TheGoodGuy

I just took my car for the B1 service, and the service advisor tells me that my brakes are shot at 25%

Mind you this is an Automatic (not sure if that has something to do with it).

On the first service (7200 miles) - Front Brakes - 80% / Rear Brakes 60%

Second Service (13600 Miles) - Front Brakes (unknown - at the dealer right now), Rear 25%

First off the brake bias should be front not rear.
Tech says that because the braking is set for 1:1 the brakes are wearing faster. I dont buy that BS. I hve been around long enough to know that even 1:1 ratio it should have even wear not 75% gone 13xxx miles (start squealing about 1000 miles ago)

Something is wrong.. should i call acura client services?

If I have to do a brake job - I would like to put some harder compound that will do better for braking - perhaps Stoptech or Hawk HP or whatever.

What should I do.. i denied the brake job for now, i'll do it when i get back from the bay area.. hope it holds. But this royally sucks.

TheGoodGuy

Those with similar mileage.. whats your brakes at?

LuvMyTSX

If you read some of the brake threads over in 1G, you will see that the rear brakes on our cars usually do wear faster than the fronts. So that is not BS. I think the/one reason was because the rear rotors are thinner than the fronts.

However, at 13k miles, you should have plenty of life left. I'm not sure exactly what your brake problem is, but many in 1G have replaced theirs with aftermarket parts like Stoptech, Rotora, Brembo, Power Slot, etc.

Brakes wearing too quickly or becoming warped, or vibrating due to brake deposits is a common problem in 1Gs. I actually switched to aftermarket parts at around 30k miles due to horrible vibrating.

MaineMDX

I was hoping the TSX wouldn't have the same problem the Accord has been experiencing. Something to do with Electronic Brake Force Distribution and highway driving.

TheGoodGuy

Okay I am now home.

First Service @7200 miles - 80% front, 60% rear
Second Service @ 13650 - 70% front, 25% rear

The tech says this is fairly common for the TSX.. told me there was another car in with similar brake ratio on the front/back

Apparently they are using a softer brake compound. I dont have a warped disc or anything. I have no vibrations, just that brake noise.

I believe Honda/Acura has set the car up with a brake bias to the rear to prevent nose dives but also to increase its bite has given it softer compounds on the rear. At my driving level, mixed driving I am going to be going through 2 sets of rear pads a year. The service advisor told me they dont turn the rear rotors, just add the pads, cause turning the rotors will mean changing them every year.


Needless to say I am unhappy. Honda / Acura is going to hear from me really soon not by phone but by certified US mail. They either give teh TSX better brakes all around (4 pot up front / 2 rear) and adjust bias or pay for lifetime rear brake pads for that car for all TSX owners. Cause at this rate I'll be going through 2 sets every year..

LuvMyTSX

......and that's why you should replace them with a better set of brakes (aftermarket). Problem solved.

TheGoodGuy

I dont mind getting aftermarket, but if the stock brakes are shitty to begin with, its a manufacturing issue. Its not the end users responsiblity to upgrade brakes to circumvent a design issue. After all it still is a design issue if it goes in 15K to the rear.

Normal braking 70% front 30% rear. In this car we are seeing 70% rear and 30% front.

That my friend is a design issue.

mucter

Yeah I noticed that the back brakes on my 2g are dusting a lot more than the other cars I've had (and I've had many). So I'd imagine that, yes, they are a very soft compound that wears fast. Probably to enhance the feel and keep them quiet. At any rate, just switch to some Hawks and you'll be fine. Its just brake wear, its not the end of the world.

HeavyDuty

Mine were worn after logging a bunch of miles during Thanksgiving & Christmas last year. When I returned home, the fronts and backs were warped enough to where it bothered me. They machined them on the car and they have been OK since. Guess I'll see what's up with my next service. I have 17k miles on my car now.

09TSXTech

I took mine in last month for B1 service, it has 21K km or 13,500 miles on the odometer. My front pad is 6.5mm and rear 3 mm, so I will definitely need to replace the rear by the next service.

Funny, my previous ride was 90 Civic Si, the rear shoes lasted 7 years and still had at least 20% left when I replaced them in 08.

JD23

I agree with you that your brakes should not be replaced so quickly. The argument that you should have to replace the stock brakes with an aftermarket part to get decent brake life is pretty silly, and seems to exonerate Honda for a faulty brake design. I had to replace the front brakes on my current car(not a TSX) after four years and 25,000 miles of mostly city driving. I still have not replaced the rear brakes after five years and 30,000 miles.

