sdcharger1233

Hi:

I was on the freeway going aproximately 70mph and tried to apply my breaks. There was no resistance when i pushed on the break pedal. This happened three or four times. When i got off the free way and resumed city driving, the brakes worked fine. I had my mechanic check it and i trust him. He didn't find anything. He inspected the master cylander and its seals as well as the break pads and rotors. Everything looked fine to him.

I am worried because this happened three or four times, not just once.

What should i do? Should i take it to the dealer? I think the dealers are over priced sometimes and may not have the most experienced mechanics. I've had bad experiences all be it not from honda dealers. Also, if i do take it to the dealer how can i find out which one in my area has the best reputation for repairing cars?

Thank you so much for your help!

Sdcharger1233 (go chargers!)

MelJ

What exactly do you mean by no brake resistance? Did the pedal go to the floor? Did the car not respond to the pedal being pressed? If I were you, I'd have your mechanic road test the car in the same exact scenario you're describing. Some times you can't replicate it at the shop because you need to be at a certain speed. That, IMO, would be the best route to go.

sdcharger1233

Thank you MelJ. My break pedal actually did go to the floor or pretty close to it. The car would not stop when the pedal was pressed. After my mechanic looked at it and told me there was nothing wrong, I did ask him to take it on the freeway and test it and told him I was going between 60-70mph.

I am not sure where to go from here.

Does anybody else know of any break issues/recalls with the Honda Civic LX?

MelJ

I don't wanna say I'm 100% on it, but the brakes might need to be bled. When was the last time you had that done?

sdcharger1233

Thanks MelJ. No, have not had the brakes bled. By the way, the car has had its 30,000 and 60,000 checkups. I am not sure if the brakes were bled at either of those times. How often should I have the brakes bled?

pjb3

The only time that the brakes need to be bled is if air gets into the system. This can happen if the fluid in the master cylinder gets low enough that air is drawn into the lines or if brake parts such as calipers, wheel cylinders or brake line have to be replaced.
As part of maintenance the brake system should be flushed. This is the same process but for a different reason. When you bleed the brakes you are pushing new fluid out to the wheels to remove any air bubbles, when you flush the system you follow the same procedure but you are replacing old fluid with new. The reason you flush the system is brake fluid absorbs moisture from the air which will lower it's boiling point and also increase corrosion in the brake system. Flushing should be done about every 2 to 4 years but a lot of people ignore it.
I doubt your brakes need to be bled. If you have air in the brake system it does not come and go. Air would cause the pedal to go to the floor but until it was bled the brakes they would not work correctly. My guess would be the master cylinder. One of the internal seals or valves could be going bad and seal correctly sometimes but not all the time.
If it is the master cylinder they can try a bench bleed before mounting the new master cylinder which removes all the air in the master cylinder and should prevent air from entering the brake lines. If they bleed the brakes at the wheels this will flush the system as well.

MelJ

Thanks for the explanation. I was thinking air as well, which is why I said it might need a bleed soon. But the master cylinder idea is something that should be considered as well. Are there any visible leaks OP?

lazlong

1. Bleed the system.

2. If that still doesn't fix it and there are no visible leaks replace the master cylinder.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

1. bleed brakes (all 4 corners)
i would bleed until you completely get new fluid in there

2. replace the brake pads. you might have some really crappy pads that give you problems. its called BRAKE FADE. it happens when the bakes pads+rotors build up heat. braking problems start here. this is what ur problem sounds like.

3. check rotor to see if it is warped

4. check master cylinder. you might need to get a new one...but this usually doesnt fail. most master cyl will last the life of the car.

lazlong

Dam, completely forgot about brake fade. Talk about a brain fart.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

^haha yea i was wondering why you didnt mention it.

pjb3

Brake fade does not cause the pedal to go to the floor. Under repeated hard stops the brakes will fade, but that just means you are applying the brakes and the result is less than the normal stopping power. The pedal travel stays the same. The only way brake fade might lead to the pedal going to the floor is if it was so severe and you had heated the brakes so much that you boiled the fluid in the calipers. In this case the brakes do not return to normal as he described.

If the pedal went to the floor a couple of times and then returned to normal I would guess master cylinder. Air has to be bled and does not just disappear so if the pedal travel returns to normal I doubt it is air.

If you feel comfortable bleeding the brakes yourself that would be my first step. A quart of brake fluid is $15 to $20 and if it does not fix the problem you flushed the system which is not a bad idea any way. The problem is that if it is the master cylinder it may happen again at a time when you really have to stop. If it was my car I would replace the master cylinder since they are not usually expensive and not hard to replace. This is a guess and replacing parts by guess work can get expensive. You could go back and discuss it with your mechanic some more and see if he has any new ideas.

pjb3

I forgot to mention, if you decide to do any of the work yourself, brake fluid is hard on paint so be careful. If you do get brake fluid on a painted surface, wipe it off. The damage to paint is not instant so you don't have to be paranoid, just don't forget about it.

lazlong

@ pjb3: If the pads on all 4 wheels are low it will cause this exact symptom. We call it brake fade for lack of a better term. You're thinking of brake fade after heavy or extreme use.

FYI: DOT3 is on sale at O'reillys for $4.99 right now.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

either a small leak (are there brake fluid drops on the ground?) or master cylinder.

SpeedDownZone

umm this happened to me about 4 months ago turns out my brake fluid was dark brown and so it was way past the point of changing. Me and my cuz bleed all four lines with new fluid using a clear tube connected to the brake to see when clear/new fluid started coming out.

pjb3

I thought about brake wear but he said his mechanic checked the brake pads, rotors and master cylinder. The only way I can think of getting air in the system without a leak is if the master cyclinder was dry and air entered that way. It would be pretty hard to have a dry master cylinder and not notice it but it is possible.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

Umm I think its your master cylinder.