Hello,

I changed all the brake pads of my 2002 Honda Accord EX V6. At the end of the replacement, I noticed a puddle under the car and the fluid seems to have come out of the Brake fluid container under the hood.

I did not remove/open this Brake fluid container at any time and I figure that when I used a clamp to push the caliper pistons in, that pressure must have pushed the brake fluid out of the brake fluid container.

I have not used the brakes or started the car (but have the parking brake on now).

I am worried that the pressure of pushing the calipers in must have broken the brake fluid container cap/seal? or, Is this a safety mechanism of the Honda Accord to relieve excess brake fluid pressure?

Any thoughts, please?

Thanks a lot,
Joe

 

Add brake fluid to replace what you lost (remember to use DOT3)I prefer to use honda brake fluid but the choice is yours.

I wouldn't think you compromised your master cylinder but you never know, only way to find out is to start the car and see how the calipers function.

I also assume the fluid overflowed because the master cylinder was passed the max, in any case I don't think the cap or it's seal are damaged, I would be worried about the MC itself.

 

There is probably nothing to worry about. I see guys at the shop do this all the time. The amount of fluid pushed backward through the system was greater than the amount of available space in the master cylinder resevoir. So, it over flowed.

Clean up the mess. Remove enough fluid so the level is NOT above the MAX line. If there is no air pocket above the fluid ( hence the Max line ) the brakes may drag as the fluid warms up during driving.

Hold the pedal down and confirm your brakes hold and you have no leaks. Drive the car like you have new brake pads.

You'll be fine.

 

Just to be on the safe side, I would go only 5 mph while checking the brakes to be sure that there was no seal damage. Even going 20 mph's it's next to impossible to stop a car with your feet, believe me. I learned the hard way first starting out when I changed my pads one time and put pads that had less pad than the ones I was taking off. I forgot to pump the brakes to refill the fluid and when I took off in my apartment parking lot the car wouldn't stop so I thought fast and just ran the car into a bush instead of a car stopped ahead. I just bounced off and counted myself lucky as hell.

This is why you don't need to ever refill the reservoir when it gets low. When the fluid gets low it's time to change your brake pads/shoes.

 

You pushed fluid back in when you compressed the pistons, you are fine.

 

Thanks a lot for your advice.

I just drove the car and the car stopped fine and the brakes were holding well.

 

What happens is the brake fluid got low at one point and someone added brake fluid, which is not necessary. The brake fluid level is actually an indicator of brake life according to Honda. So when you have more brake fluid in the system than it really needs, and you set the caliper back to new (pressing all the fluid in them back up the system into the reservoir, you have more fluid than you need, so it comes out the cap, you might actually have to remove more fluid, you do NOT want it up to the top, fill only to the max line. Any more fluid than that and it can cause a constant pressure to remain on the pads and cause overheating and premature wear.