Does anyone know a good, non-dealer Honda specialist in Indianapolis, Indiana? My 1997 Honda Accord with 102,000 miles has a history of eating brake rotors. I can’t count the times I’ve had them resurfaced or replaced. I believe my mechanics have tried to help me the best they could, but the problem is getting out of hand. I’m not an aggressive driver, so I don’t believe the problem is me. I’m thinking of getting rid of the car in fact, but it’s in great shape otherwise.
Brake life and rotor life are highly dependant on the driving enviornment, the driver’s braking habits, and the vehicle. The Honda Accord is not especially tough on brakes like a large SUV for example.
The enviornment is a more important factor when there are lot’s of hills that required braking. Lot’s of stop and go driving vs highway miles. Indy is not known as a particulary hilly area. Only you can tell if you are in stop and go conditions primarily. In a tough enviornment you may only get 25-30K miles between brake jobs.
As for the driver, which you state that is not the problem. If you ever drive with your left foot on the brake petal (just in case) you could cause pre-mature brake wear. Even a very light touch (which the driver feels is no pressure at all) is enough to bring the pads in contact with the rotors. When you come to a stop sign or traffic light if the front of your car dips down noticeably as you apply the brakes then you are putting pressure on the brakes and that wears the pads and rotors.
Finally it is up to the driver to get the brakes serviced. Does Indiana have yearly car inspections includes checking brake pads for wear? If not, then you have to get the brake pads replaced before you hear any noises from the brakes or notice any problems. By the time you hear any noise or notice declining brake performance the rotors are getting dug up by pads that are worn past the braking material and into the rivets that attach the braking materials to the metal backing of the pads. You need you have your brakes checked every 6 months or 15,000 miles to see how your brakes are wearing. This may involve removal of the wheels which means ask for a visual check of the brakes every time you rotate your tires.
I don’t know of a service facility in Indy that specializes in brakes but they exist. Ask at area garages, and check resources like the Yellow Pages. When you find one explain what you want, longer life from your rotors. They may recommend a “softer” pad that will need replacing more frequently. If you are willing to break-in new pads yourself you may not need to resurface your rotors every time you replace the pads. New pads in non-surfaced rotors take a 100-200 miles to wear in. During this period your braking power is less, and the noise of the pads wearing in is higher. If you can tolerate these circumstances you will save money. With this method the only reason to resurface the rotors is if you get pulsing brakes, as long as the brakes stop smoothly and evenly the rotors don’t need resurfacing.
Wife had a 96 Accord…We NEVER had problem like that with the rotors. The rotors were original when we sold the car 2 years ago with over 230k miles on them. I think I had them turned once.
You don’t have to go to a Honda Specialist. It would probably be better to find a BRAKE specialist. We have a couple around here. All they do is brakes.
Besides the driver and/or type of driving…the only thing I can think of is the quality of the parts being used.
So what are the symptoms that lead to them being replaced? Shudder, pulsation, etc.?
Keep in mind there are a number of things that can mimic a brake rotor problem and since you should not be going through this countless times my gambling money is wagered on someone overlooking something else.
We have a 97 Accord, 152k miles, still has the original rotors. A lot of people get a pulsing in their brakes, especially right after having new pads put on. Something about new pads that reportedly causes some type of residue build up on the rotors and that causes the shuddering or pulsing.
Try a couple of hard stops from 60 or so. Don’t lock up and skid, just hard stopping, but don’t quite stop, you want to keep rolling near the end of the stop so that you don’t cause localized heating of the rotors just under the pads. If this relieves the problem, then you’ve saved the cost of new rotors.
If the rotors aren’t removed correctly, these require the steering knuckle to be removed and separated into two parts, then the steering knuckle could be damaged and that in turn could ruin new rotors. Also if you replace the rotors again, you might get new wheel bearings at the same time since you have to take them out too anyway. Shouldn’t add much to the bill besides the cost of the bearings.
Yes, I usually detect a shudder in the car when braking at mid speed. This is usually the tip-off.
My point here is that you could very well have another problem causing this shudder other than the brake rotors.
A loose wheel bearing, worn ball joints, tie rods, tie rod ends, control arm bushing, etc. etc, could cause this problem and in some odd cases I’ve even seen it caused by a faulty tire. (Skip the tire at this point; the odds of that are very, very slim.)
What happens is this. When a new rotor is installed it’s perfectly straight. After a little use it may develop a little warp in it (say a few thousandths of an inch).
Normally one may not notice this small amount but if you have a loose wheel bearing, suspension component, etc. this few thousandths can become magnified and noticeable to the driver.
The things I would inspect first would be for loose wheel bearings or either a worn tie rod or tie rod end.
With the wheels off the ground, the front tires should be grasped at the 3 and the 9 o’clock position to see if there is any slop in the wheel assemblies. There should be none.
Hope that helps.
The explaination is you will not tolerate any pedal pulsation,when it appears you say your car has eaten your rotors. When I first read your I was thing we were talking about rotors that we destroyed. You want BMW brake system performance from a Honda. Have you explored the idea that your wheels are being over torqued?
How else can you explain what others have posted in regards to their experience with their Hondas?
Are you religious in properly torqueing the wheels? That’s another potential cause.
i can only add, make sure the rotors are replaced with high quality rotors, and buy the best pads you can find. Made in USA, and brand name. don’t cheap out on them.
cheap rotors and pads almost always lead to unsatisfactory brake performance. i never turn or machine rotors. they are too thin to start with, and they last long enough to just throw them away when doing a brake job.
Thanks to all who replied. I’ll keep your input in mind as I try to figure out what to do. I appreciate you taking the time to add your perspectives. I was amazed, in fact, at the community of folks willing to help.