I am so disappointed on Honda quality. This is unbelievable. I have a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 with more than 40K miles and breaks are still good. I also have a 2004 Chevy Tahoe which had the brakes replaced the first time at about 40K miles. This Honda Accord at 9239 miles and had to replace the rear brakes at Airport Honda for $196.10 which they said it was not under warranty. They also stated that the front brakes are at 5mm and are glazed and cracked. This is my first Honda and which I bought in August 2009 thinking this would be a better car than my Dodge and Chevy but I was completely wrong. I should have purchased an American car. Is there anyone out there that knows who at Honda can reimburse what I paid to get this brakes replaced and also get the front ones replaced then maybe I can trade it in for an American car? This Honda Accord is my biggest disappointment in my car buying history.

Update from Mar 30, 2010: Faxed a complaint letter and called American Honda Motor Co., on 03/26/10. On the call, the information was taken about my complaint and I was told that this was to be assingned to a "case manager" and that someone would call me back in the near future. I received a call today 03/30/10 from Jonathan at American Honda Motor Co., who said that he was looking into this complaint. He kept on saying that there were no issues with the brakes on the 2009 Honda Accord and that this would be normal wear and tear. He said that the front brakes were good until they get down to 2 mm so there was no need to change them for now. He also said that the rear brakes issue was not a common problem so this was probably normal wear and tear for the way it was driven. He did not admit that they had issues with the brakes and insisted that this was normal wear and tear.
I don't think that American Honda Motor Co., really appreciates my business and I told Jonathan that I would let everyone I know about this problem and that they refused to fix it but he didn't seem to care. He didn't seem to care. I also pointed out to him about all the complaints in this website about this issue but he kept on insisting that there were no issues with the brakes on the Honda Accord. What else can I do to get the brakes fixed by Honda with no charges and reimbursed for the rear brakes?

car shook when brakes applied,turned rotors,couple weeks later,same;turn rotors and replaced pads on front rotors,said they had a service bulletin on,no cost.

whining coming from somewhere right front,replaced oil pump,same problem,they finally said they all sounded like that,took to another dealer service department and right away. they said it was the power steering unit,took off drive from it to show me it didn't make the noise. got honda of america service tech.on phone and they admitted they knew all the time the problem but did not have a fix for it(after a year!) i have heard that they would take care of it next model change,mean while i have to have my radio on loud to keep from the noisy driving me crazy,paid 22,000 for car and it is the only honda i regret owning. what to do?

Honda admits that they have a brake problem and are looking for the source.They have premature break wear and will replace the pads (one time) under factory warranty. The pads after 17000 miles have 8mms on the front and 5.2mms on the left rear and 4.7mms on the right rear. My problem is that with thr rear wearing out first and uneven wear fron left to right, we don't have a pad problem and replacing them is only a band aid. I would like to know what the problem (that Honda knows about) is and have it repaired permanently and properly. Don't blame the pads for an engineering defect.

I can relate to so many of you on this forum. But unlike everyone else, my rear brakes started wearing at 10K miles. Is that even heard of?! On a front-wheel drive car, at 10K miles, 1 year into the lease for the rear brakes to be worn?!?! Apparently when dealing with Honda, that is not unheard of, it is actually quite normal!

I know cars and I also got a mechanic to confirm with me about this issue. So I called Honda Customer Care. First they told me they don't deal with this because it's a lease, I have to call the leasing company, which to their misfortune, also turned out to be Honda Financial. Anywho, I spoke to 2 reps and 1 supervisor at Customer Care and all 3 told me that brakes are "wear and tear" and are not covered. They NEED to do a diagnostics test ($100) in order to determine what is wrong with the car (which I already know it's the brakes.) Then after the do a diagnostics, maybe they can consider covering this under warranty, maybe not. Basically, the guy told me absolutely nothing. Just take it in. Buyers BEWARE.

Looks like I am joining a long list of victims. I am very disappointed with Honda. I have had at least one Honda in my driveway since the early 1980's and always bragged about how dependable and reliable they are. I never expected Honda to put out such poor quality and not do anything about it. From all the complaints I have read I see that the brake problem has existed for a least a couple of years. I'm sure all Honda dealers are aware of the problem by now and should be warning buyers about it before they buy. If a dealer told me today that they did not know about the problem I would have to believe they are lying. I called Honda America to complain about the brake problem and they told me they redesigned the brake system to keep the front end from dipping when the brakes were applied. I asked if they would take the new system off my car and put the old system on. No luck. They were polite but offered no real help. They said that the brake pads are a wea item and were not covered under warranty. I have already talked one person out of buying a Honda and plan on talking to others. I plan on contacting Good Morning America to see if they air these complaints.

I heard squeaking from the rear of my 2009 Honda Accord. I thought it had something to do with the rear suspension. I dropped the car off at the dealer, within 45 minutes I got a call telling me I needed new brake pads. I was surprised because I shouldn't need rear brakes at 23,500 miles, should I? It sounded strange to me and since I don't trust dealers, so I decided to do some research and found all of these complaints about the same issue. Glad I have this information when I go back to the dealership to pick up the car. We will see what happens....

