JeffTSX021

Hello!

So, i have an 07 TSX with approximately 34k miles on it. I took the car in on Saturday for an oil change and tire rotation. During the multi-point inspection, the tech informed the service advisor that I need new rear brake pads. Do rear pads on the TSX need replacement this early? I thought I'd get at least 50k out of the brakes. Anyone else experience this?

Thanks!

str8 tsx

I got about 45k out of my rears before they wore down to the indicators (got a little more out of my fronts).

nj2pa2nc

Depends on how you drive. If you are in stop and go traffic or you jam on them at red lights then the life of the brakes is not long. On the otherhand mostly highway driving like I do helps make the brakes last longer. I had my car's oil changed last week and they did the usual inspection. According to their findings-the front brakes were 8 and the rears a 6 (in the green zone-still good). Oh my car has 108K+ miles. Original brakes on it.

LuvMyTSX

Yes, it depends. It is not unusual to only get the mileage you got out of yours. I also replaced mine around 30k. Also, it seems the rears wear out faster than the fronts on this car.

1Louder

I'm 80/20 highway to city, and I'm at 50K with plenty left.

Miamicarfan

My rear brakes also wore down faster than my front pads. Had to replace them for first time at about 35000miles.

That is so strange. Is this unusual? In other cars with four wheel disc brakes, don't the front pads usually wear out faster than the rear pads?

I have driven mostly older cars in the past where i had front discs but rear drums. In that configuration, the front pads always wore down before rear brakes. Is it the opposite with four wheel disc brakes??

vollum

Rear pads are thinner than the front...half as thick new...Hence they wear out faster than the fronts...Same with the Accord..

1Louder

Since there are some people in this thread who seem like they'd know...

How thick are the pads new? Mine had 9mm front 5mm back left on them @ 45K miles.

I did try to search - both here and the internet. Closest I found was 10mm, but wasn't sure if that was a standard or not.

earbuckle

I just replaced all 4 wheel pads on my 2006 TSX, due to the rear "squeal" indicators starting to sound. 68K on the odo (I'm original owner). Fronts still had good thickness, but I decided to do all at once. New front and rear pads were about same thickness, but rears do seem to wear faster than the fronts, maybe because they are so much smaller. Put Wagner ceramics on the front and AutoZone Duralast Gold (NAO) on the rear. Braking is very good and quiet. A very easy DIY job; retracting the rear calipers was the only tricky part (hint: they twist clockwise back into the caliper).

litesout

I just did my rear brakes yesterday. Got about 39k out of them before I got into the indicators. There was a little left, but definitely thin enough that they needed changing. I put OEM back on.

racerx12345

How much does it cost to replace the rear brakes from a fair auto repair facility (not the dealer)?

Simba91102

Service prices vary so much by region that any suggestions (other than any that are local to to you) would be of limited value I think. You may want to call around in your area for estimates.

philliesfan980

I have to agree with Simba - you should really call around. But to get a real high level estimate, I'd go with $300 an axel, which would be for parts and labor.

BluLabelCL9

iTrader: (1)

Replaced my rears a few weeks ago at 35k. OEM pads were ~$50. Quick 20 minute DIY job= $free.99

mrgold35

60% hwy/40% city, 70K on odo, replaced rear pads around 38K with OEM, fronts are still A-OK (might see 85-90K from front pads). I haven't checked the rear pads in a while, I might be due again soon.

Suesy

That's very interesting. I have the exact car and on my last visit for oil change and tire rotation they also told me I need new rear brake pads. I have 35,000 on my car. Hmmmmmmmmm

jackflash

Did front and rears yesterday, with 96,000 miles on original OEM's, 2006 TSX. Rears had begun to squeal and were completely worn out. (85% highway, 15% city). Prices in my area $140-$150 per axle, and even more at the dealer. My son and I did the whole job with total job cost less than $150, and that included flushing the system with fresh synthetic fluid, cramic pads, and all 4 rotors turned by O'Reilys. I highly recommend using the rear piston comprssing tool available for rent from O'reilys (it's free really, if you bring it back to them in good condition). Do NOT try to compress the rear piston with a clamp, it must be turned clockwise while compressing. I did spend exra $ on the pad kits with the hardware, which I would not do again since I discovered the orinal TSX hardware would have been quite usable.

