Hi everyone,

I bought a 2005 civic about a week and a half ago and haven't had any problems until this morning.

When braking lightly the brakes will work but under heavier braking (not panic braking just regular medium to hard braking) the pedal will start to pulse and get hard and then the brakes will feel like they are locking up (I don't think they actually are because of how big the stopping distance is when it happens).

The rotors look like they are in good condition (smooth with no obvious warping) although I am far from an expert.

I am currently leaning toward thinking it's an ABS issue but the ABS light is not on.

Any Ideas?

Thanks in advance

 

In my experience pedal pulse is caused when over torquing the lug nuts. They should be at 80lbs. Over that and you risk warping the rotors when you stop and heat them up.

 

are the tires all the same size and brand and inflated to the 30 or 32 psi where they should be?

is there like a 'buzzing' sound from the firewall when this happens?

what you describe sounds exactly like what happens when my ABS actuates. We get snow and ice, so I'm pretty familiar with the feel of when ABS actuates on a Civic. And no ABS light illuminates when this happens, it's part of normal operation. Question now is, why is it coming on when it shouldn't. So... back to line one of my reply... are they the same size and properly inflated?

 

I would check your ABS tone rings that are connected to your axle. Its possible that there is a hairline crack in them thats causing your ABS system to engage slightly. You have to check them very closely, sometimes the crack is hard to see. It happened on my fiances car and I had to replace one of them, which fixed the problem. Hope you find whats causing it regardless!

 

Caliper starting to seize maybe? Lack of grease on side pins?

and with abs if it was activating the light should flash on the dash. Has that happened? If not then you can possibly rule out abs, if you could verify abs does in fact work. Could also be air in the brake lines possibly and your brakes need to be bled.