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Honda Odyssey Brakes

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Comments

  • ancodysseyancodyssey Member Posts: 3
    We only have one Honda shop within 350 miles. I will never walk into the Honda Dealer in Anchorage again!!
  • al_n_akal_n_ak Member Posts: 1
    Whew! I feel your pain I was in Anchorage till a few months ago and it was where I had my Ody's worked on. I will say that when I got to Anc 2006 they had the best service department I'd ever seen (period), but before I left they were threatening layoffs for the workers and the whole attitude changed. The "economy" was causing them to try and earn more through their service deparment. I had trouble with a spare tire replacement they cut my spare tire putting wiring for a trailer hitch lights and wouldn't fix the spare bcs it wasn't under warranty, and they cut the spare, it made no sense they were going to charge me $400 to fix something they broke??? So I was glad to be outta there. The only other good place I got service was Kendal Ford in Wasilla, but it was a diesel and Ford treats diesel owners a little different...

    I have had brake issues with my Ody and had to turn the brakes at 37k, and I put on very high quality ceramic brakes from wagner.
  • goodlookingoodlookin Member Posts: 1
    The three descriptions above are ways others have described the noise coming from my 2008 Odyssey EXL brakes. (It is definitely not a "squeal".) At least we assume it is the brakes, since it happens when they are applied. The first time it happened I was slowing down at a stop light and I looked at my husband and said "What the h*** was THAT?" On looking around the occupants of other cars were looking at us as if we were going to explode. At the time we had about 3000 miles on it. It now happens at odd intervals for no apparent reason but mostly going downhill. Sometimes very loud, other times more quietly. Have had it back to the dealer twice and each time they say they have tested driven it and have not heard it. But I have had some very interesting and completely unbelievable explanations, involving brake pads, dampness, dirt and grime buildup being crushed when brakes are applied, etc. Anyone have ANY idea what this could be and how I can get Honda to listen to a woman and quit treating her like she is an idiot that will believe anything they hand her. I'm honestly afraid to take this thing more than 25 miles from home because of mountainous roads and a husband who can no longer walk. This was to be our saviour vehicle because we were able to get a lift for his wheelchair partially paid for by Honda installed in the area where the 3 row of seats are! HELP!!
  • printer2printer2 Member Posts: 7
    Hey Goodlookin,
    Join the club.
    We currently have the 2008 ODY EXL with 18000 miles and been having exactly the same problem. Had the recall items repaired and it still does it at odd intervals. The Dealers service department could not duplicate the noise when it was there for the recall.
    .
    Prior to the 2008, we had an 2006 ODY EXL and what do you know, had the same problem, only add grinding noise. With the 2006 they claimed it was bad brake pads and replaced them at 7000 miles. At 12000 miles the noise started again. "Can't duplicate the problem" says the service department. Lived with it until 27000 miles and then traded for the 2008.

    Interesting that the brakes were fine except for the erratic noise. Had independent shop check the brakes and they were working properly.

    Thought for sure in 2008 that Honda had found and corrected the noise problem by that time. But alas they won't even admit to it.
  • sd_dadsd_dad Member Posts: 34
    edited October 2010
    We have an '08 Touring non-Pax that has always had what I would describe as more of a "groaning" sound (kind of like an elephant trumpeting) from the front brakes toward the end of a stop. We have had it examined by two dealers at least 5 times. Both were able to reproduce the sound, but explained that "it's supposed to be that way"--they claim that people complained that the pads wore out too quickly on the older models, so they reformulated the pads to be harder on the later models, but a side-effect is that when they heat up they make a loud groaning noise. One dealer changed the pads and resurfaced the rotors (shortening their life span, right?), but that didn't make a difference. This is a common issue (a friend who also bought an '08 has the same problem) that clearly requires attention and a remedy.
  • barberikyawpbarberikyawp Member Posts: 7
    Hi, I believe you! I have a 2006 Ody and my brakes have failed on it 3 times with my kids in the car. Fortunately, I was able to avoid hitting anyone, barely. One time I ended up in a front yard! I have had numerous problems with this car and I have posted some of them previously. (new power steering system, new brakes/rotors, bleeding the brake lines, recalls for other Ody years - I'm sure you've noticed the 2006 is left out of all of the recalls, except for the one earlier this month - a new traction control unit, new transmission, and most recently, a new master cylinder and new brake lines. Well, I've had problems since the car was 2 months old. I bought the car new. I still think the transmission has issues, but at least it's back under warranty for 3 years. The good news is that the soft brake pedal is gone, my traction is better and my brakes actually work! I slid on ice 2 days ago and, instead of my brake pedal dropping to the floor and losing pressure, the antilock system and traction control kicked in and worked! I would have hit someone this time!

