2005 CG Manual non-navi here in the Bay Area.

I've experienced an odd, inconsistent vibration in my brakes. There's a slight noise and I feel through the brake pedal a vibration - almost like something broke in the brake line, on the other side of the fire wall. It's only happened a few times, but it seems to happen when:

1: while braking and traveling over an uneven surface. I live in the City, so when coming to a stop sign, there are often patched roads or uneven surfaces at the stop signs. Coming to a stop from under 30 mph.

So far, this is the most reliable way to reproduce it. 99% of the time, I can reproduce this when traveling down hill.

2: This is hard to reproduce it this second way, but when braking harder than normal (but not really hard) I experience the same breaking/vibration sensation under the pedal.

I've never have a car with ABS, but this does not feel right. It's not a "pumping" sensation, but feels and sounds like something is breaking or shifting in the brake line.
Thoughts?

 

My first thought was ABS but have no definite idea... you can go by the rule of thumb - when in doubt, go back to the dealer and have a tech check it out.

 

If the feeling is the pedal vibrating very quickly and the sound is a very rapid and thudding, this is the ABS activating.

If there is minimal sound, but the vibration is constant throughout braking, this is a rotor warp issue. Regardless, take the car back to the dealer and demonstrate to them the problem. They should be able to best diagnose the situation.

 

Check your roters. Does your steering wheel shake as well?

 

mine does the same thing when breaking over spead bumps of breaking on an uneven surface. i figured it was the ABS kicking in.

 

I have the same thing.

Hasn't gotten worse or anything. I haven't complained to dealer.

 

After the first 2000 miles the brakes would start to vibrate if I was braking hard. The problem got worse after I had the tires rotated so either the balance is off or they didn't put the tire back on correctly. Personally, I think the brakes for this car really stink.

 

I love it how people say they hate the brakes on this car...

How many times do we have to say it. It's not the brakes, it's the tires. Improve the tires and watch your braking distances improve dramatically.

And as for the brake vibration...if you're using proper braking technique and not riding the brakes all the time, which is what 90% of drivers do, then you should not be experiencing the problem. If you are, there are other reasons for his.

One thing I discovered recently is that the tire pressures can actually cause the supposed vibration coming from the brakes. If your tires are underinflated, they will contribute in a large way to the vibration.

 

CGT, the brakes on most Honda (minus the S2000) are terrible. Too small for what they need to do... hence they suck. I must have warped my GS-R rotors 3 times since I've owned them. Tires will not do anything to solve that.

 

I'm on my 3rd set of rotors in 39,000 miles all replaced by the dealer under warranty because of the exact problems your describing.

 

I agree but everyone who's changed tires on the TSX say braking is improved. Tires don't solve the undersized brake problem but they definently help the undersized brakes get better traction.

 

I agree with you about the tires but mostly my comment was directed to the rotors. The rotors on my Accord had the same problem and replacing them with slotted rotors got rid of the problem.

As for riding the brakes I commute everyday on I95 (sudden stops from traffic, paniced stops from people in front of me trying to merge on entrance ramps, so on...) so my brakes take a beating but for a car like this I shouldn't be having this problem. Besides, only people with Auto transmissons drag the brakes.

You're right about the tire pressure. Over the weekend I had to add air to one and lower the pressure on the other. It did help the problem but it didn't go away. Best guess says tires are unbalanced or the dealer put them on wrong.

The bottom line is after a couple of hard brakes the entire braking system feels like crap (fade, shudder, etc ...)

 

How do you explain all the "Brake Vibration" threads on this form then?

I can't agree. In every other vehicle I've ever owned I have never had a problem with vibration like I've had on the TSX so I know its not my driving style. 75,000km's (47,000 miles) on my Civic and I still had 65% of the pads let and the rotors were fine.

The TSX has a rotor problem, and its happened to far too many people to simply say its a driving style problem.

 

I took my car in and after balancing the tires the car rides fine now (avoided the dealer). The brake vibration is getting worse so I'll probably replace the rotors soon. I'll also contact dealer and see what they can do. While in the shop there was a civic getting work done on it and I noticed the size and components of the brakes look exactly the same as the TSX. Even though they say size doesn't matter, the rear brakes and disk look puny.

 

so can you just get bigger brakes and solve this issue?

 

I'm thinking of buying aftermarket slotted/drilled disks which should fix the problem. Stoptech sells a complete brake kit but it costs $5,000 and requires a different set of rims. The salesperson once again reiterated that the larger brake kit will not decrease stopping distance and he said the TSX has very well balanced brakes. I think for daily driving a new set of rotors will do the trick.

 

It's all about Proper break-in. I've owned '91 integra, '01 GSR, and '04 TSX. NEVER had a rotor issue. The service manager at my local dealer is great. He went through proper vehicle break-in with me extensively, including brakes. For the first 200ish miles they need to be treated very gently, then you can start normal to hard breaking. He guaranteed me my rotors would warp if not followed. This is pretty much the same thing owners manual says.

 

Thats wy my dealer hasn't blinked an eye each time they've replaced my rotors. No questions asked no strange looks, nothing.

 

for some reason i dont think the dealer will be as nice to me and replace the rotors...

i'd rather just upgrade on my own and never have to deal w/ it anyways
I was looking at teh rotoras today. . .
but may also consider teh mugens from king motorsports

 

you can get your rotors resurfaced.