99 Accord with 93,000 miles - factory stuff with no mods

About 16,000 miles ago I took the car into Just Brakes to fix some nasty sounds coming from the brakes. They rebuilt all 4 calipers, changed the pads on all 4 wheels, resurfaced the rotors, and flushed the brake fluids.

Last week the brakes were making excessive sounds again so I took the car back in. The pads on the front left and right were worn all of the way down again, but evenly. I had them replace the rotors (original) on the front wheels and they supposedly checked the master cylinder, which they said seemed OK. The front pads were replaced under warranty. They did ask for me to return in @4,000 to check the wear.

Now, I'm noticing a strong burning smell from the front left when I get out of the car. The front left is definitely hotter than the right, and there is no strong smell or excessive heat from any of the other 3 wheels. I'm not noticing a pull either.

I'm reasonably handy with cars (have Chilton will travel), but am by no means extremely knowledgeable. Any ideas? Bad work on the caliper?

 

with that high of a mile for a 5 year old car, it probably means who ever drove it before you didn't take care of it that well or drove it excessively...i think it might be a deeper problem than you think to have all kinds of brake problems that you have and going through all the fixes

 

I bought the car with 29K mile in 6/01. I drive a lot every year in my job, but I make every effort to keep it maintained. I follow Chilton's maint. schedule and take in for service for things I don't want to mess with.

That being said, any thoughts other than it may be a deeper problem?

 

Learn to drive?

Ah, I don't have any immediate solutions, but it shouldn't be a hard problem to track down. How far had you driven when the pads had been worn down from new?

You might wanna try driving around the block, then pulling back into you're driveway. Put the front of the car up on jacks. Take the wheels off and see if you can turn the rotors by hand. If you can't, then you've got constant contact with your brakes. If you can, well, good for you.

That's all for now. Answer my question so I can brainstorm more.

 

My suspicion is that one of your calipers isn't working properly, and the pad is dragging on the rotor a little bit. Take it back and explain. They should fix itr free.

 

i think its either your master cylinder or your calipers are bad... they should do all that work for you for free

 

"How far had you driven when the pads had been worn down from new?"

16,000 miles from new pads.

I'll try your suggestion tonight and let you know. Thanks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by John Gordon &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My suspicion is that one of your calipers isn't working properly, and the pad is dragging on the rotor a little bit. Take it back and explain. They should fix itr free.</TD></TR></TABLE>

that would be must best guess also.

 

I read somewhere that when one of the calipers is stuck, the others try to compensate. If that theory holds water, and I'm not sure if it does, and the right caliper piston is stuck would the left be overworking as it is now to compensate? Or is it more likely the left is stuck and is constantly engaged, even slightly.

 

i believe it's more likely the left is stuck and is slightly draggin on the rotor. do you notice a lot of brake dust on the rim on the side that's giving you trouble?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KGAccord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i believe it's more likely the left is stuck and is slightly draggin on the rotor. do you notice a lot of brake dust on the rim on the side that's giving you trouble?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, but there's always been a pretty good amount of dust on the front 2 wheels. I did notice the left has more than the right and it's possible the left's dust is caked on deeper than the right (if that makes sense).

When I picked up the car the last time at Just Brakes, they said it might be the power booster. I'm going to try the test outlined in the Chilton to check the booster, but I'm very cautious about Just Brakes leading me down a path to replace just about everything in the brake system unnecessarily thus generating them more business. Of course the thought that they messed up with one of the rebuilt calipers never enters their minds.

Thanks.


Modified by focker1636 at 2:02 PM 4/6/2004

 

check the brake line.. if they removed the calipers to rebuild it and reused the washers (big no no), then brake fluid could be slowly leaking and getting on to the pads causing that burnt smell..

check that first.. if that's not it.. i'd say that just brakes doesn't know brakes..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by riceburner247 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Learn to drive?

Ah, I don't have any immediate solutions, but it shouldn't be a hard problem to track down. How far had you driven when the pads had been worn down from new?

You might wanna try driving around the block, then pulling back into you're driveway. Put the front of the car up on jacks. Take the wheels off and see if you can turn the rotors by hand. If you can't, then you've got constant contact with your brakes. If you can, well, good for you.

That's all for now. Answer my question so I can brainstorm more.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Tested this last night. The rotors turned by hand after driving around the block, then put on jacks and wheels were off. I also performed the test outlined in the Chilton for the power booster. It's an engine on/off sequence while pressing the brake pedal. That appeared fine as well.

 

Someone meantioned to me that it may just be a combination of not using Honda pads and the type of driving I do, which will wear the brakes in 16-20K. The reason I bought the Honda was for it's reputation as a dependable vehicle, knowing that I do drive 20K+ a year in my job. Some miles are highway and others are hard city miles. Also, I've always used Raybestos pads, but should I be using Honda? I know that some cars never brake as well or squeal more if the factory pads are not used.

Would it be in my best interest to switch to Honda or ceramic pads in the future?