This is the WORSE!!!!! I bought this Honda less than a year ago and I need back brake pads already! I was riding on the freeway and my car looked like it was fresh off of the lot, but sounded like it was out of a 82 horror film. Of course, they dealer said this is "normal" wear and tear. What is normal about this? For the price I'm paying, I could have bought a Kia!

I am researching how I can get around this in the future. A better brake pad from an outside mechanic- what am I to do?!?!? I had a 2006 Lancer and didn't need rear brakes once! ( I had it for 70 K). If this is the "honda experience" I don't need it!

The brake sensors alerted me to the need to replace brake pads. Since the mileage was so low, I assumed it was the front pads. To my surprise, the rear pads were worn out. I have never had a car where the rear pads wore out first. In most cases, the front pads are replaced at least twice before the rear pads need replacing.

This is obviously a design fault with Honda and just like Toyota they choose to ignore this problem. In the meantime, we Honda owners have to spend hundreds of dollars to replace faulty pads. Obviously, my next car which I will buy in 2010 will NOT be a Honda.

I have 14500 miles on my four month old- new Honda Accord and the rear brake pads are worn out- 90%. The brake pads are very small and wimpy. The brake ratio is approx 70 % t0 30 % front to back brakes. Its obvious that Honda has a design failure here. I am confident in what I say since I was a mechanical engineer for 30 years and have and understanding of brake design.

It obvious that Honda will have probably a class action suite over this rear brake design failure that not only fails in its mechanical design but also lacks the in sufficient braking distance when the rear brakes are hot from ordinary use ( due to under size rear brake pads ).

I recommend that everyone who owns and drives this type vehicle. Have your brakes checked and tested for stopping distance at speed after you drive the car for 30 minutes. The rear brakes when they heat up may fail due to inadequate brake pad (undersized surface area ) and overheating.

These brakes when over heat may fail. I suggest you buy another brand of vehicle until this problem is resolved.

I hope Honda will recognize and repair this problem before Honda people pay the ultimate price like Toyota. Who covered up there safety problems and let people take the consequences.

Went to the dealership for an oil change. I had them check the brakes because there was some brake squeals, which were causing the sensors to go off. Only had 25,000 miles. I was told that I needed rear brakes. I could not believe that at 25,000 miles I needed rear brakes. I asked the SVC Mgr why that would be. He said that they are having problems with this. I said are you going to correct this, and he said for $275. I have a call to the General Manager, and am waiting for 2 days for a call back. My next course of action will be to call a local TV station to alert them of the problem, and give them this website for reference because of safety sensitive issue.

Just left my local McDonough Honda Dealer. My car has been to the shop for the terrible squeaking of the brakes since 14,000 miles. Dealer said it's normal. Husband has been checking the wear of the brakes periodically. I drive 120 miles per day, so the car is only 13 months old. This is why I bought a Honda. Had great luck with my 96 Accord. The really bad unbearable squealing started yesterday. Drove straight to the dealer this morning and was told I need rear brakes, cost 159.00. My husband got on the phone and said this was unacceptable, no car wears brakes that fast. The manager first said he'd eat 1/2 the cost, so I'm down to 75.00. Still we complained unacceptable. We know there's a major problem with the brakes of the 08 and 09 models. Manager proceeds to call corporate and we get our cost down to 9.00, they are covering 150.00. Why? Honda knows there's a problem, the dealers know there's a problem. Even with the pad replacement, the brakes will continue to wear out because of the design defects. We were told by the manager that the ratio that Honda puts between the front and rear brakes are causing the excessive premature wear on the back brake pads in addition to the new smaller brake system. The manager did not even make me pay the 9.00 this morning because as I said they know there is a significant problem. The braking system of your car affects your safety and the safety of everyone around you.

If you have an 09 Accord and are having brake squeaking/squealing: take it to the dealer before the warranty runs out and have them acknowledge and note the noise. Keep taking it back until the pads finally wear out. Refuse to pay for the replacement of the pads, this is a manufacture defect, not a maintenance issue. Call the 800 and file a formal complaint. Follow the telephone complaint up with a letter to Honda. Send copies of your paperwork and tell them in the letter you know this is a defect.

TO ALL 2009 HONDA ACCORD OWNERS YOUR CAR IS IN WARRANTY DON'T PAY THE DEALER A THING. AND IF YOU DO IT WILL BE LABOR FOR $30. AND BRAKES SHOULD NOT FAIL AFTER 20,000 MILES THAT IS RIDICULOUS !!!!!!!!

