Are the rear brake rotors on the Si (and other models) defective?

[Hondaman_MI]

Do dealerships typically use a torque wrench? Or just hit them with the impact and call it good? This is my 1st Honda. I had a Chevy before and the dealer couldn't even manage to return my wheel lock key. Next time I went to rotate the tires, the key was missing. My expectations are low. I feel like getting my own torque wrench, or stand there and watch them.

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[Luckyarmpit]

I was going to ask if any other Si owners noticed a slight shimmy in their brakes. I just turned 15k on my '17 Si and I notice a slight shake when lightly applying the brakes at highway speeds... like the rotors needs to be turned. I understand brakes are a consumable car part but I shouldn't be feeling that at 15k miles and less than a year of ownership.

 

[Micah]

I was going to ask if any other Si owners noticed a slight shimmy in their brakes. I just turned 15k on my '17 Si and I notice a slight shake when lightly applying the brakes at highway speeds... like the rotors needs to be turned. I understand brakes are a consumable car part but I shouldn't be feeling that at 15k miles and less than a year of ownership.

2017 Si Sedan here, also over 15k miles, but not feeling any issues with the brakes at highway speeds. My round trip commute is 12 miles of stop and go and 40 miles of highway.

 

[erbee]

Do dealerships typically use a torque wrench? Or just hit them with the impact and call it good? This is my 1st Honda. I had a Chevy before and the dealer couldn't even manage to return my wheel lock key. Next time I went to rotate the tires, the key was missing. My expectations are low. I feel like getting my own torque wrench, or stand there and watch them.

They don't , as well as any tire shop . Using torque wrench is the correct way yes . But not everyone go back and torque them after 100miles . They rather overtorque your wheels compare to you sue them after your wheels fall off on the freeway.

 

[DyM]

Here's what I'm working with, folks. The pads have plenty of meat but the discs clearly got something funky going on.

Plot twist: I painted my brakes (without taking them off) so I'm expecting a chance they will try and pass that off as the reason the discs are scored. I'm gonna enjoy hearing about the physics behind this excuse.

 

[MattyNice]

The one rotor is definitely getting scored around the outside. Either warped or uneven pressure from the caliper. Mine look normal outside of the rear pads are lower than the front which is opposite of what you would expect given some weight to a rear bias.

 

[typemismatch]

Grooves in rotors are perfectly normal. Dust and small pebbles get caught between the pad and the rotor and that causes the scoring.

You can have the rotors turned on the car, or buy new rotors from your local parts store, but I'm certain you'll see similar grooves over time.

 

[Luckyarmpit]

2017 Si Sedan here, also over 15k miles, but not feeling any issues with the brakes at highway speeds. My round trip commute is 12 miles of stop and go and 40 miles of highway.

Thanks, I think I'm going to mention it at my next oil change. I've been noticing that for a while now, and that shouldn't be happening this early into ownership.

 

[Ataricade]

The rears on my Si with only 4000 miles on it have noticeably more wear/scoring then the fronts.

I think it’s that power parking brake

 

[DyM]

Grooves in rotors are perfectly normal. Dust and small pebbles get caught between the pad and the rotor and that causes the scoring.

You can have the rotors turned on the car, or buy new rotors from your local parts store, but I'm certain you'll see similar grooves over time.

typemismatch, I appreciate the context and suggestions for going forward (will be following up on this) but with what I'm seeing as considerably different degrees of wear between front and back specifically (not between right rear and left rear, but only between both fronts and both rears) I have to respectfully disagree. The first two images attached is what perfectly normal wear looks like.

Those are my front brakes. taking most of the braking force, and despite this, they are looking MUCH better. Both are in the same state. Just in case the picture isn't too clear, those scoring patterns DO NOT catch on my nail. Almost looks like surface stains/rust which, as folks have already mentioned, easily gets ground off during regular use. By and large, they are smooth and consistent. By contrast, the rears obviously have MUCH more wear.

One complication I just noticed: I was trying to take additional pictures of my rear brakes when I noticed that the rear pads aren't sitting flush with the disc! Again, I have not touched the brakes since I got the car with anything but water and paint. Now I can't help but be worried that the factory placement of the pads in this uneven orientation is responsible for the extreme wear.

