Odd Brake Pedal "Vibration"

pvt_awol

pvt_awol

Well-Known Member
2
0
Greetings all, noob here. Long-time lurker, first time poster.

I've been what I consider to be a "civic connoisseur" for many years now. I picked up a 2012 Si Sedan last year, and honestly, I'm not too thrilled about it.

One issue that I've been having lately is, when I first start to press the brake pedal in, I get some slight noise from what seems like the pedal, and the first inch or so of travel seems to "vibrate."

It's almost like what the pedal feels like if you are pushing it and your ABS engages. Does that make sense? It is far less severe than the actual ABS engaging though.

There is no difference to the brakes that I can tell, no other odd conditions with the car. Everything works fine, it's just annoying, and I fear a prelude to a larger issue to come. The car only has 3k miles on it, I've owned it since brand new. This issue has only sprung up in the last 2 weeks or so, and I've been driving the car since last September. (The only real difference in the environment has been the temperature increasing. We've had 75 to 80 degree weather recently.)


Am I being paranoid? Should I even bother the dealer with this? I REALLY want to like this car, but I'm just torn. It seems like I'm going to nit-pick every little thing to death. Anyway, just looking for some input folks, if you'd like to share some. Thanks in advance!

- Josh
 
Does the vibration disappear if you push further? If it does not you should get your brakes checked sooner, many things can be at fault. If it does disappear it can be slightly uneven brake pads, discs, pistons or any other component and you should still have it checked but not that bad or urgent.

In general if i feel vibration in the brake pedal on any car i own i would go have it checked asap. It may be cosmetic or just leading to more expensive work.

If you did some hard braking and locked the wheels hard (though si has ABS) it can be uneven rotors.
 
Dar-Dar said:
Is it similar to this?

http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/hard-braking.7507/#post-167050
Click to expand...


It is very similar, but not when I press the pedal firmly all the way. The brakes work great, and any pedal travel past the first inch feels fine. The car stops well, no vibration or anything of the sort (to suggest a warped rotor). It is only the first instance of pushing the pedal in. But it happens every time.

Imagine if you will, the hinge that the pedal is mounted to, has no grease on it and it feels "crunchy." But only the first inch or so. The odd thing is, it doesn't feel like the pedal itself. It's more a feeling "through" the pedal, almost like maybe a rotor is very slightly warped or something. But not enough to do anything to the braking of the car. But again, this has not happened in the first say, 2500 miles of ownership. Only recently has this become apparent.

I may just take it to the dealer anyway. I'm also afraid that I've got an oil burner on my hands (even though my VIN is well out of range of the recall).
 
It could be a defective rotor. However, your steering wheel would shake if the rotors are warped. You should take it for the dealership to check out regardless.
 
It could be that you need to do a brake pad transfer coating to the rotors....... About 7-8 times take it up to 60mph brake firmly till the speed drops to 10mph(do not let the rotors stop moving).... repeat........ keep a eye on your mirror.

If there is something on the rotor and not on it all the way around, that can cause what you're feeling as well. I'd clean the rotors 1st, then do the transfer........ if it's still messing up, take it to the dealer as suggested..
 
Rotors warped or rust ridge(s) on the inside face of the rotor. Drove an Odyssey the other day and right at the start of brake application the brakes would vibrate or judder as Honda likes to call it - briefly - and just two or three cycles - and after that the brakes felt fine. Have the rotors machined under warranty and it will be all good again. Also if the car has sat stationary for an extended period the pads may leave a "foot print" that may have to be machined out.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Nix
If you just picked it up recently and it sat for almost a year it could have developed "brake rot" where its just rust and such. I think insiders post above mine is probably correct.
 
Mine did this and it was just deposits from the pads left on the rotors. I took the car out and heated up the brakes and re-burnished the rotors. That's all it was. I was already looking into new drilled and slotted rotors, new pads etc. when I saw a thread about burnishing brakes. Look it up. It may be all you need to do.
 
Could you elaborate? Ive searched and can only find a forum for corvette owners. I have to accelerate 50 times and stomp on my brakes in order for them to work correctly? Or how did you do it?
 
Shockedimpy said:
Could you elaborate? Ive searched and can only find a forum for corvette owners. I have to accelerate 50 times and stomp on my brakes in order for them to work correctly? Or how did you do it?
Click to expand...
Yea........ look at my post(#8) above.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nix
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top