Other than the dealership, does anybody know of rear shoes for a 2004 Civic EX that are made in USA, Canada, or Japan?
And I'm assuming that the dealer parts aren't made in China - that may or may not be a good assumption.

Paul

 

Any particular reason why? Have you had bad luck with part store's brake shoes?

 

Basically, perception of quality issues - it's my significant other's vehicle, and if there's any grinding or squealing, I catch hell and get to do the job over again. I don't know that I've ever used part store brakes - the SO's Civic has only had one pad change, and I used dealer parts ($$$). At 125,000 miles, I'm just changing the rear shoes for the 1st time. I have another Civic, a 2001 that I inherited, it has 36,000 miles on it, original pads and shoes. My daily is a 23 year old BMW, and pads/shoes either came from the dealer or aftermarket from Bavauto.com (Pagid, I think). These days, I'm careful about brand, because reputable manufacturers stay far away from asbestos, but not because it's illegal, but because of the liability issues - and odds are, I'll be the next guy changing those brakes. I called the local dealership, the best they could do on four shoes (they sell them individually) was $91.00 - they "thought" they might be made in USA. The local Napa claims that their most expensive, at $52.00, are going to be what the car came with. Prices on Rockauto.com range from roughly $8 to $23. How anyone can make four shoes and sell them for $8 and have them be any good, is beyond me. An internet search turned up a North American manufacturer in Ontario, Canada. I called them, they told me that my best bet, other than the dealer, was Napa, and that no one in North America makes the linings. If anything, they import the linings from China and assemble the shoes here, I was told. I did contact Wagner, Raybestos, Brembo and Bendix - all confirmed made in China, but also confirmed no asbestos used.

Buying auto parts these days is just a crap shoot - you don't know what you're going to end up with, or sometimes, if the parts from the dealer are any better than aftermarket.