8.1
pretty badTypical Repair Cost:
$251.00
Average Mileage:
25,826 miles
Total Complaints:
28 complaints
Most common solutions:
- new brake pads (19 reports)
- new brake pads and rotors (4 reports)
- not sure (3 reports)
- lawyer up (1 reports)
- replace master brake cylinder (1 reports)
brakes problem
Search for Problems, Recalls & Defects
Find a good Honda mechanic
A free service from MechanicAdvisor.comHelpful websites
- No one has added a helpful site for this 2008 Civic problem yet. Be the first!
2012Jan 10
Civic
- Automatic transmission
- 44,000 miles
After replacing the front brake pads a month ago, I had to go back in only to find out the Master Brake Cylinder needs to be replaced.
2011Dec 01
Civic
- Automatic transmission
- 42,000 miles
When I bought my car used from Honda, they had to replace the front brake pads. A little less than two years later I have to replace them again.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2010Sep 02
Civic EX 1.8L 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 39,000 miles
I had purchased my 2008 Honda Civic EX brand new from Santa Ana Honda in California. At about the 39,000 mile mark, my rear passenger-side brake started making a squealing noise when I was driving and even more when I was braking. Of course it only made the noise about half the time I was driving so when I took it in to get it checked, I couldn't get it to make the noise for the mechanic. I later found out to through a second trip to the mechanic, that it was my brake pad indicator that was making the noise (I later looked in my Owner's Manual to find out what it was). So I got both my rear brake pads replaced. Now, Im having the same problem on my front driver-side brake and I'm only at 47,000 miles. I have to go to in to have my front pads replaced and I'm not happy about it. This is my first Honda Civic, having previously owned 3 different Toyota Tacomas. The earliest I ever had to get my brake pads replaced was at about 70,000 miles. This is BS!!!
2011Oct 15
Civic EX 1.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 41,357 miles
Brakes have 5,503 miles and I'm grinding metal on metal in the front. I had them checked 3 months ago and had most of the pad left. Gwinnett Place Honda dealership does not acknowledge a problem. I traded in the car.
Search CarComplaints.com for these popular complaint phrases...
2011Mar 14
Civic
- Automatic transmission
- 35,000 miles
I bought a use Honda Civic in 2009 with 12,791 miles on it. A few months after driving the car my brakes started grinding and making awful noises. I had the brakes replaced at 16,000 miles and then at 30,000 miles it started doing it again. After taking it to Honda for replacement they stated that I am pretty much a bad driver and that I now needed to replace the front and back brakes and the front rotors. I have read everyone elses posts and see how upset they are. I think that I found someone that can help. If you had or are still having this problem contact Brian Keller at bmk@caddellchapman.com
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2011Feb 15
Civic EXL 1.8L
- Automatic transmission
- 18,137 miles
Initially heard noise at rear of car at 18,000 miles. A trip to the Honda dealer indicated the noise to be the wear indicators on the rear brake pads. Service advisor said "yeah...we see that sometimes...will cost about $160.00 to replace pads...not covered by warranty". Had new pads installed (rather than paying diagnostic fee and replacing pads myself). I called American Honda...still waiting 2 months for a call back. Honda indicates they are not aware of any problem.....go figure.
Update from May 20, 2011: Called American Honda again...was told my case was referred to dealer and closed...started over. Received a call back finally from a "case manager". Finally got a check for $75.00 (BFD). Case manager states she is not a technichan and kept referring me to "accordsettlement.com". I had to keep telling her I had a CIVIC. It was like each day was a whole new experience...maybe that's why her name was Dawn. The $75 was not hardly worth the effort.
2011Mar 12
Civic EX 1.8L
- Automatic transmission
- 34,005 miles
Since Honda takes the position that brake work is not covered by warranty our opinion is that when it comes to brakes on a Honda you are wasting your time and money if you let a Honda dealer do it using Honda parts. Rather than using what we believe to be the inferior OEM Honda brake pads we decided to go with what we believe are superior Akebono Ceramic pads which we purchased on line from Tire Rack.
