I leased a 2010 Honda Civic (non-hybrid) in March of 2010. I had to replace the front brake pads at 8K miles, 18.5K miles and now again at 27K miles. Each time, I get a screaching, grinding noise from the driver-side front wheel. At 8K, I went to a dealership (not the one where I got the car) who replaced them for free “as a courtesy” (apparently, brake pads aren’t covered under the warranty). At 18.5K, I went to the dealership where I leased the car from; they said that it didn’t look like the other dealer had actually performed the work (yet somehow, the screaching noise went away). They charged me $250 to replace the brake pads and buff the rotors. Now, at 27K, the screaching noise has returned. The dealership has warrantied their prior work and isn’t charging me. They claim that there is nothing wrong with the braking system. When I asked them why the pads keep going after 9K miles, they said they don’t know, and maybe its the way I brake. I do 80+% highway driving and while I do encounter stop and go traffic on a daily basis, I don’t think this is normal.
Anyone else encountering a problem like this? Any suggestions?
When this happens, are the front pads worn evenly or is the left one worn more? Do you ever smell hot brakes or see smoke after a long drive? I’m wondering if the caliper on that wheel is sticking at times. You could compare the temperature of each front wheel to see if the left one is sometimes hotter, although it may take a number of days before you actually observe a difference.
Also, has anyone verified that your rear brakes are working correctly? If they’re not, the front brakes will wear out more quickly.
At the risk of being called a certified noob, I have to admit that I’ve never asked to see the worn brake pads. There haven’t been any smells or smoke. I don’t think its a caliper for 2 reasons: (1) the guy at the dealership said that they looked at the calipers and they’re fine; and (2) the car isn’t pulling to one side, there’s been no loss of gas mileage, and it doesn’t seem like the brake is engaging (i.e. I can put it in neutral going on a hill and I will roll). I’ve had a stuck front caliper in my last (2001) Civic and I experienced those symptoms.
The rear brakes question is interesting because the guy at the dealership said that he knows that this model has had rear brake problems, but no front brake problems. However, on the 3 trips I’ve made to the dealer, the only problem with the rear brakes was at 8K, when they charged me $50 to clean the rear brake pads because they were dirty.
“the only problem with the rear brakes was at 8K, when they charged me $50 to clean the rear brake pads because they were dirty.”
Well, if nothing else, you have posted clear evidence that you were dealing with charlatans at that first dealership.
Whatever you do, I suggest that you NOT return to a place that claims you have “dirty” brake pads after 8k miles of driving and charges you $50 to…apparently…“clean” your brake pads. I suggest that you ignore BS like that.
We also have a 2010 Civic non-hybrid and we are on our third set of brakes at 30,000. The dealer did the first set free at 10,000 . . . . I did the second myself at 19,000 (they were almost gone!) . . . . and I just put a third set on at 29,000 . . . this time I bought the best/most expensive/premium/lifetime warranty pads. They were double the price of standard pads… . $20.00 vs. $41.00. I didn’t go to ceramic . . the highest price pad at $56.00. I’ll let you know how long they last. I’ll admit that my wife (the primary driver) is tough on vehicles . . . but I think that the 2010 Civic has a front bias on braking and uses more front than rear (the rear look almost new). It drives and brakes normally when driving and you can’t notice anything of a front bias, but that’s my opinion. We shall see. My suggestion is to go with a premium pad on your next change like I did. Rocketman
you can have a sticky caliper and still have none of the symptoms you described. But when the pads are worn you can see if there might be a caliper or piston problem by looking at how even the wear is on the individual pads or compare pads on the same side.
Also Everything may look okay when the car is standing still, but when the brakes are used on the moving vehicle, power in the brake line may not be transferred correctly to one side of the vehicle so you get only one pair of pads being worn together more than the other side (compare side to side). This results in all of the energy of the moving car being dissipated into pads on mostly only one corner of the vehicle so they will wear out very fast.
Any of these could be the issue and that’s why lion9car is asking you all the questions… Next time ask them to see the pads. You could also just look at the pads yourself (this is super easy) about 4000 miles in and see if there is a difference. But do it by taking the entire pad off and looking at it.
That’s the first thing that I thought of nebin . . a sticky caliper. An easy way to check for a sticky caliper is to drive the vehicle for a few miles and then park the car and spray cold water on the front wheel and see which wheel emits steam, if at all. This is tough on the 2010 Civic though, as the plastic wheel covers prevent the procedure somewhat. My preferred method is to jack up the front, both sides at the same time (careful, use a jackstand with your jack) and spin both wheels to see if either is dragging. My bet is on the pad or the brake bias, but you may be right with the sticky caliper. BTW . . . removal of the three sets of pads on our 2010 Civic indicated even wear, with maybe a little more wear on the inner pads on both sides, but no remarkable wear of one side vs. the other. Good luck OP! Rocketman