Hello HCF...newbie here and seeking some insight on my brake trouble. The brake pedal feel on my civic is psycho....at times its fine others I have to stand on it to make the car stop.
Seems to be more common when I first start the car up and is cold.

Month ago I took it in for service at dealership--they drained the brake fluid and refilled it but could not find anything wrong with the brake booster (As suggested by local Midas shop and wanted $500 for a repair--ripoff Dont go to Midas)

Has anyone else had this problem---the brake pedal feel is very random and braking power/ability random as well. And as I said....seem to be more common when car is first started. I have to pump the brake a bit and then it seems to be fine.

 

I had a similar problem of not getting my brakes to lock all the way when I pushed... did the same thing at a shop and afterwards my friend noticed that my floor mats were just blocking my pedals from being pushed all the way... I used to have Walmart floormats that bunched up in my foot well.... so I wasted money at a shop when all it was just a floor mat!

 

sounds like a vacuum leak; check that first.

 

Hey Guys thanks for the insight. I hope to have all fixed next week.

 

There is actually a recall on honda floor mats for just the reason mentioned above. Take em to the dealer and get new ones free. Not sure if it applys to 02' but worth a try if thats your issue.

Oh, and I agree with checking for vacuum leak first, that feeds your booster the extra power to help you stop. It could be a very cheap and easy to replace vacuum hose.

There are also some very easy to do brake booster tests: I pulled this from the 96-00 honda shop manual, i would think it should apply.




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