cant stop

i think i need to have my brakes worked on, nah i know i need to have them worked on. what will it take to get them back to OEM specs short of takin it to dealership for them to butt rape me? if i recall correct when the 00 V6 accord was new (boutght mine used) didnt it take little or no pressure to stop the car? i feel i have to press the brake a lil too hard to get it to stop like it should. any advice on what to change or what to work on?

If it has drum brakes in the rear, the most common cause is misadjustment of the rear linings, which makes for too much brake pedal travel and decreased brake feel....when they use drum rear with an auto tranny the problem is compounded, because the non-servo type drum brakes used on newer cars only adjust up reliably when the parking brake is used...which nobody does with an auto tranny, generally.

When you pull the e-brake lever, does it feel like it's actually doing anything, or can you top it out without really straining yourself? This is usually a pretty good indication that the rear are way out of adustment and not doing anything back there...

Here's what I do first if you suspect this. Find a gentle slope in a parking lot or your driveway, whatever. Allow the car to begin rolling, then jack the brake lever hard. The rear wheels should lock and skid. If not, you are not adjusted worth a damn...now hold the detent button on the lever in, and do this repeatedly, pumping the e-brake lever over and over, you need to pull it as far and as hard as you can each time. If the adjuster hardware is not seized up and useless, after several applications (could be anywhere from a dozen to several dozen times) you'll feel the lever's travel decreasing and the rear brakes getting stronger a bit each time...keep doing this until you feel no further improvement. Then take a drive and see how the brakes feel to you. There should be a definite improvement, shorter pedal travel and a lot stronger braking action.

If you detect no problem with adjustment, and don't feel any of this will help, then the car needs to be checked for glazed linings, seized hardware, booster problem, etc...

Worn out and contaminated brake fluid will give you reduced pedal feel and lazy brakes also, but usually only in extreme cases..

thanks alot, it is rear disc. i will try it and tell you how it goes! im glad you told me abou this, hopefuly it wont lead to costly repairs.

trying what? the e-brake test? If I understand Jeff right you don't need to do that since you have discs in back and the mechanics are totally different. Although I suppose it couldn't hurt to find out how well your e-brake is working, but don't base your diagnosis on a test meant to find a different problem.

But in any event, if you've done the test, what happened? Any new developments?

Yeah with rear disc setup this is largely useless.

does the Accord have the ratcheting screw-type piston for the e-brake of does it use a parking brake drum inside the rotor?

Sorry, I don't know. Can't remember ever working on a 4Wdisc Accord's rears...sure I have, just don't remember.


Would you describe your problem as a soft pedal (lotta travel and lack of firmness), hard pedal (have to stand hard on the pedal to get a reaction) or no pedal issues, just lazy brakes?

soft pedal and i dont know if its screw or not but i know its a plain disc in the rear, no inner drum.

Can you hit the floor with the pedal if you push as hard as you can?

Try it, and tell me what it does. do it with the motor running. Then pump the pedal full stroke about ten times quickly, and hold it firmly for one minute...if you have a yardstick or something handy, put it down to the floor alongside the pedal to guage how far down it is while you hold...see if you get any drop after one minute, tell me what you find...

sorry i havent been her ein a while. the handbrake thing didnt work, so i gess theres no inner drum on the rear brakes. i will try the pedal pumping to see what happens and i will let you all know. thank everybody for your help.

The V6 accords have disc rears and they use a screw type, not a girling. If hard to stop meaning, the pedal is really hard, your brake booster might be bad, or some one did a bad brake job and didn't open up the bleeder screw when pushing back the piston into its housing and got dirt into the master cylinder or your ABS pump.
But!! if i's a spongy pedal(soft) then you have air in your system.

its firm and just wont stop. i had to slam on brakes to keep from hittin a deer and i know i stomped the hell out of em. and it felt firm but kept oooon rollin.

Hello everybody,
Im quite new here.. but I also have the same problem on a 4cycl 00 4dr Accord SE with 106k. Somehow.. the brakes just dont get me to a stop at a decent distance.

I compare my brakes.. to a hand going into a fist. When the fist is closed the car has stopped the brakes are supposed to feel firm.