Oh yes, your style of driving and how much stop and go traffic you deal with has a very significant effect on the life of your pads. I use engine/transmission braking whenever I can to save wear on brakes.

visuelz

I agree with jack. However, I use both brakes and engine when stopping since I like to brake late

syee99

I'd be interested to find this out too. My stealership told me I was down to 10% left when I had it in for the Type D service with 40,000km or roughly 27,000m on the odometer. I ended up replacing them but when I went to look at their inspection report, it shows 6.5mm on the rear and 8mm on the front. The fronts were replaced in the spring so they're virtually new (Acura says it's at 90%) so i find it hard to believe that 6.5mm is considered 10%.

I think I got swindled on the rear pad replacement - partially my fault for not looking over the report before I OK'ed the brake replacement. You can guarantee that I'll never go back to that dealership again.

philliesfan980

I'm not intending to de-rail the thread, but I heard engine/transmission braking is really hard on the transmission. To me, it's cheaper/easier to replace the brakes earlier than to replace a costly transmission.

But I do agree that your style of driving really plays a big part in brake replacement. It's amazing to see how many idiots out there go all out during city driving just to slam on their brakes 5 seconds later.

BonzoAPD

20 minutes to replace brakes? Is it really that easy?

Simba91102

Personally, I think that has to be an exaggeration. I've done it a couple of times (my 05 and my wife's 07), and I'll agree that it's an easy job (assuming you have the tools, which I do and I actually know what I'm doing)(I only add that to qualify my opinion). Call me slow, but to do it carefully and cleanly, I'd say more like an hour or so (just for pads).

kozman18

looks like similar experience on the 2nd generation; 2010 TSX with 48km (30k miles) and i need new rear brake pads; albeit i do a lot of city driving; but i don't recall having to do this as early on my first gen TSX? disconcerting feeling

1Louder

FWIW, my 06 rear brake pads were gone at 75K. Strangely enough the fronts looked only 50% worn. I did replace the rears myself. Took more like 75 minutes, only because I went very slow and it was my first time. I found all the instruction I needed on YouTube. The auto parts store loaned me the tool to reset the rear piston - in all I was only out $50 for pads and fluid. Well worth the do-it-yourself approach - all of the shops wanted $300 because they insist on resurfacing the rotors.

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

the rear brakes wear first b/c the rear brakes engage first prior to the fronts to minimize nose dive under braking. this is per a former SA of mine who also worked at a honda dealer foerver. accord/TSX...similar. our accord does the same thing. rear wear before the fronts. mainly city driving maybe every 25-30k mi for the rear pads.

drive hwy and you'll spare your brakes.

Mskierki

This is not true. Whoever told you that had a misconception on how braking systems work. All of the pads engage at the same time (unless abs is trying to correct).

In all modern cars the front brakes do ~75% of the braking.

1Louder

^ Then why do the rears wear out long before the fronts? Less surface area?

Mskierki

Less surface area is definitely contributes. It is also the fact that the pads are closer to center so the rotor is spinning faster wearing away more material.

Boulder TSX

One documented reason for rear brakes wearing faster is VSA. If you drive with it on, the rear brakes are used every time you take a corner and turn, to stabilize the handling characteristics. Honda had a well-publicized problem with premature rear brake wear in the 2003-2007 Accord, (the first Honda with VSA standard). Lawsuits were filed....one was filed for the 2G TSX. (Look it up.) They have adjusted the dynamics in models since, but it is still a contributor to rear brake pad wear in many TSXs and 7G Accords.

A solution: Just switch off the VSA when you don't need it. Car & Driver suggests it for more spirited and fun driving on dry pavement with the 1G TSX anyway ...it may also save your rear brakes.

