Brakes Brake wear

[damianscott71]

Originally Posted by Vivienne Bird

Corrosion on rear discs after 1 year and 25000 miles !

You'll get corrosion on the face of your discs after washing them. Is this what you're experiencing? Or is it thick flaky corrosion on the outer edge of the disc?

This is to do with the type of steel used to manufacture brake discs. It's pretty normal IMHO.

[damianscott71]

Just need 2 more posts before I get to 200!

Can't wait!!!!

[damianscott71]

Couldn't wait any longer!

Whoopee! 200 posts of pure ignorance & confusion! Hooray for me!

[andy.stryker]

I just had my 25,000 mile service last Saturday they said that my front tyres were almost bald, this was the second set since new, and that my front brake pads and disks needed changing, that I had maybe a month/2000 miles. Seeing as most of my driving is on motorways/duel carriage ways I thought this a bit soon. It is now Wednesday I returned the car to the garage with no front brakes, the pads disappeared in 280 miles, just a high pitched squeal and only the back brakes to try and stop a high speed car. This seems to be a fault with the civic and Honda should do something about it, I am not rich and £230 for front tyres every 6 months is abit much.

[Pottsy]

Andy - did you see the wear on the front tyres? Was it even, across the tread. If not, you may well have an alignment problem. Well worth going to a good tyre dealer and getting a full laser alignment done.

I can't understand what may cause the brakes to wear so quickly. Mine are at "50%" at 25,000 miles. Have you owned the car from new?

[andy.stryker]

Yes I have had the car since new, the wear seemed to be even across the width of the tyre, the garage said that they did not think it was an alignment problem.

[FWH]

Originally Posted by andy.stryker

I just had my 25,000 mile service last Saturday they said that my front tyres were almost bald, this was the second set since new, and that my front brake pads and disks needed changing, that I had maybe a month/2000 miles. Seeing as most of my driving is on motorways/duel carriage ways I thought this a bit soon. It is now Wednesday I returned the car to the garage with no front brakes, the pads disappeared in 280 miles, just a high pitched squeal and only the back brakes to try and stop a high speed car. This seems to be a fault with the civic and Honda should do something about it, I am not rich and £230 for front tyres every 6 months is abit much.

Are you saying that you need to change front tyres every 12,500 miles (20 000 km)? That seems very excesive unless your are dropping the clutch at 6500 rpm a lot.

[andy.stryker]

Yep first lot of tyres lasted 14,000 last set lasted 10,000. Driving standard low revs in a diesel, am a contractor so try to drive very economical.

[FWH]

Originally Posted by andy.stryker

Yep first lot of tyres lasted 14,000 last set lasted 10,000. Driving standard low revs in a diesel, am a contractor so try to drive very economical.

What kind of tyres did you have first and second?
There is a 40% differance between the two, something got worse.

I have only been driving my Civic for a short time so I have no experience of tyre wear in the Civic, but I have never had any car eat tyres like that!

I have never got less than 30 000 miles out of tyres.

But missalignment can cause partial wear quickly.

[andy.stryker]

The first set were the factory fit Michelin Pilot Primacy 225/45/17 the second set were the Michelin Pilot Sport. There is only one tyre depot round here that stocks tyre size that fit the Civic and they only stock the Michelin Pilot Sport.

[andy.stryker]

After almost killing myself in a civic with failing brakes, the dealer dealt the coupe-de-gras. The reason that my brakes destroyed themselves was 1.) due to my driving style. 2.) The bad weather we have been getting.

Due to this fact and the fact that they had told me on the servicing that the brakes pads and disks need changing, the fault is not covered by warranty and that will be a further £254.27 now please.

So tomorrow I am going to look for a new car, maybe a Toyota or Ford, that does not cost me a £1000.00 a year in Tyres and brakes.

[elisgriffiths]

Originally Posted by andy.stryker

After almost killing myself in a civic with failing brakes, the dealer dealt the coupe-de-gras. The reason that my brakes destroyed themselves was 1.) due to my driving style. 2.) The bad weather we have been getting.

Due to this fact and the fact that they had told me on the servicing that the brakes pads and disks need changing, the fault is not covered by warranty and that will be a further £254.27 now please.

So tomorrow I am going to look for a new car, maybe a Toyota or Ford, that does not cost me a £1000.00 a year in Tyres and brakes.

I am having similar if not so extreme problems as you. I do 25,000 miles a year on the M4 mostly and am suffering the same type of ware issues as you. I to was told by my dealer and by Pottsy that it must by my driving... frankly the number of times this issue crops up is starting to annoy me...

I travel in a pretty much straight line at 80 for about a hundred miles a day with 10 miles of urban split either end. I to am starting to think that not only is blaming my driving (though I will admit to not being one who hangs about) a bloody cheek on behalf of the stealers (Pottsy can say what he likes because he is such a bloody civic legend) but am beginning to worry as to the what and why of it... My disks seem to be wearing very lightly but man does she eat the pads an tyres on the front...

I used to absolutely cane (and I mean to legendary status) my old 306 and it used to give me 30,000 miles a set of tyres and pads a bit more, with one set of disks at 70,000... I drive far more sedately now (haven't a choice on the M4), just the odd B road blast on the weekends...
I don't expect the civic to go as long as the old pug, it's heavier and has more power, but 15,000-20,000 miles for the front tyres and 25,000 miles for the pads should be reasonable bet surely! (especially as these numbers seem par for the course with the accord and certain other civics with more power than mine!)...

