I did a search and found quite a lot of information on brakes. In fact to much so that it gets to be confusing.
I have a 2006 AT TL with 27,000 mi. The car is primarily used to commute to work (Brooklyn to Queens NYC and back, averaging 25 mi). Last couple of days I started hearing a grinding sound from the passenger side front wheel. When I look at the wheel, I that it's very dirty compare to the other wheels. By looking and feeling the rotor, it feels ruff. I haven't taken the wheel off yet. But I would guess that the padding is gone and it's metal against metal. Some friends are surprise that a 06 TL driven as a commuter car with 27k would require new brakes. I was considering taking the car to the dealer for the brake job?, but I realize that the dealer would rape me with this job. Funny thing is that I took the car to the dealer in December for the annual NYS inspection and it passed and no said anything about the brakes. Oh, the service rep did mention that I would need to have the brakes bled as per the manufacturer requirement. Naturally at some astronomical cost. If they inspected the car, why didn't say something about the brakes.
This weekend I intend to take the wheel off and asset the situation. If indeed it is brakes that I need, what would the replacement brakes comparable to what's on the car.
Having searched through this forum, I found quite a lot of info on replacing the brakes, which will help a lot. But what I find confusing is what is considered OEM. Is Brembo brakes what Acura uses for this model. Or is the whole discussion on this board about recommending alternatives.
As some people have indicated, I do not race my car. I see recommendation for Hawk and others. That's where the confusion starts.
I went to the Acura estore and see brakes listed for my MY car. Is the consensus here not to buy from the Acura store or the dealer?
TIA

 

Brembos only come equipped on the Manual TL and Type-S versions.

All Automatic TL's come with a single piston front brake setup. (Not Brembo)

OEM pads aren't bad, i think most just like to upgrade to different pads for a bit more stopping power or less brake dust.

Going to the dealer is fine, but if you shop around on the net many Acura Dealers online have great prices on OEM parts. My local Honda dealership gives no discounts and sells everything at the recommended prices which sucks.

Shouldn't cost much to swap pads, very easy to do. Might wanna check out your rotors and check for wear.

 

KzooTL, thanks for the response.
So now I see. All the talk about Brembo is for the Manual and Type-S.
Would Brembo for my automatic be considered an upgrade relative with what came with the car. By the way, what brakes did Acura put on the 06 models, would it show on the brake pads if I were to take them off. And is this would the dealer is selling at an inflated price.
So all the alternative name brands that are listed in conversations here would be an upgrade to what came with my car.

 

Stock pads are fine for normal use. I upgraded my brakes at 90,000 miles to 13" Rotoras only because I started tracking the car. My stock pads had over half the pad left. I would have to say if yours wore out that quick and you weren't abusing them all the time, you have a stuck caliper.

Plan on buying a set of rotors. Stay away from Acura because not only will they be too expensive but they have a tendency to warp. There are many brands to choose from, check the vendors on here. Same with pads. I highly recommend the Racing brake ET300 or ET500. Many members have been very happy with them.

Check the sliding pins to see if they're galled or just frozen up. It's somewhat common for Honda sliding calipers to stick.

 

When people say "brembo" they are referring to the front calipers on their cars, it is a 2 piston setup. Automatics come with a standard 1 piston caliper. It is a pricey conversion $750+ going from a single piston caliper setup to a dual piston caliper setup.

06 AT OEM brakes for front

Part number
45022-SEP-A01

Rear

Part number
43022-SEP-A00

About 100 for all 8 pads, not sure who manufacturers the pads.

Heres a site to look up OEM parts at discounted prices, there are many on the web.

http://acura.bernardiparts.com/

Some aftermarket pads might be an upgrade to OEM, some might not. Our vendors sell all kinds of pads, rotors, etc..

https://acurazine.com/forums/vendor_directory.php

Also Tirerack.com has many options of pads.

 

Again, thanks guys. This weekend I'll take the wheel off and see what the cause is. Thanks for the heads-up on the stuck caliper as a possibility.
Most likely the padding on the brake is gone. So I'll have to replace the brake. I 'm guessing if the rotor isn't smooth then it's probably a good idea to replace that as well, as oppose to cutting it.
If I do the right side is it also better to do the left side as well?
I'll check the links out.
Thanks again guys.

 

Saturday, I jacked the front passenger side wheel up.
With the hand brake off, I tried rotating the (wheel) but it would not turn. I had someone apply the brakes and the wheel would not turn as expected. Then when the brakes were released the wheel still would not turn. It would turn about 1/2" and just stop (lock). I even tried apply more force and still the wheel (tire) would not rotate with the brakes released. I took the tire off and tried the same procedure with the rotor and still no budge. The rotor has lines from the scraping of the caliper.
"I hate cars", is this a clear sign that I do have a stuck caliper?
It's interesting that the left side, front and back, have smooth rotors to the touch. But the both right side rotors are ruff with uneven groves (valleys). Excluding the problematic front passenger rotor.
Do I have a case here for defect and should be covered under warranty?
TIA

 

Was it in park?

