Honda Civic Forum - Everyone with break squeaks...check it out

Just like many of you over the past 4 months i've had some crazy break squeaking, and I just hit 21,700 miles. I could have sworn my breaks were already gone; even when I backed outta my driveway i'd squeak. However, slowing down anywhere from 80+ mph, my steering wheel would tremble a bit, so not only did I think I had worn breaks, but started to think I warped my rotors. Well...went to the dealer to complain that the breaks were bad at only 20k miles, so they inspected them... turns out actually that my breaks are in pretty good shape still, i've got bout 5mm left on my fronts (rougly 52% of new) and 3.5mm in the back drum....i'll get another 10,000 outta the front and up until 75,000 in the rear. Its my ROtors that are warped. Believe it or not, I didn't even have to complain to Honda, they're cutting my rotors for free under warranty on Monday. My advise to you is to go get them checked out. They'll pay for it (not for pads though). And as far as the rear drum, most of the time the squeaking is just cuz of break dust deposits.
Truthfully, Honda's stock breaking system is notorious for cheap parts. Ask anybody with a Civic or Accord as far back as '95. If you have to get your rotors re-cut everytime you slam your breaks for deer & road debris (and you can only get a good 3 cuts outta slightly warped rotors) , you might as well spend $450 for an AEM big rotor kit. I've been told they work phenomenally well, you can use your stock calipers, and they'll last like 4x the time your stock ones do. Just make sure you buy performance break pads. (its not a good idea, however, to use performance pads on your stock rotors. Honda made their 'crap' literally, for their 'crap')
To check and see if your rotors are warped, probably the best method is to slowly ease the car into 1st, and have someone check and see if the wheel is wobbling in and out as it goes forward. You can't really tell by looking at the rotors.
Anyhow, I just finished goin through all this myself, so hopefully while it's fresh on my mind some of you can make use outta it. Then again, who knows, your pads could be just plain ol shot...