I bought my car in October 2008, I put about 21,000 miles into it. and around 21,500 my brakes start to squeal like crazy, when ever I brake, so I leave it alone, then all of a sudden I start hearing a loud grinding noise when I drove. so I realized that this was more serious then I thought so before going to the dealer I do a little research and I find this website, and I realize that this is not normal and that I wasn't the only one. At first I was thinking that I brake to hard, which in some cases I have don in that past. but then I thought about it, out of ever component in my car, why the hell did my brakes go first, and only after 20,000?

so I go to the dealership (Honda Mission Valley- 5812 Mission Gorge Road, San Diego, CA 92120-4200) To see what the problem is, I get to the service department, and a man named Skipp, I tell him the problem, and it's a pretty obvious one. and he hands me an invoice and tells me it will cost $180 to fix. I then proceed to tell him that this is a very common problem with this model of accord and that there is no way that brakes should fail after 20,000. then he tells me that Honda put really small pads on th accord 2009, small and thin. And I'm thinking to my self, I don't care if the brakes were made out of cheese, I'm not paying $180 for a problem i didn't create. So i asks to speak to the manager, and i told him he something, Brakes don't fail after 20,000, fix it, and I'm not paying for it. he then gives me a long story that Honda will only pay for 50% and that i would have to pay for brakes and rotors that will set me back $600. Thats when i get mad, and i tell him that " Your car almost killed me, I'm sure your customers will love to hear that your cars can kill them" he gives me another long story about how that would never happen, then i tell him "that could be true but your customers don't know that". and he says that his hands are tied, so i tell him to untie them and call Honda, and make them pay for the repairs. so he asks me to leave the room for a second and he makes "A call O_o" and all of s sudden I'm not paying for a thing, but he said he would have to charge tax which is only $30 so i say fine, just do it.

40MINS LATTER THEY CHANGED: -BOTH REAR BRAKES -BOTH REAR ROTORS -CAR WASH Because they new the whole time my car was in warranty, and like a dunce i forgot that it was in warranty, and why did i forget, because dealers are tricky bastards. So again: TO ALL 2009 HONDA ACCORD OWNERS YOUR CAR IS IN WARRANTY DON'T PAY THE DEALER A THING. AND IF YOU DO IT WILL BE LABOR FOR $30. AND BRAKES SHOULD NOT FAIL AFTER 20,000 MILES THAT IS RIDICULOUS !!!!!!!!

Honda uses very small, very thin brakes in the back wheels, and they are acting like this was an unforeseen problem. honestly I think a class action suit is in order. And the dealers are even worse, from the comments i have been reading i seem to have been lucky, the dealers have sunk to a new low, having brake problems is by far the worst, because without brakes, your car is a 65mph death trap on wheel on an open highway, and you could get your self, your passengers, and any other car on the round killed just by being around you. And this is horrible to think about but, i drove that point with the dealer, because if you refuse to pay $180 an walk out, get injured they have to deal with a lawsuit, so they will do it all for free or for $30. Make them understand that and you will not screwed.

The rear brakes wore out at just over 28,000 miles, while the fronts were fine. Suddenly I heard a grinding noise coming from the back and knew immediately that the pads had worn out and started grinding the rotors. Both pads and rotors needed to be replaced. Two Honda dealerships claimed that this was typical. A service manager at one dealership told me that rear pads last between 15,000 - 30,000 miles, and they would not cover this under warranty. He insisted that this was normal, while the mechanic that I brought the car to agreed with me that the rear should last longer than the front pads, and he typically sees front pads lasting around 50,000 miles. The Honda service manager quoted me $600 for rear pads and rear rotors. I contacted an attorney regarding a class action lawsuit, but he was looking for 08 models that had the problem fixed at least twice by the manufacturer. Looks like this will be a yearly issue to deal with.

The brakes on my brand new 2009 Accord sedan started squeaking at around 15,000km. I didn't buy a new car to have the brakes squeaking everytime I came to stop. I ignored it for a while until it was time for brake service according to the regular maintenance schedule. So at 20,000km I brought it in to the dealership and had the brakes serviced, they assured me that the service will take care of the problem. Well, it didn't. I brought it in again at about 26,000km for the same problem, they checked it out and advised me that there was nothing wrong with the brakes but they will squeak occasionally in different conditions, and that the pads for that particular year were known to squeak, and implied that the best thing to do was to wait for the dealer to get the new pads from the manufacturer and replace them at my cost. I accepted their answer and went home kind of pissed.

The brakes squeaked for the next 10,000km until I put it in reverse one day and it sounded like a loud metal on metal screeching noise. Again I brought it to the dealership and they checked it out and told me that the noise I was hearing was metal built into the pads to warn that the pads are completely worn and must be replaced. They also told me that both rear pads were completely worn and wearing unevenly. They did replace the rear pads though free of charge and were great about it. My thing is that I had brought it in twice to have it checked and both times they didn't even see any sign of premature break wear even though I brought it in for specifically that reason and they actually took the tires off and looked at the brakes. Anyway, with the amount of complaints out there about the same problem I will be back to the dealership soon to have all pads replaced because this is a problem that they must know about by now and this time I'm not taking no for an answer.