Rear Brake Caliper Jammed? Dealer Service Rip-off?
 

I've been trying to do the right thing with my 04 Honda Accord 2.2l i-cTDi executive and brought to a main dealer for its first service (in my ownership).

The Dealer rang me when their inspection was performed and informed me of the extra work required. Among the items was replacement of the rear brake pads (> 15% of pad capacity left). As this is something i didn't want to put on the long finger, i told him to replace the pads.

Here's the kicker. . . . .

When I went to pick my car up, the service man informed that the tech discovered that a rubber part on the brake caliper had worn away, the caliper was jammed/locked. The tech was able to free it for me but i need a new caliper fitted (€196) as the caliper is likely to get jammed again (where this rubber part was, will get clogged).

This sent off alarm bells for me, this sounds like something the tech may have damaged in the course of replacing the pads;
- If it was jammed before i got there, how was i able to drive last few months and not notice it?
- If it was slightly jammed (but not completely), wouldn't this have resulted in uneven brake wear and been picked up in the techs original inspection.


If this is a result of the dealers work and not an existing problem with my accord, i'll be demanding the dealer replace my caliper free of charge.

Can any reader please give any feedback if you have experience on this?

Many thanks,

Chris

I don't believe a rubber part wearing away on the caliper would cause it to get jammed/locked.

There is a possibility that when he tried to turn the piston (known as an excluder in Europe), back into the caliper, that it wouldn’t turn/retract at a certain point in it's travel.

On most Honda Accords with rear disc brakes, the caliper pistons are turned to retracted them. This is done so the thicker new pads can be installed.

During braking and when the pads were thinner, the piston turns out.

You may still have had normal braking ability; but, its possible he was not able to fully retract the piston back in during installation of the new, thicker pads. This is all a conjecture on my part, as I wouldn’t know what they found and exactly what they are referring to as a rubber part causing a jam. I can't think of any rubber part that would cause it to jamb. Something may jam; but, a rubber part causing it? :confused: You probably should ask them to more fully explain what happened and the same concerns you just posted on this forum

This link explains how the rear brake piston works (page 4), the Honda rear caliper system is pretty much identical.
http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/brake06.pdf

Many times during a brake inspection, the techs just use a measuring device to measure the thickness of the pads without removing and inspecting any caliper parts.