I bought my car new in early Nov and I have only put about 2500KM on it so far. When I press on the brake relatively hard (firm but not slamming) and it goes close to the floor you can really feel the pedal shudder a lot. It almost seems like there is grinding or something but the car does stop normally. This is my first Civic is this how the brakes work? It shudders so much it feels like something is hitting the pavement beneath the floor. Any thoughts? I'll be taking it to the dealer soon.

 

ABS?

 

Yes it does have ABS

 

I think he was trying to tell you it might be the ABS kicking in. If you are breaking real hard or on rough surfaces, the ABS may kick in even though you are not sliding. If you know what ABS feels like and that is not what you are feeling, take the car in. If you don't know what ABS feels like, the pedal will vibrate and you might hear what sounds like an electric motor. The ABS was pretty loud on my Chevy truck. I'm not sure if I have had the ABS kick in on my Civic yet. If it did, I don't remember.

 

the electric motor sound was definately there. I was thinking it was the ABS but its just so rough. Startling really, I noticed it tonight because its snowing heavy. Thanks for input guys.

 

its probably the ABS engaging. it normallyoccurs under hard braking situationsfor decreased stopping distance. can also happen when the roads are slick like in the rain/snow/ice even with minimalbrake pedal force is applied.the effects are the pedal pulsations, vibration in the steering wheel, and loud thumping kinda noise coming for the wheels. if its just happening when ur getting on the pedal with a good amount of force, its normal. if it happens all the time when braking, something could be wrong with the wheel sensors.