2011 Honda Accord brake issue

At 55k, 72k, 76K and 91k the rear brakes have hung up, become very hot and smoked badly. Dealer service claims it comes from rust binding the calipers because we live in the Northeast. I’ve been driving for 35 years and never had an issue with any other vehicle. They cleaned the calipers and sent me on my way. I think there is an underlying issue. There is no way I should have this issue every 20,000 miles ( or less ). What else could cause this? Brake Lines? Master Cyl?
Honda service want nothing to do with it. At very least I asked them to replace the calipers which they did not agree to do. I have more detailed documentation, but this is the short story
Please advise! Thanks

If this vehicle is still under warranty, I would seek out a second opinion from another dealership.

This vehicle is far too new to have these problems and their excuse of rust build up is a bunch of bull!!!
If you cannot get the dealership to replace the calipers, I would seek help from the district rep from Honda. You can find a number to call in your owners manual.

Also, be sure to keep all of your receipts and any documentation that mentions this same problem.

Yosemite

Thanks for the feedback! I agree…second opinion is a good idea.

I would find another shop

Your car is clearly out of warranty, and if they don’t want to deal with it, then maybe they don’t deserve your business

I find it amazing that they didn’t want to take your money and replace the rear calipers, as you asked them to do

I would advise you to find another shop . . . tell them your car’s history, and pay them to diagnose and repair the problem

I urge you to NOT badmouth the Honda dealer when you’re at the other shop. It can serve no useful purpose. And some shops aren’t too eager to work on a customer’s car, if they are actively and loudly badmouthing another shop. Because they may feel you are a “problem customer”

I’m not suggesting you are a problem customer . . . I just want you to get off on the right foot, when you get your second opinion :smile:

Huh?
On a 5 year old vehicle with over 90k miles?
Powertrain components usually have a longer warranty, but brake calipers are warranted for–at most–3 years under the typical Bumper-to-Bumper warranty.

The OP definitely needs a different shop at this point, and I would suggest he start asking friends, relatives, and co-workers for the names of well-respected independent mechanics in his area.

It’s had this problem over and over. I wonder if the rear rubber line or proportioning valve are bad. Or maybe crap in the lines. I would replace those and flush the system. The other thought is the parking brake is hanging up. I don’t know if the Accord uses the rear shoes/pads to hold when the parking brake is applied.

Your calipers and the flex lines both ABSOLUTELY need to be changed, as well as (of course) your rotors and pads. And your brake system NEEDS to be purged with fresh fluid.
That level of heat can destroy the rubber seals in the calipers and flex lines, as well as boil the fluid. And it can destroy the binder in the pads and warp the rotors and/or glaze the surfaces. The shop that just cleaned the slides and sent you on your way does NOT deserve any more of your business.

all great advise - thank you.
I have an extended warranty so I will go fight the fight - advocate for myself professionally.
If I don’t get satisfaction then the gloves come off. State attorney general, BBB, NHTSA.
I’m sending a certified letter to the GM of the dealership as well as American Honda Corp with all the documentation.

Let’s clarify something, please . . .

This extended warranty you speak of . . . is it a genuine Honda extended warranty, or some kind of third-party extended warranty?

I’m asking, because it makes all the difference in the world :construction_worker:

Don’t forget to include the Pope…

I don’t get it. You have an extended warranty and the Honda dealer tells you they don’t want anything to do with it?

Without something like a service bulletin or a factory warranty extension to suggest that this is a defect or abnormal failure the manufacture and warranty company will consider this “environmental damage”.

There are dealer maintenance packages that include cleaning and lubricating the caliper pins every 20,000 miles. Some people consider local dealer maintenance packages a criminal activity, I can’t argue against that, I don’t see paying a extra $100 for two wiper inserts and lubricating the brake caliper pins. However there are some people that will pay extra to avoid the possibility of an inconvenience like this. You can also maintain your brakes yourself.

If you plead your case with the manufacture you might get new calipers installed if you are recognized as a loyal customer but be prepared to have to pay for a portion of the repair, like for the brake pads or additional items like new brake hoses.

The warranty is a Honda Care warranty.
I’m a very reasonable person, and work in the service industry.
The most frustrating thing besides the obvious is the lack of customer service and being ignored from both the dealer and Honda Care. I have a case manager with Honda Care that over the course of one week, have yet to have a conversation with to even discuss the options.
If I ran my business that way, I’d be out of work very quickly