    I took my van in EVERY time it had a problem with each of the above mentioned issues, so I had extensive documentation of the problems. Honda paid for everything along the way ( 4 YEARS of this crap) except for the transmission, where they paid half. I had 85k+ miles on it when the transmission was replaced. Also, I went to a different dealership along the way ( we moved) and the new one was way more responsive and worked with Honda directly to correct the problems. I dealt with the service dept manager there from the beginning and gave them all of my previous documentation. When I first arrived, they looked at me like I was crazy. I explained to them that I have better things to do than to be without a car, for days at a time having 3 kids to run around and stressed the safety issue. I also threatened to get an attorney. Of course the car would not act up on test drives, but on the last one it did! So stick with it! The tech said it was the worst transmission and braking issues he had seen yet! Don't know how it will hold up, but if things crop up again, I will put up another post. Good luck! You have to get to the right people. Honda is not the company it once was, sadly. We just sold a 1990 accord with 280,000 miles on it and only changed the oil, timing belt, and brakes.
  • jcstep22jcstep22 Member Posts: 2
    Hello,

    First off just want to thank everyone for their many comments on the 2007/2008 Odyssey soft brake issues. Your comments have been a great help to me.

    We have a 2008 Odyssey and by the time we realized we had an issue with soft brakes, Honda put out the recall. The brakes were fine for about a year and then they went back to being soft again. I took the van in Dec 2010 and the service department told me the brake fluid had gotten contaminated so they flushed the system. The brakes were fine for about a month and now they are soft again.

    I read the posts on this issue pretty thoroughly and it seems that in the timeline once the recall was put out it seemed to fix the issue. I don’t see any posts referring to the recall not working.

    Am I correct in that the soft brake recall done properly will fix this issue for good?
    (If so mine was not done correctly)

    Thanks in advance,

    Jon
  • defcarpenterdefcarpenter Member Posts: 18
    I had my brakes worked on several times to no avail. The last "repair" was done after the recall notice and it seemed to have fixed the problem. I believe that it was last summer when this issued was addressed.
  • sonofknudsonofknud Member Posts: 50
    You could have them replace the ABS Modulator. When I first had my issue that is the part that could leak. Maybe you have an internal issue with leaking. I have heard of that happening to the ABS Modulator on other Honda vehicles.
  • jcstep22jcstep22 Member Posts: 2
    Thanks for the response guys. We took the van in and they bled the brakes real good and they feel great. Hopefully we won't have anymore issues. We really do love the van. :)
  • marygwynnemarygwynne Member Posts: 1
    Two days ago, as I pulled to a stop sign my brakes in my 2008 Odyssey went soft. I was able to stop the van but was several feet past the stop sign. At the next stop sign (by this time I was scared and driving very slow) I applied the brakes again and they went soft again. I pushed the pedal as hard as I could and still went 4 to 5 feet past the stop sign out into the intersection. There was also a very loud sound at the same time, that sounded like I was on gravel. I instinctively turned off the AC immediately, and the noise stopped. I continued to drive that evening without the AC on, and had no more problems. We took it to the Honda dealership the next day. They were not able to "duplicate" the problem, and have checked everything (brake pads, rotors, lines, etc.) and "can't do anything." I brought up these forums and others that I have read that talk about the soft brake issue, and even went as far as printing some of the discussions out that spoke about a problem with master cylinders and soft brakes. They have now had the car for two days, have made calls to the Honda tech people and have passed it the service manager and another manager above him, but still have done nothing. We are now just waiting for their call, as the manager, who now has the file is "out to lunch." I informed them that driving my three children in a car whose brakes may or may not work is not ok. Any suggestions on how to deal with this, besides never buying another odyssey and going to another dealer?
  • driven5driven5 Member Posts: 1
  • imoimo Member Posts: 16
    I have the 2008 Ody that I bought used.
    Honda database showed the dealer fixed the van for
    TSB 10-017 (Air In VSA Modulator-Control Unit Causes Low/Soft Brake Pedal).

