The news regarding the brakes in my Honda wasn't good (as I expected). I brought the car to the "local" (an hour away) dealership to have them checked out. The dealer called back to inform me that 2 calipers were frozen and the pads were worn unevenly. They advised replacement of the rotors, pads and the frozen calipers plus associated hardware(won't tell you how much they're charging). I've been considering selling this car and picking up a Gen II Prius considering how much I drive but couldn't sell the car with the brake issues. I had the brakes done (front and rear pads and rotors) 60,000 miles ago at a local shop and they never felt right...pedal was always hard. Lately I experienced a pretty severe pull if braking hard. I knew something was wrong.
These Hondas are known for their issues when servicing the brakes...it's nearly impossible to get the front rotors off without trashing the bearings (which is what happened the last time) and by the time I bought the new bearings and parts ended up paying the same as the dealer estimate...figured I'd just let them do the job this time as I've decided to get another year (at least) out of the car (used car pricing is nuts). The dealer said they were using "aftermarket" parts (sourced from NAPA, Car Quest and Advance Auto Parts) to reduce the price (OK with me). I am a little concerned that they are installing semi-metallic pads rather than the Honda-recommended ceramics but hopefully they should be fine.
There are a couple of different recommended approaches to breaking in a new set of brakes. One says you should make a series of hard stops letting the brakes cool down for a few seconds in-between to best seat the pads to the rotors. The other says use them steadily but GENTLY for a couple of hundred miles (I tried the first one the last time and don't think it helped much). I'm picking the car up this afternoon...would appreciate any opinions/experiences.
These Hondas are known for their issues when servicing the brakes...it's nearly impossible to get the front rotors off without trashing the bearings (which is what happened the last time) and by the time I bought the new bearings and parts ended up paying the same as the dealer estimate...figured I'd just let them do the job this time as I've decided to get another year (at least) out of the car (used car pricing is nuts). The dealer said they were using "aftermarket" parts (sourced from NAPA, Car Quest and Advance Auto Parts) to reduce the price (OK with me). I am a little concerned that they are installing semi-metallic pads rather than the Honda-recommended ceramics but hopefully they should be fine.
There are a couple of different recommended approaches to breaking in a new set of brakes. One says you should make a series of hard stops letting the brakes cool down for a few seconds in-between to best seat the pads to the rotors. The other says use them steadily but GENTLY for a couple of hundred miles (I tried the first one the last time and don't think it helped much). I'm picking the car up this afternoon...would appreciate any opinions/experiences.