2004 Accord Coupe Brakes Question
 

My wife has a 2004 Honda Accord Coupe with 28,000 miles on it. Over the past several weeks, she has complained of vibrations in the wheel when breaking at typical highway speeds.

This past Friday, we noticed an audible scraping sound coming from the car...definitely a metal on metal high pitched noise, but it did not happen continuously where we could correlate the noise to the car.

Yesterday, the noise started occurring more frequently, and it seems to happen when she brakes...but not all the time...sometimes she brakes and there isn't a noise at all...it seems to be most common when the car is braking at low speeds, especially through turns.

I got out of the car, and had her drive around a parking lot, trying different speeds, turns and braking combinations...the sound is definitely coming from the driver's side rear tire.

After doing some searches online, we have read some complaints from other Accord owners of brake rotors warping...I was under the impression that rotors last a bit longer than 28,000 miles??? I did a few searches on Honda Service Bulletins and Tech Recalls, but didn't find anything specific to the 04 Accord having faulty or defective rotors.

I did find one forum where a user complained about the same problem we are encountering, and he mentioned a recurring rotor warping problem with the 04 Accord.

I plan on taking the car to the dealership, but I am not sure they will find the problem, and even if they do, I am not confident they will be able to fix the problem where it will not happen again.

Any suggestions on how to resolve this issue, or is anyone aware of such a problem at all with the 04 Accord Coupe?

RE: 2004 Accord Coupe Brakes Question
 

You must think dealer techs are pretty lousy at their job?

Have you checked the brake pads? Maybe they are worn down to the wear sensor?

RE: 2004 Accord Coupe Brakes Question
 

Well we have had mixed experiences with the dealer techs at our local dealership for fairly standard services and repairs...ordering incorrect parts, forgetting to order parts for scheduled services, incorrect installation of factory replacement parts, etc.

Just got back from the dealership, and was told this is fairly common for the rear brake pads to wear down relatively quickly, and that the noise we are hearing is the brake pad sensor.

Remedy is to simply replace the brake pads and resurface the rotors.

The service tech informed us that since they stopped using asbestos in brake pads, it is a common problem for heat to build up and cause newer brake pads to deteriorate quicker than on older cars.

That, and due to the stop and go nature of SoCal traffic, and the year round heat, it places even more of a strain on the brake pads.

He told us we were lucky to make 28,000 miles without requiring a replacement...apparently, the brake pads on the rear tires are half the thickness of the front brake pads, which makes the Accord particularly prone to such deterioration.

So, looks like we will simply need a typical brake service to repair the problem.

RE: 2004 Accord Coupe Brakes Question
 

I had a similar problem with my '04 V6 EX-L/NAV 4-door, only mine was the front brakes. I started complaining with just a few thousand miles on the car and they turned the rotors, which temporarily fixed the problem. When it happened again at around 16k, they said the rotors needed replacing and that the warranty didn't cover it, so it would cost $240 ($120 for the rotors and $120 for the labor). I pushed and got them to split the cost with me.They wanted to replace the rear rotors, but I resisted.

When it came time to replace the pads after about 50k, (92k now), I got ceramics. My brakes are what you'd describe as "fierce", but little or no vibration.

RE: 2004 Accord Coupe Brakes Question
 

My pads on my 2000 Accord normally last about 35k for the fronts and 40k for the rears. I have yet to turn my rotors front or rear and I have 91k miles. I have always torqued my lugs to 80 ft-lbs in a star pattern and not allowed air-tools to tighten them at Discount Tire. Over-Torquing will sooner or later help warp any rotors and I have never had a shuddering while braking, though out of balanced tires can cause this as well.