 

^lol ... it probably was because if it moved half an inch and the hit a lock its gotta be in park

 

Not trying to bash OP, however, given the type of questions it seems a trip to a reputable repair shop is warranted.

 

Only way to learn is to do the job and ask questions. That's why we're here.

 

park brake activates mini set of drum brakes inside rear brake rotors

car must be in NUETRAL to rotate front axles and rotors~

brakes are not for the noob with the OPs questions---
The rotors may or may not be ok or need surfacing, if roughed up the source must be found- it may be the pads are worn well past the 2 mm min and are actual metal on metal with the rotors!!!
Time for the OP to locate a honda shop to look at it- not name brand stores with the corp minimum daily income and expected upsell on every job
A private owner place that does imports- look in the phone book
these brakes are easy if you know what you are doing~

stop and go driving is almost the worst abuse on a car and the brakes.
3600 pounds has to be slowed and stopped over and over- with no cooling drive at speed to let the brake parts rest = massive wear

 

Don't bash me too hard. Mind wasn't focus the first time around.
Live and learn on my part.
1) Jacked up car and supported both left and right side.
2) Removed both left and right side tires.
3) Put car in neutral
4) manually rotated driver side rotor (which is smooth) and freely rotates.
5) manually rotated passenger side rotor (this one has the stated issue) and freely rotates. Even though it makes a harsher scraping sound.
6) Had someone apply brakes and tested both rotors (left and right side) and both will not move. When brakes are released, the rotors will rotate by hand.
7) As mentioned before, the passengers side rotor is rough.
8) It was getting dark and I did not remove the brake pads to inspect. A friend with more experience with this will try to drop by and give me a hand.
9) If the caliper is fine and I do need new brakes , as "I hate cars" recommended, Racing brake ET300 seems to the choice many are going with on this board. Any recommendations on a seller.
10) Short of taking the car to a shop, is there a place where one can take the rotor to be resurfaced.
11) If not, and the recommendation is to get new rotors, what is the comparable rotors to go with ET300.

I do appreciate all the feedback. It's a learning experience for me and I'm sure for others like myself. Again thanks.

 

Absolutely don't resurface Acura rotors. They're already warp prone and will only get worse if you cut them. Besides, you can find a set of new rotors for nearly the same price as machining them.

 

if you want rb's ET pads you need rb rotors- a bit expensive but pay you back by lasting thru 3-4 sets of pads with no issues
the seller of them is MrHeelToe on here- ck sponsored sales threads

what do you mean rough? gouges??
if the pad material was worn away so that metal was grinding metal-the rotor is toast
How bad determines if you can have it surfaced-
most parts stores will do it for 5-10 bucks each- or shops for the same price

acura rotors are not great and most brands are better quality

they must measure the deepest wound and see if getting that far down will leave enough thickness- rotors have a min allowed and you have to allow for wear too- not send you out on rotors at minimum thickness!

I did notice on my 01 that the right side ET300 front pads wore 1 mm faster than the left.
wore the right side pads past the noise maker tab and nearly metal to metal- while left side had more than 2mm pad, not even at noise tab yet!

 

Hey thanks guys. I'm learning a lot.
When I get a better look at the pads, I'll post back.
By rough, I mean on the outer radius of the rotor, I would say there are about a 1mm of gouges.
On the rotor in question, the inside (facing the car) is smooth by touch, the outside (facing away from the car) is rough.
I'll check out MrHeelToe.

 

Just an FYI.... You do NOT need RacingBrake rotors if you go with the RB ET300 pad or 500 for that matter...It is BETTER to match them but not necessary... That comes directly from the folks at RacingBrake...

 

sorry and to answer this question "If not, and the recommendation is to get new rotors, what is the comparable rotors to go with ET300." Since it's a daily driver no need for the expensive 2 piece set up...go with the one piece RB rotor and ET300 pads all around...couple of links for you below...

http://www.heeltoeauto.com/home.php?cat=95

http://www.racingbrake.com/TL_non_Br...1-211-1100.htm

 

RB made their own pads to match their rotors because the rotors are so hard they were wearing out pads like HPS in only 15kmiles

their pads will work very well on any rotors- I have 300s on kragen rear rotors and RB 1 piece fronts ('01 TL)

the 2 piece rotors came from the racing program where an outer ring you can swap out is a bonus,, plus massive heat and weight reduction
First made avail for brembo equipped cars,,,now with enough interest they are making a 1 piece as well- best option for street drivers