Moving from the 12 TL to the new RDX, I find the brake feel unsatisfying and uncertain. The brakes work and stop but aren't confidence inspiring, like I'm not confident the vehicle will stop when I need to brake hard. Luckily did not encounter a situation like that.

Would anyone know why the brakes feel spongy and lazy. Is there a way to improve the brake feel. What kind of brake pads does Acura use. Would choosing ceramic pads help imrpove the braking and brake feel?

 

I have an RDX advanced loaner for the weekend and the brakes are horrible. I an Aspec tlx and i changed my pads to EBC reds because the stocks ones were soft, it was night and day. awesome stopping power and pedal feel.

https://acurazine.com/forums/fifth-g...brakes-967746/

 

ALWAYS start with tires first...
if shitty rubber compound, because of cost cutting measures, you will never have confidence inspiring stops, well...because tires use friction to stop.

I find OEM tires are very easy to activate ABS, once the tires are upgraded to a better rubber compound, the car will be able to stop better.

 

I drive a Mazdaspeed3 as my other car with an aftermarket PowerStop setup with slotted/drilled rotors and ceramic pads. The brakes there are amazing! Now, on my new RDX, I hear what you are saying, but I just had to get used to them. After I did some spirited driving (OK, so it is not as nimble as my lowered Speed 3) I found the brakes to be fine. Just a different pedal feel, but confidence inspiriting nonetheless.

Your mileage may vary.....

 

Oh, and I agree completely about the OEM tires. These Goodyears that came on my car.....debating selling them and buying Michelins now, rather than waiting for these to wear out.

 

With all due respect, I understand what you are saying, and agree tires are instrumental to confidence inspiring stops, but the issue here is brake pedal feel, not stopping ability. I think must owners of the 3G RDX will agree that the pedal has more travel before engaging the brakes than many other vehicles. I know when I drive my wife's car on occasional weekends, I often stop abruptly on the first stop before I re-learn the muscle memory for the vehicle.

 

if it's brake pedal FEEL, there's nothing you can do, as that's the way the car is set up from the factory....ie; brake master cylinder paired with rotor square footage.

you can change pads to get a better initial bite, but as the name implies...Initial bite...wont do anything for pedal feel, as that's a function of the master cylinder

 

Metal brake lines?

 

^it's very doubtful that a brand new vehicle will have trouble with it's rubber lines..or it's doubtful that you guys are tracking the vehicle, making many many high speed stops in a short amount of time to induce brake fade.

so no, metal lines wont necessarily help there....
pedal feel is a function of the master cylinder paired to rotor square footage. the Acura engineers have done the math.

Trick question;
the 3rd gen TL automatics came with regular 2 piston calipers... the 3rd gen TL six speed manual came with four piston Brembo calipers...Which one stops shorter?

 

Change the brake pads up front to ceramic,,,,worked great on my s10'trying to stop a 3,500 lb boat,,,many quiet too!

 

Just released, TSB 19-022 for this...updated software for EBB.

See: TSB 19-022

Thanks EE4Life!

 

I agree. I had the dealer replace the OEM for the Michelin AS3+ that I had on my TL for years.

 

Awesome thanks much. I'll have the dealer check it out.

 

next time I’m in to the dealer I’m gonna get this done

 

I had the soft brake TSB done at the dealer this weekend. I must say the brakes now feel much better (less travel).

I also replaced front and rear brake pads with after market for the squealing. I save the factory OEM pads just in case Acura recall them.

 

Very cool. My pad aren't squealing yet. I only have 5k miles so we'll have to see how they hold up with time.

 

Interesting, so Acura is aware of this behaviour.
Do you know what was done? Software? Brake fluid?
Thanks

 

The brake booster is electronic. They updated the software to provide a better pedal feel. It works.

From the TSB: "...The customer states the brake pedal feels soft, or there is too much pedal travel. NOTE This symptom does not affect braking performance, only brake pedal feel. PROBABLE CAUSE The electric brake booster (EBB) software needs calibration. CORRECTIVE ACTION Update the EBB software. NOTE The repair will only improve the brake pedal feel; it will not improve the actual stopping distance of the vehicle..."

 

Yes. “The electric brake booster (EBB) software needs calibration.” Basically it’s a software update. The job took 30 minutes total w/ complementary car wash and vacuum.

Soft brakes feel has been reported by owners and car reviewers from day 1. I did report it to Acura but they didn’t do anything until now. Also mine had air in the brake system the dealer had to bleed front and rear brakes. SA said it was odd for a brand spanking new car to exhibit this problem. My car was an exception.

I encourage all owners to report any issues they experienced with their car to Acura. It will take time for Acura to admit/provide a fix. Now, I wonder when my squealing brakes problem will be fixed. The pads material is the problem. I replaced them with Wagner Thermoquiet pads and no more squealing.

 

Was there an up charge or did they swap the tires for free?

 

UPDATE: After 20K miles on the vehicle, the brake feel is not uncertain anymore. Feels very solid and as expected. I feel the components needed a longer break-in time than I had anticipated.

 

Ping,,,I agree,,,, though mine has only 7;000 miles on it now,,, it feels a lot better then when it was new,,,,,I made Sure of course they got a good work out in those first few thousand miles,,,,,

 

When I got the car, it was on snow tires, it was new, and I thought the brakes were broken.

Then, I got my tires and broke the whole thing in a bit, and now I find the brakes entirely sufficient and predictable, even if they aren't quite as powerful/firm as I feel they should be. I haven't had any panic stops, but I don't think the brakes will disappoint (or kill) me.

 

I agree, the RDX brake feel is lacking. My RDX is a 2020 Advanced reference is my 2016 VW GTI, which has great feeling - and performing - brakes.

Yesterday I was in a near multi-car collision on I-90 going over Snoqualmie pass. Some idiot in an Audi A6 was texting and driving - and randomly hitting his brakes when he noticed he was going too fast. That caused the following car to slam on their brakes, and so on back 6 cars to me. I knew the F-150 behind me couldn't stop as fast as I could, and he was diving for the shoulder, so I went right between the car in front of me and a Semi who had gone to the right shoulder. Luckily everybody did the right thing and there was no contact.

The bottom line was even though they worked, there was little or no brake feel, no sense of where I was with the brakes. And that will lead me to a pad swap. Also the 235-55 Contis are fine in 'normal' driving, but they are wayyy to 'squishy' handling in emergencies.