Honda Accord 4 pads + discs £420, help!

goldspanners

philangst1 wrote: »

My wifes Honda Jazz is 3 years old (<25K miles) and went to a Honda stealer for its first MOT today and also a service. Pads are 80% and 85% worn and needed to be changed according to them. As far as I understand it, standard service (including spark plugs), MOT and brake pads. 'How much? I ask the wife.....£749!! I nearly collapsed and needed oxygen! Until I see an invoice I dont know exactly what has been done, but surely that is daylight robbery!

thats mercedes benz dealer prices you've been quoted there i think!
i would certainly be asking questions about that bill.

Brooker_Dave

dellboy102 wrote: »

Hi Guys

I've got a Honda 06 plate Accord 2.2 diesel, just got my servicing done for £220 and apparently now all my brakes are down to 90%, on the quote it says
Front discs ridged, Front pads worn
Rear discs rusted, Rear pads worn

I dont doubt the dealer, but it just seems like a lot of money for the above, i'm probably going to get a few quotes from independents and see what they come up with (Kwik fit have already quoted £450!), the cars only done 28k, i brought it when it had done 16k and all my miles have been motorway miles, just seems like at least the discs should of lasted longer.

Any tips guys?

Just stick some pads in it.

Pssst

dellboy102 wrote: »

Quick query, I probably will go for OEM parts, are they generally all good quality or should I look for particular brands?, I really have no idea of what makes are good for brakes.

It is often the case that OEM parts are made in the same factory as parts by other suppliers. A bit like buying oil filters. There are only a couple of oil filter manufs in the whole world. They just put different cans on the filters for OEM products and they then charge more for it!

Buy the way,i just fitted new front pads on my Golf. total bill £14. It has 92k on the clock and still has original discs.

dellboy102

OK quick update, went to 2 independents, one had a look and said "yep your brake discs definitely look ridged and they need to be done", the other said I probably have 6 months worth of life left and my car will tell me on the dash when I need them done.

I checked the owners manual and there is an indicator for parking brake and also when the brake fluid needs replacing but it didn't mention anything about it telling you brake pads being worn out, so now I got 3 different people telling me different things

The discs are very slightly ridged so i'm not too worried about that, but I have no way to measure it properly so will have to rely on there word..

Also I can see through the alloy wheels that I probably have about half a cm of pad material left on the front, maybe slightly less on the rear, is it ok to run it until I can hardly see the pads?

sillygoose

Honda Accord does not have anything to tell you when the discs are worn. Some top models (EX?) may have a warning light of pads being worn, usually an electrical connector to the brake block (other than the abs sensor) but mine is a Sport version and doesn't have it.

Generally the brake pad has a thin metal plate positioned so that when the pad is nearly worn out, the metal plate starts to make contact with the disc. This does not affect braking but deliberately causes a loud squeal noise when braking as it vibrates, this is the indicator! Its fine to run your pads down until they squeal, you will know about it then!

In the old days squealling brakes meant the pads had worn down to the rivets holding the material on and needed attention soon. These days material is bonded on so they simulate same effect with a bit of metal.

I guess the only concern with the disks wearing down is how thin a disk can the callipers cope with, as the pistons come out further to take up the slack, I don't know.

goldspanners

dellboy102 wrote: »

OK quick update, went to 2 independents, one had a look and said "yep your brake discs definitely look ridged and they need to be done", the other said I probably have 6 months worth of life left and my car will tell me on the dash when I need them done.

I checked the owners manual and there is an indicator for parking brake and also when the brake fluid needs replacing but it didn't mention anything about it telling you brake pads being worn out, so now I got 3 different people telling me different things

The discs are very slightly ridged so i'm not too worried about that, but I have no way to measure it properly so will have to rely on there word..

Also I can see through the alloy wheels that I probably have about half a cm of pad material left on the front, maybe slightly less on the rear, is it ok to run it until I can hardly see the pads?

i think your wasting far too much time over something that will inevitably lead to needing new pads and discs sooner or later. change them and be done with it.

deanos

1/2cm isnt very much i would get them done now

nomoneytoday

90% worn or 90% left ?

darich

To those complaining of needing discs and pads at low mileages - mileage is not necessarily a good indicator of how long pads and/or discs should last.
Very gentle braking wears the discs out quicker than the pads according to what i've been told. What happens is that the gentle braking is enough for there to be contact between the disc and pad and there is friction and therefore heat. The heat can be enough to "glaze" the pad and it becomes harder and more brittle. When it's harder like this, it then wears the disc out more quickly. Glazing also reduces braking efficiency so you brake harder to achieve the same deceleration and that pressing harder can wear out the discs quicker.

I'd agree with Goldspanners - get them done now and forget about them - in another 6months they'll be at a point where they're verging on nothing left.

Pssst

dellboy102 wrote: »

OK quick update, went to 2 independents, one had a look and said "yep your brake discs definitely look ridged and they need to be done", the other said I probably have 6 months worth of life left and my car will tell me on the dash when I need them done.

I checked the owners manual and there is an indicator for parking brake and also when the brake fluid needs replacing but it didn't mention anything about it telling you brake pads being worn out, so now I got 3 different people telling me different things

The discs are very slightly ridged so i'm not too worried about that, but I have no way to measure it properly so will have to rely on there word..

Also I can see through the alloy wheels that I probably have about half a cm of pad material left on the front, maybe slightly less on the rear, is it ok to run it until I can hardly see the pads?

Ridged discs means nothing. The only way to decide if they are serviceable is to measure the disc thickness with a micrometer and compare it to any thickness which Honda may specify as the service limit. As for pad thickness,half a cm is getting a bit fine but nevertheless still useable. The difficulty is of course that you cant see the full face of the pad and you also cant see the inboard pad (engine side) which may be more worn.