    When I bought the van, I felt the brakes felt softer than usual.
    The selling dealership's technician told me nothing was wrong. They had replaced the
    brake fluid and bled the brake lines when they did the TSB 10-017.

    I brought the van to a different dealership and the tech also said nothing was wrong.

    I decided that since these dealerships didn't care enough, I had to do the work myself.
    I bought an inexpensive tool from Ebay and bled the brakes on my own.
    For several days now, the brake softness was gone.
    I'll wait and see if the brakes continue to stay firm.
  • mdawggmdawgg Member Posts: 2
    My 2003 Honda Odyssey with 85,000 miles had a brake job last October, 2010. The front and rear brake pads were replaced and the front and rear rotors were turned. After just a few miles out of the shop the brakes made a continuous scraping sound when applied. I took it back to the shop and they scored some lines across the rotors, which helped to quiet the brakes. Now 5 months later the right rear brake makes a loud scraping sound when the brakes are applied. It's not a continuous scraping sound like before, but now it sounds like "scrape... scrape... scrape..." I took it back to the shop and they couldn't find anything wrong. Any suggestions?
  • momwithkidsmomwithkids Member Posts: 5
    I took my car in because it was shuddering violently when I applied brakes on the freeway. I drive the car "lightly" normally - no hills, etc. and mostly drive around town. I drive on the freeway once or twice a week for short distances. I have 32K on the 2009 ODY and have owned it for 2 years. The tech told me the shuddering was "normal" and meant that the rotors had to be resurfaced and the front brakes replaced. I told him that my SIENNA went much longer without a brake replacement and he said "probably true, since the ODY is very heavy." He also told me that all Hondas have shorter brake replacement times, and that I was "lucky" because normal front brake replacement is from 12-20K miles. Is this true? If so, then I'm looking at an almost annual front brake replacement if I drive 15-20K. This seems ridiculous to me! Anyone?
  • robr2robr2 Member Posts: 8,805
    What you are feeling are warped rotors. In the past 15 years, I have not owned a car that didn't suffer from them at some point.

    If the majority of your driving is stop and go, in town driving then your brake life will be shorter. IMHO, it's one of those things. There is no "standard" for brake life because no two people drive under the same conditions all the time.

