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Front Brake Clunk 2012 Sedan

4K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  Amperex 
#1 ·
I have a 2012 SE Sedan. Every time I put the car into reverse and back up, then into drive to accelerate forward. Both front brakes will clunk when stepping on the brake pedal. Then the brakes will make no further noises when driving. Let me be clear, this is not the normal transmission sound we all hear from these 5speeds. The noise is definitely from the front brakes. It sounds as if the caliper bolts are not tightened down and allowing the caliper to move. Does it in both reverse and drive. Like when your parking the car. Go backwards a bit, step on the brake- clunk. Go forward, step on the brake- clunk. Identical sounds from both sides. Car only has 6,000 miles and this started very recently. I made an appointment with the dealer to check this out. Does anyone know if there might be a TSB on this issue. I want to present my issue to the dealer and be fully armed to do battle. We all know how stubborn Honda can be when confronted with brakes issues on the dealer level.

Thanks for any help or input you may.
 
#4 ·
As far as I know, the '12 has no TSB's on it. I was at the dealer last week for my ECU swap attempt and I assume they would have told me if there was any.

The irony is that with some basic tools you could check the tightness of the bolts yourself. The caliper bolts are 80 lb-ft though and I assume torqued by robot, so it'd be unlikely that both sides would be loose.
 
#5 ·
Sure, I know how to work on these brakes. Pretty easy job, I just don't feel like jacking up the car in 45 deg weather. The fact that it's on both sides is whats troublesome. I'm quite certain it's the brake pads moving in and out of position.
 
#6 ·
I wonder if maybe just the grease on the backside of the pads, or between the pad edges and their holders (don't know what the term is for the brass bit of metal that they sit on) - has just dried out or go washed off / gritted up. So now when the pads move they thunk rather than slide.

And I'll trade your 45 degrees for the 100+ my garage gets :)
 
#7 ·
Yup, that's exactly what I was thinking. Lube the back of pads and by the clip seats. I recently had to do this on my '07 Ex. Lube was dry as a bone after only 10k in service. Hmm, I have to think about this. Go thru the hassle of a dealer appointment , sit there for a few hours. Or get off my butt and DIY. The advatage of going to the dealer is there is the possibility that the caliper rubber slide pin guides could be worn. In that case. I can't fix it myself and dealer will wind up reconditioning entire front brakes. I have seen this issue come up before ie - defective calipers.
 
#8 ·
I have a 2012 SE Sedan. Every time I put the car into reverse and back up, then into drive to accelerate forward . . . oth front brakes will clunk when stepping on the brake pedal. . . .

Classic sound, very common, and not unique to Hondas. It's the ABS system -- specifically the ABS module, right front of the engine compartment -- essentially "re-priming" itself -- upon the first brake application after the engine was last running.
 
#10 ·
I have an answer from my Honda service dept, which btw are excellent-you never have to battle with them for anything. The answer matches the research I did and while the noise is annoying to some-its not a safety issue to be concerned with.

There is even a faq on Honda's website:

http://automobiles.honda.com/information/frequently-asked-questions.aspx?Question=11


Why do my brakes make a single "click" noise when I back out of a parking place and once again when I drive forward?

A clearance between the brake caliper brackets and the ends of the brake pads allows for heat expansion and avoids corrosion between the caliper bracket and the brake pads. That clearance can cause the pads to hit the caliper brackets when you first apply the brakes in a new directions of travel. When you back up and apply the brakes and then drive forward and apply the brakes, the single "click" noise you hear is a normal characteristic of the brake system.


I know how to "fix" this issue myself, but I'm going to leave it be.
 
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