fdl

Starting a new thread on this.

I've been told brake need to be changed. I have about 32,000 miles. This seems premature to me.

I'd like to hear when some other TSX owners had to change theirs.

dom

I'd tell them no. Go home, inspect them yourself. Or take pics and post em up here so we ca decide.

If they do need to be changed, do it yourself. Last thing you want is OEM front brake pads.

My AT front pads were changed at 75K and they still had 10-15% left. My MT wth 85K still as far as I can see has the original pads on, but they are well below 10% left.

Then agian maybe you brake too much.

jlukja

IMHO pads typically last around 30-35K miles (roughly 50K km.) but a lot of it has to do with your driving style. At my last service (18800mi.) they told me I was only down 2mm on the pads.

fdl

I'm going to do the front, just because they arent charging me labour. not sure about the back though.

jihan3

In the other thread (https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31769) you said that the dealership is machining the rotors. That could be why they're recommending that you change the pads. Did you ask them if their recommendation was wear based?

feelgood13

you shouldnt have to change your brakes unless it squeals. and when it gets to that point, a couple spritz of wd-40 now and then will take care of the annoying squeals.

shit, i'm divulging all my tricks for free...

jlukja

I missed that. Yes, when machining rotors you want to put on new pads.

new pads on old rotors = OK
old pads on new(or turned) rotors = not OK

xizor

I changed mine out a couple weeks ago at 30k miles and they had a ton of pad left on them, and I think I drive pretty aggresively

jiggaman

50K miles on mine and I just recently had a mechanic look at them when i was getting comptech headers installed and they still plenty of material left...regardless i still think the stock brake pads suck.

curls

I believe there's a brand new set of Hawk HPS pads for the TSX in the Black Market section right now.

FDL, if I were you, I'd get these and then have the Acura tech install them (labour is free, right?) when they machine the rotors.

The Hawk HPS pads are NIIIIICE (good initial bite, relatively low dust, and great fade resistance). Had 'em on two previous cars and will put them on the TSX in about 25,000km when these brakes are done.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

My rear pads were swapped out at about 23k miles on my 04 and I did the fronts at about 25k. The rears were almost totally done when I changed them out, but the fronts had a fair amount of pad life left on them. Of course, I do mostly city driving, so that generally is harder on the brake pads.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Brake pads need to be changed before they are down to the metal and ruin the rotors, even without squeals. WD-40 is not the correct lubricant for brake components. In fact, WD-40 has many uses but was never advertised as a lubricant and shouldn't be used as such.

miner

Both sets changed @ 62000 miles.

curls

WD-40 = Water Displacer (formulation 40).

Sure, it seems to prevent things from rusting/seizing, but that isn't because of lubricating properties - it's because of it not allowing water to ozidize the metal.

JTso is right again.

dom

That part was never in doubt.

spyguyTSX

at high speeds, i would say above 80mph, when i brake hard for a second, there is a slight vibration in the steering wheel, doesn't feel like the rotors are warped (cause i drove a car that had warped rotors), but upon normal braking at slower speeds, it doesn't happen.
i have close to 30K miles on a new 2005.
is this because of the weak rotors? bad pads?

Aziancreeper

My brakes squeal and the dealership insists it's normal and cannot hear anything.. This might sound stupid and obvious, but are you spraying the WD40 right on the rotors? The squeal when i brake very lightly, is annoying the heck out of me.....

Aziancreeper

If WD40 is not the correct lubricant for the squealing sound, what is the correct one? I have 32,000 KMS and do not need to change my brake pads yet, but this squealing is something i want to fix. the dealership says they cannot hear anything, but i hear it all the time? any ideas?

kboosman00

^^^ I concur with this statement; added that you also swap out your OEM rotors for UP Racing Brake Rotors you would definetly be saving yourself the heartache down the line when your shimmering returns. I've switched my OEM rotors and pads out approximately 6k miles ago and haven't looked back since. In fact I feel that it was one of the most beneficial mods I did to my CL9 to this point, aside from getting new shoes for her.

prnstr4life

My front pads on my 04 Accord with 42k at trade in had 50% of pad left and i owned it exactly 2 years.

my tsx with 16k miles had damn brake pulsation so i got them to install new pads and rotors for free.

once i replace them i will use Brembo blanks and Hawk or PBR pads

JTso

iTrader: (2)

You can try Loctite disc brake quiet. Remove and clean the pads/shims with brake cleaner before applying the product. The product that I used came from a Volvo dealer which applies wet but dries like a teflon coating.

