I have been reading up on this and I have found some people with similar problems, but no one really has any specific answers.

I just bought a 1998 Honda Civic EX and the brake pedal is really stiff, and my brakes hardly work at all. I can smash the pedal all the way to the floor, but they still don't competely engage.

I'm going to look at the pads and calipers this weekend, but in the meantime does anyone have any idea what this could be?

 

mine sort of feel the same way in my 99 civic DX. I've only had the car for like a week at this point; but I'm going to do the same things you're talking about.

The only other thing to check really is the brake fluid levels. Maybe we're low?

I'll let you know if I find a solution.

 

 

Well I had my brake fluid flushed and replaced today (Dealer did it for 39 bucks ??)

My brakes are still pretty stiff. I also have 75% life left on my front pads. So I'm not sure what to make of that.

I'll run through these steps posted by RonJ and see what I can make out of it

 

Yeah I'm doing that first thing tomorrow. I'm guessing that it has something to do with the brake booster. Let me know what you find out.

 

The problem seems to be that my brake booster vacuum line is bad.

I've been looking around but no one seems to carry one with a check valve directly inside the line.

Looked on majestic honda but I can't find which line is the vacuum hose.

If anyone has one of these for sale or knows the part # on an OEM honda site please help a brother out.

Driving with just a regular hose on there now but I'm afraid I might blow the brake booster or something if I don't have a check valve..