Update: I did a quick search and found dozens of articles, but here's one thread, right here on AcuraZine: https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tsx-problems-fixes-145/rear-brakes-premature-wear-769409/

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

well here's some interesting wiki reading:
Brake wear class action lawsuit

In September 2009, a class action was filed alleging that "the braking system on 2008, 2009, and certain 2010 Honda Accord vehicles as well as 2009 and certain 2010 Acura TSX vehicles ... suffers from a defect that causes excessive force to be applied to the vehicles' rear wheels. One consequence of this defect is that the vehicles' rear brake pads wear out and require replacement about every 15,000 to 20,000 miles, far more frequently than in a properly functioning braking system."[26] On April 6, 2010, a preliminary settlement to the class action was announced where Honda would reimburse owners for a portion of their prior brake repair expenses, and Honda would also pay up to $150 for owners to have redesigned brake pads installed.[27][28] Final court approval of the settlement was granted on July 29, 2010.[29]

Mskierki

I was under the impression that the VSA is only doing something when the symbol in the dash is on. I wouldn't think that it would constantly be doing things on every turn. Do you typically feel it doing something as you are driving around?

SeaJay

I only notice it when driving spirited and pushing my tires limits. You might be right. The only other time I ever see the VSA light come on is when I'm hydroplaning or sliding into a snow bank

Boulder TSX

I think that's one of the issues behind the class action lawsuit. If it only engaged in the rare instance that the light comes on, (I agree, I rarely see it outside of very heavy snow or very icy roads), there would be not much opportunity for excessive wear. But apparently it was found to be a little more involved on a regular basis than was intended or claimed.

All I can say is this: My 2006 has 47,000 miles on it...I drive with the VSA off most of the time. My dealer recently measured my original rear brake pads -- they were at 85%.

07tsx20

iTrader: (1)

i just replaced my rear brake pads for the first time and the odo is 57k i have a 2007 tsx

SeaJay

Anyone needed to resurface their rear rotors?
I changed out my pads at 75k. Front was about %40 and rear had probably %20 so needed to be done.

I want to get new rotors, but dunno if the rear ones need to be changed too. Front are not warped but do have some ridges in them and the OEM pad baked in some crap so I get a little shudder.

Simba91102

Rotors are fairly inexpensive and I would certainly recommend replacing them whenever the pads are replaced.

As far as rear brake pad wear is concerned (we got 100K miles out of the fronts and rears on the 07 TSX), it would appear that based on the posts here, no one really knows why the rear pads wear fairly quickly (sometimes). That includes a class action suit that did little but enrich a few lawyers (pretty much what all class actions suits do by the way....).

Turn the VSA off "until you need it"? That seems to me to be kind of like closing the barn door after the horse decides to head south or turning the depth finder on in my boat after I've run aground. Logic that I think a reasonable person might question.... Seriously though, VSA is a sophisticated safety feature that often works invisibly and I can't imagine why I'd want to shut it off (other than for a track day perhaps).

Boulder TSX

Car & Driver did a column on VSA/Traction control a few years back, (I'll try to find it), and they found that it was a largely unnecessary 'granny feature'. (Much like your opinion of the Maintenance Minder, if I recall correctly, Simba. And BTW, I agree on that...if you know how to care for a car, it's not needed.)

Yes, VSA can help in some situations, especially if you are on snowy, wet or icy roads or if you somehow get the car out of control...but 98% of the time on dry pavement, an experienced driver can do as well or sometimes better. (For example, I don't like the way it handles starting from stop on ice. Most of the time, I can get the TSX going more steadily on ice with it off.) I do use it in rain or snowstorms...or on say the Loveland Pass at 14,000 feet.

Otherwise I leave it off.

The main thing gained in shutting off the VSA in driving on dry pavement is more neutral handling. As was alluded to earlier, VSA gets involved more often than one might think, and has a downgrading effect on cornering and handling -- and the tests C&D ran confirmed it.

nj2pa2nc

Leave VSA on all the time. 147k miles on brakes with life on them

TLtrigirl

iTrader: (1)

^^i think you're the exception to the brake wear since you drive a lot of hwy miles.

nj2pa2nc

That highway included the traffic of the DC, Richmond, Baltimore areas and many more places. Numerous congested areas.