When I am at a decent speed 60-65mph and I need to brake.. I have to double or triple the length to even start to stop.. at that point "the hand starts to close" by the time I get to a car in front of me.. the hand has mostly closed but im not stopped yet. The worst part about it.. when the car has stopped about 98% the hand has closed but the bones through the skin are making a GRINDING type of sound.

I dont know exactly what is wrong.. :banghead: When I had the car in for an oil change.. I guess they check everything.. measured the tire tread depth and brake amount and all. But I.. dont think they did it "properly" cause... theres no reason why I should feel a grinding sound when the brakes have more then 50% on them.

This is my second Accord. I had a 92 4dr Lx with 231,180.1. And that car didnt have the best brakes either.. but I believe it was because of warped brakes. (The wheel would shake at a high speed stop.)

I also dont understand.. why did both cars.. not have BACK BRAKES?? Is it cause they were both 4cycls.. vs 6's?

I do hope someone can help me.. as I want to take it into a dealership (there is a warranty) but brakes wouldnt be covered.. and I dont want to get raped. :banghead:

thank you thank you thank you because i didnt know how to put it but you worded it perfectly! ive been told honda isnt exactly known for their braking systems but if you got a V6 that kicks like a mule (plus an upped sticker price) youd think theyd do something to bring ya down from all that speed.

my pads like accordsforall's had a bunch of padding left and they are making a grinding noise too from a high speed stop

ive never had to use them but ive heard this is what the ABS sounds like under emergency braking, even tho i wasnt making an emergency stop. this might be blasfimy but im bout ready to throw some Toyota Tundra brakes on this thing.

Hmmmm
Ive had the 00 Accord 4cycl 4dr for about 2 months now.. and while I love so much about it, cornering, driving in the snow, handling.. and the driving position... I think my love for the brakes are far far down in my love for the car... keep in mind Im not thrilled about the... styling either.

But as far as.. ABS goes.. Ive known about ABS being installed on cars since it was introed in luxo cars about 1990 model year.

And If I was using the ABS... it would kick back madly.

From what I remember.. the there is a loud screaching sound when I come down at high speeds.

I know a few things.. I know I might need to get the brakes done, either left or right. And I might need the rotors sanded down.. and or the linings. And then there are the pads. But... I really dont want to bring the car in.. for fear of bein raped.

But as far as clenching my hand.. and brakes... I will put it this way.. when my hand is closed.. and clenched, the brakes often feel too tight or theres nothing there.

I also think... if I didnt have any pads, the car wouldnt stop at all.

You guys' compaint is kinda typical of a couple of things.

Have you looked at the rotors in the rear? I don't know if Hondas have any problems, but GM 4Wdisc systems had a long-standing problem with siezed hardware in the rears, the back brakes were not doing a damn thing back there....easy to spot, because one or both sides of the rear rotors would have surface rust on the friction face, since the brake pads were not cleaning them off...

Also, I've run across some similat complaints on cars that were previously owned by older drivers (I know this because I did work for both the seller and buyers) who tend to make loooonnngggg drawn out stops...the bias is to the front brakes, when you brake like that, only the front apply...over time the rears will sieze, and the front is doing all the work, which is not too noticeable on FWD cars, until you really NEED to stop, then you get what you are describing, a nice solid but ineffective pedal...many times a lot of warpage of the front rotors occurs due to overworking and excess heat, and the rears will grind as they try to apply but only make light dragging contact with the rotors...

Some stuff to consider. See if that jives with what you have....

Hmmm
I dont have rear brakes.. and havent on either the 92 I used to have.. or the 00 Im driving. And I dont like to make long drawn out stops.. but I have to in order to scrub the excess off.

Hmmm
I dont have rear brakes.. and havent on either the 92 I used to have.. or the 00 Im driving. And I dont like to make long drawn out stops.. but I have to in order to scrub the excess off.

I was referring mainly to the original poster, but a similar sitiuation can arise from light braking with drum rears too...light application causes the front to bear the brunt, while in the rear only the shoe (single) with the lightest return spring tension will lift off the stops and apply to the drum...in time the opposite side of that wheel cylinder, as well as the entire cylinder on the opposite side of the car will seize and become useless....

