[accord_li]

Howdy folks...

Car: 2004 Accord 4Dr 4 Cylinder.

got my car serviced at a local Just Brakes, they did the usual $99 all brake
pad/shoe change, and a $50 bleed, they over filled my brake fluid however

They called and suggested me paying extra $380 for a few other service.

here are more photos of cracked pads I took of the pads they took off (link)

There are lateral cracks on almost all the pads, I remember last time I did
brake pad change is about 01/2010, and drove in chicago harsh salty road
for about a year, and then came down to texas.

Their explanation to the cracks:

The rear brakes are not synchronized to work with front brakes properly, so
it is mostly front brakes doing the job, thus overheating front brakes causing
the cracks to form.

They suggested:

Recondition Front L/R brakes calipers (Piston Sticking)
New Front L/R Discs (Worn)
New Rear L/R Return Springs (Worn)
New Rear L/R Wheel Cylinder (Part is close to end of it's life)

Total cost comes to around $414!!!

Am I able to change brake calipers and the rear returning springs myself
without having to bleed the brakes? I got all the tools including torque
wrench ready at my disposal, just never done the brake jobs... Anyone did
such service themselves and could share a little experience with me, or point
me to the right articles?

 

[Fredsvt]

Bring it to a real shop that uses quality parts.
Those pads are the worst I've ever seen, and that's bad as Honda's stock pads aren't the greatest. Those cracks aren't from heat, as the cracks would be on the pad's face not in the area there's cracks. They are JUNK, cheap total junk. I've seen super overheated stock pads (frozen caliper, etc), and other aftermarket pads crack on the face but even then the outside of pad as you're showing isn't like that.

Those pads are also severely taper worn, probably due to bad rotors, as sticky slides don't cause taper in to out, it would be up and down.

You get what you pay for, a $99 pad slap probably means $10 to $15 dollar Chinese clone pads made from who knows what, and I'd bet there's asbestos in those pads too.

If your car is disc/drum, the rear drums don't do a huge amount of braking, but they do work. You should easily see 35 to 45k on the front brakes. Wheel cylinders are something you can't say are "nearing" the end of their life, they either are good or bad, they're dry or leaking, or they freeze or work.

$414 is dirt cheap for a dirt cheap crap job. Doing calipers, rotors, wheel cylinders and rear brake hardware usually runs $600+ at a real shop.

 

[accord_li]

Thanks for the explanation, the images of brake pads cracked are genuine honda brake pads (or at least the dealer told me last year), I did my last service at Honda dealer in Chicago.

I guess it's another trip to dealer next week for some real brake inspection............

PS, was checking my service record on honda owner link and find that I did drove 40,000 miles since last brake job!

Bring it to a real shop that uses quality parts.
Those pads are the worst I've ever seen, and that's bad as Honda's stock pads aren't the greatest. Those cracks aren't from heat, as the cracks would be on the pad's face not in the area there's cracks. They are JUNK, cheap total junk. I've seen super overheated stock pads (frozen caliper, etc), and other aftermarket pads crack on the face but even then the outside of pad as you're showing isn't like that.

Those pads are also severely taper worn, probably due to bad rotors, as sticky slides don't cause taper in to out, it would be up and down.

You get what you pay for, a $99 pad slap probably means $10 to $15 dollar Chinese clone pads made from who knows what, and I'd bet there's asbestos in those pads too.

If your car is disc/drum, the rear drums don't do a huge amount of braking, but they do work. You should easily see 35 to 45k on the front brakes. Wheel cylinders are something you can't say are "nearing" the end of their life, they either are good or bad, they're dry or leaking, or they freeze or work.

$414 is dirt cheap for a dirt cheap crap job. Doing calipers, rotors, wheel cylinders and rear brake hardware usually runs $600+ at a real shop.

 

[peter01592]

do it yourself

 

[npolite]

I would agree with Peter. These pads are easy to replace just take your time and review some videos on youtube. If you have any questions ask.

I was tired of having to deal with incompetent techs at my local Honda dealership and began serving my car on my own. They would miss shims on brake pads or put them on the wrong side. The most recent was a recall done on our 99 which they didn't install the steering wheel cover correctly and I had to go back remove the screws and fix it myself.

 

[mfuji55]

simple fix to cracked brake pads?

check out this video,

this guy is saying that an air bubble made his accord crack brake pads, is it that simple??

 

[nehonda]

check out this video,

this guy is saying that an air bubble made his accord crack brake pads, is it that simple??

OP probably has it figured out by now since that was posted 2 years ago, but thanks for the additional info.