Viper98912

Good luck with that one.

LuvMyTSX

No one is saying that you should have to, it's just the rest of us have accepted the issue, bought aftermarket parts, and moved on. Yes, it sucks to shell out the money when you shouldn't have to, but fix the problem and move on.

nj2pa2nc

when I had my 06 tsx in for service this past Wednesday they checked the brakes. They measured 70% for the front and 60% for the back. Not bad for 74,000+miles.

Farage

i got my fronts replaced at 18k end rears at like 35k. sumthins def wrong. they prob stole ur pads and gave u shitty ones. or you drove with the e brake popped.. alot.

Colin

Have you asked your dealer to see if they can warranty them as a goodwill measure?

TheGoodGuy

i'll ask the dealer to see if they can do it as a good will measure. I will call my service advisor and see what he can do. If not i can call acura client services and see if they can do it as a good will measure.

By the way i have never driven with the ebrake on, nor has anybody else done so (i've always been there in teh car when someone else drove it). As for not knowing how to brake. I think after 250000+ miles of driving, I would have gotten the hang out of braking.. dont you think?

mucter

TheGoodGuy

Update:
I just brough the car back to the dealer. I have to replace the pads. The left rear inside pad is now at 10mm (he took it off in front of me), the outer pads were fine. Basically the inner pads are worn. Both on the inner sides of rear are wearing faster than the outsides.

I have asked the replace them with new pads and in the mean time I am going to have to take it up with acura. I am paying for this, but Acura better start doing somethign about this.

LuvMyTSX

They won't. It's been going on forever. Believe us, you're better off just replacing with aftermarket parts.

nj2pa2nc

The brakes should have lasted longer than 13,000 miles-even if they were so call crappy brakes. I would also complain to Acura if they lasted that few miles. I seem to have luck with my tsx-seems not to have the problems others have. I never had any problems with the brakes on my civic either.

Lumryan

If I'm not mistaken, this is a HUGE problem with the Accord Coupe.

jehines3

At 5800 miles we just got through a huge brake ordeal with our dealer. Rear brakes were squeeking like mad. They replaced the rear rotors resurfaced one front and after 200 miles squeeking again.

The dealer was loaded with a bunch of BS (semimetallic pads and metal rotors squeeking is normal is the line he fed my wife) and did not even want to take it back saying after the first repair that if they did all that work and they still squeek than that is just "normal". (boardwalk Acura in NJ). We live in MD and took it to them since they were the dealer we bought from and right near my in-Laws in NJ. I almost beat the guy senseless through the phone the way he talked to my wife like an idiot. Had a Honda as a loaner the first time and Ford the second. Anyway finally got rear pads replaced and problem gone after 500 miles trouble free. Now they think the pads had a "hard spot" in them. I had much better luck with my Toyota's. I'll go aftermarket if I have any further issues. I like Brembo red anyway.

Nabooly

Thats interesting because my breaks are squeling at 3400 miles only. I highly doubt that Ive used the brakes enough to the point of them squeling.
I don't know if its the front or rear breaks though, im assuming its the rear.
I think Ill take it to the dealer soon.

Daffunda

TSX's brake breaks easily....

anyways, I have 30k on my brakes, and they are still squeal free, but have vibrations due to warped rotor or deposits. It is 6mt.

Probably end up having the rotor machined and replace all 4 pads with Akebono Proacts.

Tishkevich

iTrader: (3)

My brakes have been giving me issues since 500 miles, warped, resurfaced squealing, resurfaced warped, replaced, warped resurfaced.. your brake warranty expires at 12000 miles, and they're still fixing my shit, cause its been an issue since the beginning, just tell the guy that they need to give you a 1 time warranty extension and replace your rear brakes pads.. cause thats bull shit you're barely out of your warranty and you're having issues.. that has to be the one thing i don't like about this car so far ( my first tsx ) the brake issues.. reallly fuckign annoying.. and yet again 24k miles my brakes are squealing and annoying the shit out ofme, looking for a good set of aftermarket rotars and calipers ( black ) to put on, i'd like to get bigger rears and fronts.. but then i think i'd need to replace the brake cylinder correct? and then yeah thats ilke $3,000 that I'm not ready to spend untill they tell me my car won't stop

SodaLuvr

There's nothing wrong with your rear brakes. As another poster has already mentioned, Honda must have designed the brake system in a way to minimize nose dive during hard braking. Therefore, rear brake life is going to suffer.

