Brake Pedal Punches Back. Solution?

[Jaysson_2012]

I have a brake problem...

When i'm going 45mph or faster and hit the brake, it stops and slows fine, but it feels like the pedal is steadily punching my foot "BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP BUMP" there is no sound, you can only feel it if your foot is on the pedal. It does not shake the car or anything, and is not the wheels/tires. Does anybody know what it might be?

I need new pads soonish, so i figured i would try replacing the rotors too.

Oh, and they get REALLY hot. I can barely touch the rim when i'm done driving casually. Thats how hot they get.

Any brand recomendations? how about the ones on ebay, like these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-ACCORD...ht_3187wt_1275

[Tippey764]

Do you have ABS in your car?

Also i wouldn't buy that ebay junk.

[Jaysson_2012]

Do you have ABS in your car?

Also i wouldn't buy that ebay junk.

Yes i do. Is it related?
The light does not come on.
Except for when i do 80 or above, it will come on. But does not come back on if i restart the car.

Yea figured so on the parts. I will probably buy what Napa gives me. They are pretty honest.

[deevergote]

The light only comes on when ABS is malfunctioning. ABS will pump your brakes for you. If it's functioning, and you're braking hard enough for it to kick in... then that is what you are feeling. If it's not ABS, then it's likely severely warped rotors.


NAPA is pretty good for replacement parts. I'd put them above most other autoparts store chains. OEM Honda is always best, though. Look up prices on www.hondaautomotiveparts.com to see what they have. If the prices aren't significantly higher than aftermarket, go OEM.

[Jaysson_2012]

Ok so i read some more threads. I noticed Brembo blank rotors were recommended alot, and EBC pads were too. I think i will go with that set up.
Any caliper recommendations?

These arent just ebay junk i don't think. They are just being sold there.
Rotors
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Pieces-Gen...#ht_500wt_1057

Pads
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Civic-EBC-Ul...ht_2753wt_1042

[BurtonRiderT6]

Ok so i read some more threads. I noticed Brembo blank rotors were recommended alot, and EBC pads were too. I think i will go with that set up.
Any caliper recommendations?

Why do you think you need to change your calipers?

[GeoffM]

The wheels will get very warm, especially if they're steelies.
What you need to do is figure out if it's just a brake problem, or if it's ABS.
Read the sticky at the beginning of this section to figure out how to diagnose a CEL. Then tell us what ABS codes you have.

ABS kicks on when one or more wheels isn't braking at the same rate as the others. You've said your front wheel get very hot. I'd say either your fronts are dragging and braking too much, or you have an issue with your rears(less likely).

[batever]

The fact that your ABS light comes on at 80 mph and above indicates some kind of sensor issue. Basically, there must be some slight differential in rotation speed between your two wheels, small enough that it doesn't produce an ABS warning at lower speeds, and large enough at higher speeds that it triggers an ABS warning.

However, with that small differential in place at lower speeds, in your case, 45 mph and above, as soon as you press on the brakes, the small detected deviation in wheelspeed between left and right will likely trigger the ABS system, even though it's not enough to pop up the warning light at that speed. The ABS system then deploys the brakes at full force and repeatedly, pumping them on and off multiple times per second, so that would explain the extra hot wheel temperature. They wouldn't be geting that hot from normal driving that you can't touch them--they should be at the most slightly warm or warm.

The only reason your car isn't skidding under that extreme braking is that the ABS is also releasing the brakes multiple times per second to allow the wheels to rotate.

So, i believe the problem is with your ABS system, or its interaction with the wheels (more specifically, interaction with the rotation of the left and right axles via the ABS speed sensor, most plausibly due to an actual mismatch in axle speed) An easy way to check is to disable the ABS by removing the ABS fuse, then see how braking changes. don't worry, the ABS is a supplementary braking system, and deactivating it this way will leave the standard (hydraulic/mechanical) braking system in place. You may be safer with the ABS disabled, currently , if the ABS isn't working (and assuming you know proper skid control technique with standard brakes) than with it on, IF this is an ABS issue.

I would then start with making sure that you have identical front wheels, and identical tires on the fronts, (same make and same size, and with equal wear on both front tires--you don't want one almost worn out front and one newer front tire in an ABS car). All of this is important for ABS functioning.


If that isn't enough to solve it and is the ABS, (diagnosed by removing the ABS fuse and then seeing how the brakes work) then you have a bit of a puzzle to solve, which i will not get into right now.

you may have glazed pads and warped rotors after this because of the extremely high repeated heat cycling of the brakes system due to the constant ABS activation every time you brake above 45 mph.

[MortsAccord]

A sticky caliper can cause the rims to get rather hot. When was the last time you changed the pads? When was the last time you completely purged your brake fluid? Were the calipers hard to push in? I can usualy push pistons in by hand( i got meaty forearms) and if I can't then I consider the caliper to need some work.(just pushing the piston in/out an inch or 2 around 20 times usually solves a sticking caliper, then I purge the fluid with the caliper fully depressed and check its color.)

I don't know about on 4th gens, but on my 5th gen I can de-activate ABS by clicking my E-brake up one notch(which doesn't engauge the brake anyways on my car) and drive for a short distance until the ABS light comes on. Its a lot more simple than pulling a fuse.

Is it doing this under light braking? or just when braking 60-0 in say 2 seconds?