TSX 'R' US

I've got ~35k miles on mine and still have some life left on them. But recently purchased a set of Hawk HPS's and I'm not waiting for the OEM's to wear out.

SodaLuvr

I went 89,000 miles on the original pads of a GM prior to changing them out. And this was with mostly city driving of 1-3 mi trips. If I can gain access to a camera, I'll post some pictures of the pads. There's still some material left on them.

I replaced with AutoZone Ceramic pads in the front and Semi-Metallics in the rear as I was a cheapass.

drivelikeafighterjet

I had to slam on my brakes at about 105 mph and now they seem to vibrate slightly when I brake normally. Does that mean new rotors?

Still Water

Before I upgraded the whole braking system, my rears were wearing down twice as fast as my fronts. The TSX is my 3rd FWD car and I've gotten in the habit of modulating the pedal to bring in the rears while braking rather than nose diving the front end of the car. I found that the TSX, given the right setup, does a very good job of 4-wheel braking under control and will use the rears if called upon retaining a more neutral feel. This was one of the primary reasons I upgraded the pads, rotors & lines. My only wish is that the rear rotors were the same size & configuration as the fronts. And yes it would look better when parked next to a B-mer.

aaronng

Just drive at 60mph, apply even and strong pressure on the brake pedal to slow you down to 10mph without locking the wheels. Then drive normally to let the discs cool down. Don't hold down the brake pedal hard at the traffic lights. Use the hand brake instead until it cools down.

chuson

How do you know if the car is braking w/ the rear or just front or all 4 together?? I mean how can you manage to control it??? Is there some technique require???

I'm switching my front pad to Hawk HPS soon, I hope it helps braking when it gets hot.

ExHack

Rears were replaced at 26.5K mi. Fronts still had 5mm on them.

shitbox

it lasted me 92,000 km.. the front still had around 50% left but the rear was gone..
but i changed it recently to aftermarket pads.

Still Water

Drive with your butt - modulate the brake pedal - feel for more of a squat vs. a dive.

Mokos23

How much does Acura typically charge for putting in new Brake pads? I just hit 31K on mine.

ssmtsx

I was quoted $213 for just the rear pads. My tsx has 34Kmiles on it and i was just informed that i'll need new rear pads before my next oil change. Where is a good place to get good pads online?

peter_mowat

There's a TSB (at least in Canada) for squealing breaks on early build 2004s. Apparently, they changed the design of the pads part way through production in '04.

curls

Can you scan it and have one of the mods put it on the sticky thread w/ TSB's? Any and all TSB's are great info to have for everyone.

Alin10123

Hows the squeeking? Are they as quiet as OEM? Did you use the stock rotors? Also, was it a huge improvement over stock in terms of braking quality? Did you get them on the front and back? or just the front?

thanks

Alin10123

Um... when the pad wears down the the point where it's squeeking, that means that it's hitting the wear indicators. When you hit the wear indicators, it's time to think about getting new pads. Not trying to think of ways to quiet them down. By doing that, one day you are going to forget your pads are low, and you will hit metal to metal. Then you just cost yourself new pads AND rotors.

curls

Squeaking was non-existant.

Used new Brembo blank rotors with them, and used the Hawk embedding method (a series of controlled hard stop to heat-treat the pads and get the right amount of pad material transferred to the rotor... its on their website).

Improvement over stock was VERY noticeable. Initial bite was much greater, and overall stopping power was considerably improved. I can just imagine the Hawk HP+ pads.

Just had them on the front, and had "F1" pads that my parts supplier recommends, on the back.


As for feelgood13's comment - there's a reason he was banned (being a retard).

xizor

I have the HPS front and back on RB front rotors and powerslot rears and they make absolutely no noise. My friend put a set of HPS on his S4 and didn't use any brake-quiet and his screech like a banshee, so make sure you apply some liberally when installing