    To give you an idea, I had a 91 Honda Accord that went 110K miles before the first brake work and that was front pads only. 95% of my driving was highway and that was a manual. Our 00 Odyssey has had front brakes twice and rear brakes 3 times in the first 85K miles - heavy vehicle that sees mainly suburban stop and go.
  • sonofknudsonofknud Member Posts: 50
    edited July 2011
    I have a 2008 Odyssey with over 60K miles and we have not done brakes yet. I am very easy on brakes but my wife does most of the driving on the Odyssey and we do a mix of freeway and city driving. I take my brakes to an independent shop. I recently had them checked and they said the pads had over 50% life left. I would try an independent shop that just does brakes and mufflers. Maybe use Angies list or Consumer Checkbook to get a good shop. For brakes you do not need to go to the dealer. IMO, If you think they are treating your poorly take it elsewhere.
  • ancodysseyancodyssey Member Posts: 3
    I AGREE! I thought about purchasing a Mazda, but the same place owns the Honda and Mazda shop. I can't stand the Honda shop in Anchorage after last year when they charged me for the broken rotor. I have gotten rid of the Honda and I bought a Ford that I have loved!
  • ben70ben70 Member Posts: 16
    I'm surprised at how many of you continue to put up with the same crap from Honda concerning Odyssey brakes. Our Odyssey is going to a well-recommended independent shop tomorrow with the mandate to fix the problem whatever it costs. Can't continue with an unreliable vehicle. If they have to replace the rotors/pads/ABS Modulator/master cylinder/booster then so be it. The cost will be less than purchasing a new vehicle (non-Honda). If they can't restore the brakes to what they were before Honda did the recall work then we'll have no recourse other than to purchase another vehicle. We don't want to invest in another vehicle, especially now. I won't forget what Honda has done; you shouldn't either.
  • ben70ben70 Member Posts: 16
    Bought a Madza5. Troubles are over! Brakes work. Zoom - Zoom! Didn't want to spend the money right now but I couldn't continue to put my loved ones in jeopardy. After 20 years of driving Honda Products without any problems I can say that Honda quality and service have deteriorated substantially.
  • soccerlava8soccerlava8 Member Posts: 1
    I was driving the van with the ac on and i was driving and the breaks kept going soft all the way down. well I just had a small accident because of that. I found out the ac affects the breaks.
  • musicalcanemusicalcane Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2008 Honda Odyssey. Twice now in the span of eight months my brakes have self-engaged while I was driving at over 40mph. My right foot was on the accelerator, and my left foot was on the floor, nowhere near the brakes. I am not a two-footed driver. They braked first for about a second or two, released for a second or two, slammed harder (enough to engage the seatbelt mechanism), then released, and repeated the process for four or five more times. No lights flashed on the dash, and I could actually see the brakes depress.

    I've had no luck with diagnosis or repairs. Anybody else have any info or advice?
  • fender75fender75 Member Posts: 1
    I just want to add my two cents regarding the pulsation issue with these newer Honda Odysseys. I'm a technician with 18 years experience. This is the 2nd time I've run into this issue. Something is strange with these brakes and I haven't been given the opportunity to figure out what it is yet. Customer comes in with a high speed shimmy when braking. The van is an 08 and has only 52k miles on it. The pads were wore out and it's pretty standard procedure to replace the pads and rotors in this scenario. The pistons and slides on the calipers were moving freely. I put the top of the line Napa pads and rotors on the front. While the problem seemed to get much better, it is not solved. The customer elected to take the van and see how it goes, but I know there's something else to this. I hand torqued all the wheels like I do on every vehicle. The tires are almost new and quality brand. They were balanced and rotated. I wonder if there may be an issue with the hubs, but unfortunately I wasn't given the chance to investigate further. Honda needs to own up to this problem. It's not like these are cheap, bottom-line vehicles they're selling here.
  • mike20878mike20878 Member Posts: 60
    They always tell us the brakes are less than 2mm but my regular mechanic tells me they are measuring wrong. The measurement for brakes should be in 1/32 of an inch. Saying it's less than 2mm is like telling you that you need a new 6 pack when there are 5 beers left (now, that may be true). The last time he checked the brakes he said they were fine and to check them again in 5k miles. We have a 2008 EX and have never had issues with the brakes as many of you describe.
  • sreisssreiss Member Posts: 65
    Millimeters and inches are just different ways to measure something. Two mm is about half way between 1/16th of an inch (2/32's) and 3/32's.

