I recently had my brakes replaced on a 2002 Honda Civic after 110,000 mi.
the brakes were of high quality from an auto store but not O.E.M. I also did not have the rotors replaced, because they looked good and not scored. My brakes now have a tendency to squeak when I come to a stop, but not all of the time. What would you recommend I change to remedy this problem. should I have used O.E.M. brakes, are there that much difference from Honda's dealerships or change the rotors first?

Thanks,
JLP

 

You might want to try purchasing ceramic brake pads, which produce less noise and brake dust.

 

And make sure the anti-squeak clips are installed properly.

 

Did you do the job? Did you?

-Clean the calipers and slides? I use a wire brush and then hit them with brake cleaner.
-Apply anti-sieze to the parts where the pad slides in the shims?
-Rough up the rotor with sand paper?

110k is a lot of miles for a rotor. Just because they look good, does not mean they are good. If they are too worn, they can become unsafe.

Brakes are a strange animal sometimes. I have had squeakers, taken them apart, cleaned them again, and put 'em back together with no problems. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Like I said brakes can be funny.

I did brakes on my wife's Accord 3 times. The only pads that would not squeak were Honda pads. On my trucks, I always used Bendix pads and never had a problem. Nice thing about Bendix is they give you one free replacement. They cost a little more upfront, but the freebies later more than make up for it. Keep in mind that premium pads from Autozone or Pep Boys can still be crap if it is the premium of an off brand. Maybe others have opinions on other brands. I have only used Raybestos (20+ years ago), Bendix, Delco, Honda, and NAPA. With NAPA being the lowest quality. Good, but not as good as the others.

 

anti squeek on the back of the pads isnt a bad idea either

 

the shims on the caliper bracket need to be replaced or atleast cleaned and put some anti-squeal grease on them when installing new pads. ur also suppose to put the anti-squeal grease on the pad backings and on the edges of the backing plate that are in contact with the shims on the caliper bracket. if the rotors u have on are original and do have 110k miles on them, i highly suggest replacing them. they may look fine but they may very well be worn under spec.