To everyone else who's dealing with the same problem - or even if you're not, then could you maybe take a self-edifying sec to check your own brakes and then - could y'all tell me whether or not you see the same kind of angular lift from the inside of the pad to the outside? This most definitely DOES NOT look right.

 

[jakabony]

Yeah I am guessing that gap between your pad and rotor is not kosher. I definitely did not see that.

 

[BogdanM]

I think that you are turning this into a bit of paranoia, honestly. Each brake disc develops its own patern of grooves and that’s normal, depending on the type of steel used and the composition of the brake pad, if they catch a small rock or if one pad has slightly more iron than the other. I’ve had disks that had different wear marks on the same axle and they did fine and lasted their 50.000 miles cycle on the car without any performance issues.
Also, they have different composition front to back, same for the pads so they will wear differently. You are talking about the rear ones being thinner than the front at the same mileage but you are not taking into account the fact that the rears are thinner to begin with. As for the placent of the rear calipers affecting how the pads sits on the disk (???) and the pad not being flush with the disc, the angle of picture that you took tricks you. The pad sits flush with the disk but has the side raised, by design. Look closely at the pic below, those are my rears and you can see the edge / lip being raised but the pad being flush with the disk.

Seriously now, just enjoy the damn car and stop nitpicking. It’s like you are waiting for something to be wrong so you can complain.

 

[DyM]

I think that you are turning this into a bit of paranoia, honestly. Each brake disc develops its own patern of grooves and that’s normal, depending on the type of steel used and the composition of the brake pad, if they catch a small rock or if one pad has slightly more iron than the other. I’ve had disks that had different wear marks on the same axle and they did fine and lasted their 50.000 miles cycle on the car without any performance issues.
Also, they have different composition front to back, same for the pads so they will wear differently. You are talking about the rear ones being thinner than the front at the same mileage but you are not taking into account the fact that the rears are thinner to begin with. As for the placent of the rear calipers affecting how the pads sits on the disk (???) and the pad not being flush with the disc, the angle of picture that you took tricks you. The pad sits flush with the disk but has the side raised, by design. Look closely at the pic below, those are my rears and you can see the edge / lip being raised but the pad being flush with the disk.

Seriously now, just enjoy the damn car and stop nitpicking. It’s like you are waiting for something to be wrong so you can complain.

Your pad does hit the disc evenly, pretty clear. Mine, however, doesn't:

[puts on foil hat]

I've just seen enough people complaining on this site about being taken for a ride at the dealership, that it makes me want to do my due diligence. If you could've seen a problem coming early on, and you could've done something to fix it then wouldn't you do it? Maintenance vs management.

[takes foil hat off]

That said, last thing I wanna do is make it sound like I'm not enjoying the ride. I absolutely love the car, it drives like a dream. Every piece of tech I've ever wanted in one place, great design and functionality. In fact, lemme go for a drive now...

 

[jakabony]

Your pad does hit the disc evenly, pretty clear. Mine, however, doesn't:

[puts on foil hat]

I've just seen enough people complaining on this site about being taken for a ride at the dealership, that it makes me want to do my due diligence. If you could've seen a problem coming early on, and you could've done something to fix it then wouldn't you do it? Maintenance vs management.

[takes foil hat off]

That said, last thing I wanna do is make it sound like I'm not enjoying the ride. I absolutely love the car, it drives like a dream. Every piece of tech I've ever wanted in one place, great design and functionality. In fact, lemme go for a drive now...

I can’t speak if that’s enough room for Jesus or not, but I have some scouring on a rotor, and my pads seem to be well seated against the rotor.

 

[DyM]

@BogdanM, my apologies, you were right and I was wrong. The pad is indeed slanted by design. I reread your post a few times and look at the pictures again before I realized we were indeed talking about the same thing. Haven't changed a set of pads on my own in about a decade, and forgot what a pad looks like. Thank you for the images!

@jakabony, yours look roughly the same as mine do, thank you for confirming with your pictures as well!

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