a way its fair justice for buying such an average and ugly car in the first place.

Edited May 26, 2009 by regfootball

[Camino LS6]

Interesting.

I'm not sure it is still the case, but I know that using any aftermarket brake pads on Hondas was considered to be a big mistake for years. For some reason, Hondas would eat the aftermarket pads in short order erasing the savings vs. Honda pads.

Maybe Honda changed pad suppliers?

[A Horse With No Name]

Maybe Honda changed pad suppliers?

Ding ding ding...we have a winner here, methinks.

Chris

[ocnblu]

siegen, perhaps he's on the front page because the media has always unnecessarily focused on every little problem with a domestic car, and Autoblog is trying to be balanced. 200 Chevys or 200 Hondas, it isn't a large problem, but I hope Honda comes up with a fix that doesn't involve blaming owners.

[daves87rs]

Ding ding ding...we have a winner here, methinks.

Chris

+1

[daves87rs]

siegen, perhaps he's on the front page because the media has always unnecessarily focused on every little problem with a domestic car, and Autoblog is trying to be balanced. 200 Chevys or 200 Hondas, it isn't a large problem, but I hope Honda comes up with a fix that doesn't involve blaming owners.

Could be...

[cletus8269]

but at least there are not any break weights showing right???? Edited May 27, 2009 by cletus8269

[84Cressida]

Yeah Honda has pretty good customer service, this sounds like a Toyota problem... Are we sure the owner hasn't confused his Camry as an Accord?

Um, what is that supposed to mean?

[84Cressida]

200 cars is not a very large sample group. I wonder if they got some bad brake pads from a vendor or something.

Now if it was Toyota...

Chris

If it was Toyota what? That they totally suck and are the evil empire hell bent on destroying us all?

Edited May 27, 2009 by 84Cressida

[Intrepidation]

Brakes are overrated.

As others have said, sounds like a bad batch of brakes from the supplier.

[A Horse With No Name]

If it was Toyota what? That they totally suck and are the evil empire hell bent on destroying us all?

They don't totally suck, and we have one Toyota product in the family.

However, Toyota just doesn't IMHO have that solid, well built feeling of Honda, VW, Mazda, Nissan, and some of the better Ford and GM products.

Everyone here enjoys bashing Toyota. Get over it.

That being said, I could almost see a second gen MR2 in my garage at some point. Or a Toyota powerplant in a Lotus Elise....

But welcome to the boards, 84. I for one look forward to hearing more from you.

Chris

[SingleStylish]

"Honda knows about the issue and is investigating the issue."

"Honda knows about it and won't fix the problem."

Maybe Honda has to finish their investigation before they can fix the problem? Honda will probably issue a TSB or recall given the number of similar complaints, once a fix is ready.

It seems like most of these complaints are people experiencing premature rear brake pad wear, and are having to replace the rear pads (and turn or replace rotors) around 12-15k. Not a big deal or a safety issue, given it is roughly 200~ complaints out of the 400,000~ 2008 Accords sold (not even counting 2009 models).

This likely is caused by a bad batch of rear brake pads or rotors, as 66Stang pointed out. After replacing with good pads/rotors I doubt they will have trouble again, as long as the maintenance was done right by the dealership, and not half-assed. The dealership should do this for free, although I imagine many of them will try to get labor out of it.

As for Paul, I think he should demand that the dealership replace the rear brake pads and rotors with new parts. Deglazing the rotors doesn't fix faulty parts. It sounds to me like his dealership is either dumb/lazy or he is. Why he got the privilege of being on the main page of an auto blog is beyond me.

I don't think it is a quality issue as much as it is a nuisance. Honda designed the rear caliper to adjust when the parking break is set. If you have a death grip and set the parking break to high you have set the rear pads close to the disc. They will wear until you can set them further in again. Even more annoying is that the insides wear faster than the outside due to the lack of a tension that would keep the pads equal in separation from the disc/rotor. This isn't a quality issue but, it could be given a slightly more ornate design that would prevent the occasional user from setting the parking break to hard and setting the pads permanantly closer to the disc.

I have changed a couple of sets myself and have found the work around to be a "three click" rule on the parking break. Current set has gone 75k.

[siegen]

I don't think it is a quality issue as much as it is a nuisance. Honda designed the rear caliper to adjust when the parking break is set. If you have a death grip and set the parking break to high you have set the rear pads close to the disc. They will wear until you can set them further in again. Even more annoying is that the insides wear faster than the outside due to the lack of a tension that would keep the pads equal in separation from the disc/rotor. This isn't a quality issue but, it could be given a slightly more ornate design that would prevent the occasional user from setting the parking break to hard and setting the pads permanantly closer to the disc.

I have changed a couple of sets myself and have found the work around to be a "three click" rule on the parking break. Current set has gone 75k.

That is an astute observation. I notice the inner pads tend to wear more on the cars who's brakes I have changed.