The 08+ Accords go through rear pads every 15-25k miles depending on how you drive. My friend's 07 GTI's rear pads are at 1mm after 20k.

It is very common for the rear pads to wear out first on 4-wheel disc brake system, but with more and more manufacturers trying to reduce nose dive, you are going to see rear pads wear out even faster.

And aftermarket long-life pads such as Raybestos Advanced Technology may last longer, but they won't cure the problem completely.

brownb01

Yes, there is something wrong with the rear brakes. Simple physics tells you that the front should do the majority of the stopping...and do. It is not very common for rear brakes to wear out faster on a 4 wheel disk systems It might be for Honda...but this is not the case for other cars. Infinity G35, I had 80K before changing the rear. F350...128K miles and never changed the rear...and the same for every other car I have owned.

2009 TSX with 32K miles...just needed rear pads. very poor design, and incorrect setup. If honda wants the rears to do more stopping, they should put some thicker pads on the back...or larger rotors. It obvious these lil bitty pads are stressed in the rear.

However, I do agree and accept that changing to something aftermarket will help, but will not cure the "problem". This is what I will do next time. I let the dealer do it this time...because I already had it in the shop to see what the noise was in the backend. I just knew it wasn't the rear brakes with only 32K miles. lol

SodaLuvr

A good number of 4-wheel disc brake systems wear out the rear pads before the fronts. With the introduction on stability control and more rear brake bias in many vehicles, it is going to become more and more common to wear out the rears first. The additional rear brake bias really helps in reducing nosedive during hard braking.

VW cars have been wearing out the rear pads more quickly than the fronts for many years-- my friend's '07 GTI needed new rear pads and rotors at 19,000 miles. The newer Camrys do the same. I did a brake job on a G35 with 40k that needed new rear pads. The fronts still had half left. My Saturn goes through rear pads about twice as fast as the fronts. And so on.

I agree that Honda should do something about the problem, as going through a set of rear pads every 20k is a bit too frequent for an "economy" car. However, rear pads wearing out first is nothing new and if anything, will become the norm in the future.

HeavyDuty

I just noticed that Power Stop is marketing cryogenically treated rotors. I was about to order a set of OE rotors and send them to OneCryo in an attempt to make my brakes warp less easily on this next go around. I think maybe the cooling ducts from the V6, these rotors and some stock or good aftermarket pads would tide me over for a while.

fw_fw

I wonder if they got Ted Williams working on these....

HeavyDuty

LOL, yeah, and the people at Disney swear the Walt thing is an urban myth.

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

This does not sound to out of the ordinary to me. Over the last decade or so Honda rr brake pads have been wearing in well under 20k.

frescagod

how hard to you brake?

whatarussh

Wow lots of warped rotors! I thought this was most often caused by over torquing the wheel lug nuts; are you all finding this is a heat related problem?

MrHeeltoe

iTrader: (1)

The lug nut this is much less common than people make it out to be.

And actually, So is warping!

We have written a few articles on the subject and I have to say that inconsistent and excessive brake temps and inadequate pads are more to blame.

HeavyDuty

I'm on my stock rotors and pads, the dealer turned them at less than 10k miles (?) They were ok for a little while but now are warped to the point where braking for a red light you can feel the car surging.

My SA at Acura acknowledged the TSX is and always has been more problematic for them than any other model, fwiw.

Beyond the obvious weight difference on the V6 TSX, the fact they installed brake ducts on that car is enough of a nod to me that they're undersized and/or unable to dissipate heat efficiently.

$.02

whatarussh

[quote=HeavyDuty;11465598]

Beyond the obvious weight difference on the V6 TSX, the fact they installed brake ducts on that car is enough of a nod to me that they're undersized and/or unable to dissipate heat efficiently.

Maybe installing the ducts in the I4 would help, anybody tried that?

whatarussh

[quote=whatarussh;11465903]Check out this after market brake cooling kit for a Honda S2000. http://store.quantummotorsports.com/...cPath=18_25_34

HeavyDuty

Someone (Boosted?) already posted the part numbers for the ducts, it just hasn't been a priority for me yet, but I've got to start getting parts together soon.