    Perhaps your mechanic means that 2 mm is plenty of brakes remaining and there is no need to change them at that point? I don't know that your dealer is misleading, but they may be indicating a brake job is needed before it is absolutely needed. The question would be "at what point do I need to replace the brake pads (either in millimeters or in inches)?"
  • mike20878mike20878 Member Posts: 60
    Yes, I think he is saying that is too broad of a measurement.
  • mike20878mike20878 Member Posts: 60
    So I found out that 32's is the *industry* standard measurement.
  • lauren79lauren79 Member Posts: 1
    We have had this same problem with our 2008 Honda Odyssey braking on its own. It has done it five times over two years, at multiple speeds and in multiple weather conditions. The dealership has refused to fix it, saying they cannot replicate the situation. It is highly dangerous, as it has happened on interstate and in town roadways. There is a recall on Honda Pilots with the same issue. Has anyone had any success in having this problem solved? I do not understand why the dealership does not consider replacing the VSA, since this seems to be the problem with the Pilot. We are considering a lawsuit.
  • musicalcanemusicalcane Member Posts: 2
    I considered the lawsuit idea until I heard about the Pilots and the Accords. I'm thinking it's only a matter of time now until the 07/08 Odysseys are included, so I'm biding my time. But I've had the same "we can't replicate it, so we can't fix it" scenario, even though they have to know by now that it is the VSA. I've even had a problem with the VSA light turning on and not turning off, but there's no code when they go to read it. Since they can't replicate it, then they can't do anything about that, either. Frustrating beyond belief.
  • cr_odysseycr_odyssey Member Posts: 1
    My '03 had a serious problem with the brakes around 98,000 miles, brought it to my mechanic and he replaced the brakes. Since then, he's replaced the brakes three times in five years. The first two replacements he told me that the rotors were defective (made the supplier swallow the cost twice); third time he made them replace the defective rotors/pads with higher end. After a little over a year now, I'm having the same problem...high speed shimmy, pulsing when I gently apply brakes. I balance and rotate tires religiously every three months, just got new tires in October and it's finally dawned on me that it's a problem with my van causing the brakes to wear down...not the brake assembly! Did you get a chance to find out if the hubs were the problem?
  • apjlmapjlm Member Posts: 5
    Hi, I wanted to circle back and see if you have an update on brake problems you have seen? I have an '11 Odyssey with 24K miles and our brakes shimmy at speeds of around 30-60mph. Dealer says I need to resurface front rotors and get new brakes pads (this is on visual inspection, not full brake inspection) and that it isn't covered under warranty since we are past the 12 month/12,000 miles and it's considered "normal wear and tear".

    I say I have never had a new vehicle need brakes so early in it's life. This is my 3rd Honda and my family's 5th.

    Thanks for any insight!
  • apjlmapjlm Member Posts: 5
    I own an '11 Odyssey with 24K miles and our brakes shimmy at speeds of around 30-60mph. Dealer says I need to resurface front rotors and get new brakes pads (this is on visual inspection, not full brake inspection) and that it isn't covered under warranty since we are past the 12 month/12,000 miles and it's considered "normal wear and tear".

    I say I have never had a new vehicle need brakes so early in it's life. This is my 3rd Honda and my family's 5th.

    I am wondering if anyone else has had rotor/brake pad issues so early on in their Honda's life (or any car for that matter). The service advisor claims they see this all the time and that it is normal, but I am questioning that.

    Thank you for any information!
  • sreisssreiss Member Posts: 65
    We have an 07 Odyssey and had the front rotors resurfaced at 54K miles. Brake pads not yet replaced (at 70K miles now) but they are getting low. I would say that we tend to be very easy on our brakes and get pretty long life no matter which vehicle, so depending on how heavy you are on your brakes, it could be happening a lot earlier.
  • jiminlajiminla Member Posts: 2
    I'm having the same problems with my 2008 Odyssey. I'm tired of having to resurface the rotors so often.
  • float1322float1322 Member Posts: 9
    Honda rotor and pad material is too hard. Change to a quality aftermarket rotor and pad (Tirerack)
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