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

hawkman199

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New rear brakes installed and everything is smooth again. I will make sure the pads are removed and lubricated twice per year, when I switch from summer wheels to winter and visa versa. It's an easy 10 minute job. As a comparison, my wife's Toyota Rav4 brakes are wearing perfectly on all four wheels, and that's with 60k kms.
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With about 16,500 miles, I had my '17 Si's rear rotors replaces for free at the dealership today due to this issue. I had noticed the grooves in the rotor before, but I only decided to have it checked out because they were starting to make a scraping sound even when the brakes weren't engaged.
 

hawkman199

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With about 16,500 miles, I had my '17 Si's rear rotors replaces for free at the dealership today due to this issue. I had noticed the grooves in the rotor before, but I only decided to have it checked out because they were starting to make a scraping sound even when the brakes weren't engaged.
Yup, the original rotors are crap. Mine were replaced at 15K kms for free. The new ones seem to be better.
 

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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.
Given the High Labor rates, (especially at Dealers) it is often better for the customer to have NEW rotors fitted, and put their money into parts, rather than into labor in turning an old rotor. (assuming the Tech can even do a good job in turning your rotor).
Even more of an advantage if it is suspected the the original rotor came from a "Bad Batch".
 

cekIV

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I haven't read all response s but have same problem of grooves in rear rotors. my dealer explained it as the front calipers have two pistons and more power to remove debris that gets between pads and rotor. Rear have only one piston and debris not always cleared out. Either way, a flaw in the design of rear brakes.
 


etcsthorne

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I don't have advice or an authoritative answer, but I offer my own observations on my car that just passed 3,000 easily driven miles (I'm very easy on brakes too). I just looked at all four rotors closely with a flashlight and ran my finger across each. The front rotors both are ultra-smooth and mirror-like. You can still see cross-hatching on them as well. As for the back rotors, they are noticeably different. Nothing alarming, but they are not mirror-like and smooth and appear to have a bit more wear on them. They have visible ridges and I can feel them with my finger....much different than the front rotors. The ridges are very small and barely visible. Having said all of that, I'll also add that I'm 57 and have been driving a long time. I've always paid freakish attention to things like this, every little noise in my car that most wouldn't hear, and I check under my hood every weekend for leaks, smells, levels and things that just don't look right. I have ALWAYS noticed differences in wear patterns from front to back rotors on many models of cars.
 

THATSi

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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 use what's known as a torque stick, most shops have them, it limits the torque put out by the impact by flexing it and usually come as a set 100 to 200 in increments of 10
 

Yal

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Those torque sticks can be a little odd. I used them with a battery impact gun and they were all about 30 lb/ft low. Used an air impact and they were pretty close. Checked with my kid who is a Jeep tech, they typically just give it one or usually two ugga duggas and go one with life
 

Micah

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Fuck dealership service bays and the crapshoot of who is there. Find a good local garage and use them for life. I have a few shops that my family has been using for decades. Insurance regulations be damned, they let me stand right there and watch while they work. We talk about whatever and I know I can trust them to stand behind their work. Costs far less than dealership service too.

Torque specs exist for a reason. I learned that lesson the hard way when i was a new driver and replaced a head gasket only to proceed to crush the hell out if it. Back then i had the free time to work on my own cars. Now not so much.

Back to the topic though. I have over 26k miles and the brakes still work fine, no issues with uneven wear or grooves on the rotors. Maybe I am lucky or maybe I just don't brake as hard or frequently as soon people.
 

Rc1989

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Fuck dealership service bays and the crapshoot of who is there. Find a good local garage and use them for life. I have a few shops that my family has been using for decades. Insurance regulations be damned, they let me stand right there and watch while they work. We talk about whatever and I know I can trust them to stand behind their work. Costs far less than dealership service too.

Torque specs exist for a reason. I learned that lesson the hard way when i was a new driver and replaced a head gasket only to proceed to crush the hell out if it. Back then i had the free time to work on my own cars. Now not so much.

Back to the topic though. I have over 26k miles and the brakes still work fine, no issues with uneven wear or grooves on the rotors. Maybe I am lucky or maybe I just don't brake as hard or frequently as soon people.
No time to work on your car but plenty of time to watch it being worked on lol
 


Micah

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No time to work on your car but plenty of time to watch it being worked on lol
They're a hell of a lot faster than I am, plus they do it once and do it right. I haven't touched under the hood for anything more than an intake, filter, fuse, or fluid in years.
 

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2018 Civic Si and my brakes pulsed and felt weird around 7k miles. I had my dealer look at them and test drive vehicle at 10k miles and they said everything fine.
Car has 33k and the rear rotors are heavily grooved. Car is strictly a commuter and all freeway miles. Front and rear pads look new with lots of life left. You can hear the rear rotors drag/scratch when first moving the car after parking.

Are these rear pads cheap?
Debris stuck in pads?
Are electronic e brake causing the issue?

I have owned a ton of Acura/Honda’s and never had a issue like this even with 100k miles.

Honda Civic 10th gen Are the rear brake rotors on the Si (and other models) defective? 879B2480-5C3E-46B4-83CD-7E3CAE8380D3


Honda Civic 10th gen Are the rear brake rotors on the Si (and other models) defective? 0C2314D9-DC2C-4E35-9ABF-6AACD8964453
 

cekIV

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2018 Civic Si and my brakes pulsed and felt weird around 7k miles. I had my dealer look at them and test drive vehicle at 10k miles and they said everything fine.
Car has 33k and the rear rotors are heavily grooved. Car is strictly a commuter and all freeway miles. Front and rear pads look new with lots of life left. You can hear the rear rotors drag/scratch when first moving the car after parking.

Are these rear pads cheap?
Debris stuck in pads?
Are electronic e brake causing the issue?

I have owned a ton of Acura/Honda’s and never had a issue like this even with 100k miles.

879B2480-5C3E-46B4-83CD-7E3CAE8380D3.jpeg


0C2314D9-DC2C-4E35-9ABF-6AACD8964453.jpeg
I have the exact same issue. Here's what the mechanic at my dealership told me (take it for what it's worth): The front brakes have twice the number of pistons (or whatever) which applies more pressure to the rotors than the rear brakes. The rear calipers are not applying enough pressure to clear out all the debris, as the front calipers are able to. The grooves should not affect brake performance. He offered to smooth out the rotors for free, but, OEM rotors have barely enough metal as it is. They are meant to be replaced, not resurfaced. So, I don't want to shorten their lives even more.
 
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Less than 11 months after getting the rear rotors replaced for free for this issue, the replacements started exhibiting the same scraping sound. It wasn't quite bad as with the previous ones. I took the car back to the dealership, but this time Honda declared it normal wear and tear the tech suggested that the scraping sound would go away if I drove the car more. Sure, I haven't been driving it as much lately, and, yeah, there's decent chance it'll get better if I drive it more often. However, it's still pathetic. My other cars sit for weeks at a time without moving and their rear rotors don't corrode and scrape like this.

So now I'm wondering if I should look at aftermarket brakes.
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