Anyhow that's my two pence (again)

[andy.stryker]

Thanks for confirming what I believe, I tried contacting Honda's Customer relations people, it was like talking to a brick wall, after explaining myself twice, all I got was "I suppose we could talk to the dealer on your behalf if you really want us to". After that response I was really annoyed and stopped into a Toyota dealer on my way home and ordered a new Avensis. It will be a cold day in hell before I return to Honda. Their loss!!

[Pottsy]

I'm getting 23,000 miles out of a set of tyres (so that's 11,500 out of the fronts - because I rotate). Some may think that's poor - but the tyres on the Civic are 225's made out of the softest "normal" compound. A few years ago these very tyres were on the front of a new Porsche - now we see them on a Civic and are hoping for eco performance!

Driving carefully doesn't help much, since these lovely soft tyres will wear just by transferring the continuous 40 bhp or so that you use on the motorway in a straight line.

If economy is the order of the day, then fitting narrower and harder tyres is the way forward. But then there would be complaints about poor grip - the poor old manufacturer is going to have a hard time winning.

The brakes are an odd one (Ellis - have I said the wrong thing in the past ?) Non-faulty brakes should last 20,000 to 50,000. Again, eco rubbish nanny state rules combined with a requirement for the brakes to not squeak nor judder leads to soft pads. Accept grinding pads and a dose of cancer and the brakes would last for years. But then come the oddities. If a calliper were to stick, then that pad and disc would wear quickly. It would be odd to have exactly the same on both sides though. You can easily test by driving a few miles without touching the brakes (use the handbrake if needed) and then feeling the front discs (with care!!!). Seriously hot = problem. Furthermore, sticking callipers tend to appear on cars that are not driven much.

If a disc wears out at 25,000 miles (like Andy's) then you'd think that this was probably wrong. I have seen this - but the discs were warped early in their life, and then the warpedness trashed both the discs and pads. But you know if the discs are warped - you come to a halt in a series of increasing and decreasing retardation (or vibration at high speed).

It's true that tyres pads and discs are all consumables, just like oil and fuel, so are not covered by the warranty. But I'd ask the dealer a simple question: Exactly how long should the discs last, as a minimum, on this car?

[czechplastik]

Originally Posted by andy.stryker

After that response I was really annoyed and stopped into a Toyota dealer on my way home and ordered a new Avensis.

Poor choice matey! I've been driving one for the last 3 weeks, can't stand the thing, no soul at all

[FWH]

Originally Posted by czechplastik

I've been driving one for the last 3 weeks

Why? Land rover in for service or wot?

[czechplastik]

Originally Posted by FWH

Why? Land rover in for service or wot?

I've been on a month long course, that was the vehicle we were given

[elisgriffiths]

Originally Posted by Pottsy

Ellis - have I said the wrong thing in the past ?)

No, no, not at all, I sorry you got caught in the crossfire... You just happened to reiterate a point that I have found all stealers unfortunately use... i.e. as I was told by one unfortunate stealer "it's the nut behind the wheel"... Which in all honesty could well be true in most cases, but not in this... The reaction from the stealers is of course that he (in this case me) doth protest to much...

I am afraid that I would not be able to rotate at 12,000 miles as by then the fronts would be at least 2m.m. left which for me is changeover time...(if i was lucky)... I was the one who smoked a set of Pilot sports sp2's in 6,000 miles with my motorway madness, .

I have done a little digging and asked my Cousin who works at swindon (i.e. the mothership)... Their hire divison i.e. company cars seem to expect around 15,000-18,000 miles for the fronts in tyre ware, and about 25,000 miles for the front pads in normal driving. Motorway should mean higher figures but he pointed out that motorway miles are what these hire/fleet cars do.

If I could match those figures I would be a far happier camper.
I am sure it will resolve at some point (hopefully with me getting a big pay rise and being able to run one of those Japanese spec type R's... then i really would not mind 6,000miles for tyres and pads)

[Kpow99]

Well my rear pads were making a funny noise and I asked local stealer to check...could not find anything, when they started grinding a few weeks later went back and pads had worn 100% at 18k miles!?!?!? wasn't happy and kicked up a fuss with the service manager, when they took a closer look one pad had worn 100% as it was not seated in the caliper properly. At 12.5K servcie they don't take the wheels off to do a visual on the inside pads which is why they missed it then.

Honda replaced pads and discs at their expense, trouble is, when I'm driving in to work I have the window down to swipe in the barrier I can hear a very slight contact noise.....here is my dilema now, do I go back to the same stealer I have always gone to and kick up again about pads or go to a new one???. (my usual dealer I always seem to have a problem or two with and they always seem to find on the second or third time of me asking, which wastes my time and gets on my t!ts)

Here's a funny thing, called my usual stealer as needed new wiper blades, told the guy that I needed wipers for new shape 2006 civic, reply was "Do you just want fronts? I tell you what I nearly PMSL they wanted £22 for supply only, well I had a leaflet come through that said £20 fitted so told them I'd go elsewhere. Went to another in their group and the very nice parts guy came out and fitted them in about 1 min and charged £20

Anyway in 1000 miles we will see If I need another set of front pads after the last ones where replaced at 16k miles. Won't be happy if they do, trouble is if you ask to see them there is every chance they will show you someone elses My car is mainly used to do a 60 mile round trip to work and of that 40 miles is cruising on the M25 (work shift so don't get the traffic)

Will update after the have robbed me blind.

[jimbo]

Just had the same experience with the rear pads on my civic , at 32,000 miles , despite being only 50% worn at 25k service , I noticed a grinding whilst on the M25 , pulled off and went to the 1st garage I could find , one pad was down to the metal , the other 3 were 90% worn !
Incedently the front pads needed changing on the 1st and 2nd service , and I suspect it will need front pads and discs on the 3rd service !
Jimbo