My point was only if you were not the original owner, and found the car to be that way as long as you'd owned it...

There's a lot of strange things that can happen, but it's not rocket science, brake operation is pretty straightforward...

If you have a solid pedal, but little stopping power, you are most likely dealing with a mechanical, rather than hydraulic issue. Some strange but not unheard-of problems would include a malfunctioning preportioning valve block or a crushed line where someone put a jack or lift pad under the wrong spot and smashed the line to the rear...

If you take the car out on an open road, get up to speed and make a couple of nice hard stops, then get out and judge the temp of the wheels shortly after the hard stops, you'll usually find your ineffective brake (it's the one or ones that's cooler than the rest...) braking is friction, friction creates heat..if the car's not stopping, the wheel or wheels responsible will not be producing much, but remember rears will always run cooler than fronts, that's normal.

Occaisionally, I've run across a car that had front brakes that were for some reason simply too hard of a compound to work correctly with the rotors...for some reason I've noticed it more on Toyotas than others, but nobody is above suspicion...these pads will emit grinding also that would make you swear you were biting rivets, but on inspection will be like new...sometimes the first indisputable sign of this is when the pads simply won't wear, I've had customers have this problem but are not convinced that replacing near-new appearing pads with new ones will solve the problem, but when, two years and 40,000 miles later, the pads still look like new when they should have worn out long ago, the problem becomes apparent, and they gladly let me replace them, and Voila! the hard stopping and noise are gone!....

Occaisionally, with rear drums, the "pads" where the edge of the shoe rests on the backing plate can become so severely grooved that the shoes are unable to fully engage the drum, instead catching on the edge of the groove...this gives a solid pedal feel also, as the shoes are hitting hard against something (the lip of the groove), just not what they are supposed to (the drum), and they are basically useless once the shoe lining wears out beyond the shoe's reach when stuck in the groove...


An easy way to check the rears (always my favorite culprit for hard pedal, low braking effect problems) is simply to jack the rears off the ground and have someone hold the brake like when making a normal stop...I've found lots of cars you could easily turn the rear wheels by hand while doing this...problem found...

Hmmmm
I appreciate all of the assistance..

My next question is.. even tho I purchased my 00 from a autopark (bunch of automakers that trade cars back and forth including the make I bought).. is it possible or cheaper to get my brakes checked at another side company.. NTB / NTW, Mineke, other brake companies?

I havent had much luck with.. NTW.. they have a .. non-chalant ness to their work. Almost lost the heart of my 92.. cause during an oil change they didnt remove the old gasket.. and when i started the car.. oil RAINED OUT.

I really dont want to trust my brakes.. to side company.. but I dont want to get raped.. either.


Comments welcome..

i do know my rear brakes are gripping (how well i dont know) there is no rust on any of the rotors.

and as for where to go...i never go to corporate owned or franchise places. cuz unless u got a ferrari or benz....and you know they gonna do it right, i dont mess with em.

i usualy go to a "shade tree" mechanic. but the ones i goto are word of mouth and have actual shops. i was just baffled by this brake situation cuz it seems like the only time they worked right was when i got it from the dealership

also, how do you know if you need new shocks/ struts?

"Shade tree" :lol: I thought I was one of the few people who actually call them that. There are many indicators that your shocks are worn:

creaking /groaning from the corners during turning
excessive travel over bumps
noticeably harsh ride, more harsh = more damage
uneven tire wear may be caused by shocks also

What are you noticing when you drive? Turn the radio off and hit a few circles of varying diameter. Your shocks may sound fine at one steering angle but have a problem at another angle. Do turns with windows up AND a run with them down (if its not too cold).

i know im in atlanta, but i dont like my car "leaning and rockin wit it" the way it does. its a very occasional creeking (almost like a broke axle) but mostly it dives in stright line braking, and leans a bit more than it used to. what brand or type of shocks/ struts do anybody recomend? im not tryin to race so no mod stuff lol. i just want it to ride as smooth and gentile as when i 1st got it. i dont want it to be stiff like the accord coupe