Honda Accord UK (2003 - 2008) - Premature Rear Brake Wear

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Mon 18 May 2009 23:46
Premature Rear Brake Wear - brambobb
I have an 07 Reg Accord Diesel Sport which has done 22k miles. I bought it as an ex-Honda vehicle a year ago and have just had to replace the rear discs and pads due to a severe intermittent grating noise. Despite arguing with the dealership that there must be some sort of design fault to cause rear discs and pads to wear so badly when the front ones are fine I did not get anywhere and had to pay £215 even though it could validly be argued, I believe, that this should be covered under warranty. This led me to wonder whether anyone else has any knowledge or experience of this problem.

After scouring the internet I came across a US site where there are around 200 complaints about this happening around the 20k miles mark but on the 2008 Accord. Honda are playing hard-ball on this though and are claiming that the setup of the braking system causes the rear brakes to be used more than the front ones and hence wear faster.

This leads me to assume that I will have to go through the same expense again in another 20k miles - surely something quite unacceptable. It is not even as if I am a fast driver who uses the brakes roughly.
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Tue 19 May 2009 00:03
Premature Rear Brake Wear - Manatee
>>setup of the braking system causes the rear brakes to be used more than the front ones and hence wear faster.

Sounds like flannel to me...but if it's a common problem what's the explanation? I've had rear calipers seize in the past due to underwork and the fact that dealers no longer even take the wheels off for a standard service, never mind free off the calipers, but surely this wouldn't explain an epidemic?

Maybe a software problem with the VSA/ESP? Sounds unlikely to be designed in - I've a 2006 CRV with VSA that still has meat on the fronts at 61k, and the rears are less worn than the fronts.
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Tue 19 May 2009 13:48
Premature Rear Brake Wear - ijws15
Not by any chance been driven with the hand-brake partly on has it?
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Tue 19 May 2009 13:58
Premature Rear Brake Wear - Lygonos
Honda are playing hard-ball on this though and are claiming that the setup of the braking system causes the rear brakes to be used more than the front ones and hence wear faster. <<


I'd love you to get that in writing and then post it up for us to see - sounds absolute nonsense.

Rear brakes usually fail due to binding caliper/hanbrake, or a lack of use leading to corrosion damage.

I can't see any manufacturer trying to use rear braking more than front for stability reasons, and also as it is much less effective than braking the front wheels.
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Tue 19 May 2009 14:54
Premature Rear Brake Wear - Woodspeed
Reason why rear disc brakes grind is the lack of work they have to do, compared to the front. If they are actually wearing out more quickly than the front then likely the callipers are sticking on slightly. Honda have very small thin pads on the rears of most of their cars, given the little work they do. The other scenario is that the pads rust and pit which grooves the disc and causes the grinding noises.
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Tue 19 May 2009 15:14
Premature Rear Brake Wear - mustangman
My comment may be unrelated but, a relative put 5 sets of rear pads, but no front, into his 05 Ford c-max over some 70 k miles.
He was informed that the electric parking brake was the cause, as it puts the "handbrake" on to the maximum every time, and thus causes deflection in the friction material and increased "wear" or loss of material was the result.
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Tue 19 May 2009 16:40
Premature Rear Brake Wear - paulvm
This does sound abnormal. I have an 06 Accord Tourer diesel and it has just had its first set of rear pads at its 72,000 service. It has had only one set of front pads at 62,500 miles, and still on its original discs back and front.
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Tue 19 May 2009 17:07
Premature Rear Brake Wear - theterranaut
Interesting this, a forum search reveals:

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=72801
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Tue 19 May 2009 19:28
Premature Rear Brake Wear - Hamsafar
It's not just a Honda problem, many newer cars use the rear brake more at speeds under 40km/h to eliminate nosedive and rebound. This is possible since electronic brake-force distribution replaced the cruder inertia valves. The only problem is that rear brake designs rarely seem up to the job.
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Tue 19 May 2009 19:32
Premature Rear Brake Wear - Number_Cruncher
>>to eliminate nosedive and rebound.

That doesn't make sense, because the weight transfer is unaffected by which brake, front or rear, does the braking, and so, the body's response won't be significantly different.
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Tue 19 May 2009 20:39
Premature Rear Brake Wear - Hamsafar
Maybe it is a moment around the rear axle? or you are thinking about a perfect solid vehicle with no suspension in total vacuum? ;o)

Edited by Hamsafar on 19/05/2009 at 20:40

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Wed 20 May 2009 00:29
Premature Rear Brake Wear - brambobb
Thanks for all the comments on this.

Predictably Honda UK have sent a completely non-committal response and stated that brake discs/pads are consumables and not covered under warranty. They also say that the cases I refer to are purely in the States and have nothing to do with Honda UK.

It is possible that there was some wear/rust present when I got the car - it was 14 months old and had only done 4k miles. However the clear indication is that this is possibly a one-off as no one else over here seems to have experienced the problem.

If anyone is interested in the large number of complaints that seem to be around in the US the link is as follows:


www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Accord/2008/brakes/pre...l

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