Our (me and my wife) 2008 Honda Civic Coupe EX automatic has 34,000 miles on it. We bought it new May 19, 2008 from Norm Reeves Honda West Covina California. On March 12, 2011 we took it to the same dealer to get what we guessed might be a brake scraping sound checked out. Our service advisor was Valentine Frausto. The service advisor told us it would cost $55.00 to check out the car and that the cost would be waived if it was a warranty issue. He also mentioned that he has seen Civics that needed brake pad replacement after as little as 10,000 miles and we should consider ourselves very lucky. We were shocked by that revelation and mentioned that we have a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer which has 145,000 miles and still has all of the original brake pads. He responded that the Trailblazer is a vehicle with big heavy duty brakes while the brakes on the Honda Civic are smaller and therefore wear out much faster. Upon doing some research we found that brake problems are very common on Honda Civics. After the service technician had inspected the vehicle Valentine Fruasto proposed replacing the rear brake pads with Honda OEM pads. We responded that we had no interest in replacing Honda brake pads with new Honda brake pads that have a history of excessively rapid wear. We asked that considering the circumstances he waive the $55.00 charge. He refused. Upon picking up the car we were provided an excerpt from Honda’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty with the following highlighted: “This New Vehicle Limited Warranty Does Not Cover: >Normal wear or deterioration of any part. >The replacement of expendable maintenance items (such as spark plugs, filters, wiper blades, or brake pads/linings) unless they are defective in material or workmanship.” Our view is that inadequate design is as much evidence of defective workmanship as would be sloppy assembly line practices. Honda apparently takes a different view.
2008Aug 13
Civic LX 1.8L
- Manual transmission
- 8,000 miles
I bought the car brand new. at 8,000 miles my breaks went.. i went to the dealership where the manager literally yelled at me that I was driving too rough. I said that I did not, they made me pay for new pads and rotors. Went back after 16,000 miles for the same problem.. told them to check the calipers, they were sticking. DEALERSHIP MADE ME PAY FOR NEW ROTORS AND PADS EVEN THOUGH MY CALIPERS WERE STICKING!!!!
2011Mar 04
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 37,000 miles
My front brake pads were done for after 18,000 miles. Making an awful grinding sound, squealing etc. Got them fixed. Now at 37,000 miles they have completely gone for the 2nd time and the rear are with them this time! Called Honda to let them know so that maybe someday they will realize they screwed up on brakes in the vehicle. Feels good to voice my opinion even if I don't get monetarily rewarded for it. :) Good luck people!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2010May 03
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 24,000 miles
I've had 3 Accords before this Civic and they were all good cars - the last Accord had over 250000 mi. and very little issues. I went to the Civic and have regretted it ever since. The brakes chatter on slick roads. I had to replace the brake pads and rotors and the brakes are back to chattering on slick roads. Honda is sinking quickly into the crap of bad car makers! I'm thinking of dumping this garbage soon.
2010Dec 17
Civic EX-L 1.8
- Automatic transmission
- 37,417 miles
I took my car to the dealership today and found out that at 37,000 miles I have to replace my brakes all around for the second time in less than 2 years. I am now averaging a brake job on my car roughly every 12,000 miles. I called the American Honda Customer Service department and voiced my concerns at having to replace my brakes so often. Lorette at Honda said she was aware of the issue on 2008 Accords, but had not heard anything about the 2008 Civic. I told her she ought to check the internet because it's out there. She took down my information and told me that someone would get back to me in 1 or 2 business days. I heard from Lauren (1-800-999-1009 ext.117747) today whose job title is Regional Case Manager. She voiced the same thing that Lorette had, there aren't any issues with the 2008 Civic. So, as one person having brake issues with my Civic, I encourage all of you who are having the same issues to please call Lauren, so she can lie to you too. Honda is unwilling to admit that there is a problem with their brake systems. It is not normal to need a brake job every 12,000 miles. I have owned many cars in my life, I don't normally have to think about a brake job until I've got at least 35,000 miles on the car. I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!!!!!
2009Jul 17
Civic EX-L 1.8
- Automatic transmission
- 22,885 miles
I had to replace brakes all around at 13,000 miles, six months later at just under 23,000 miles had to replace the fronts. I was again told how it must be the way I am driving the car. I told the service department that there must be some issue with the car as I have never had to replace brakes so often with my other cars. I owned the car for a year and two brake jobs already. They were unwilling to admit there was an issue and charged me full price for the brake job, and again told me to stop being so hard on the brakes. Honda sucks!!!!!
2009Jan 26
Civic EX-L 1.8
- Automatic transmission
- 12,935 miles
I took my car to the dealership after owning it for seven months. The brakes were making a horrendous noise. It turned out I needed new brakes all around after just under 13,000 miles. When I questioned why I would need brakes so soon, first I was told that brakes on imported cars wear out faster, then I was told that it must be how I drive it. I made a lot of noise and was told they would replace the fronts for free but I would have to pay for the rear brakes. I have a 2004 Durango that has well over 80,000 miles on it and I just had to finally do a second brake job on it. Honda has a problem with their brake system, but they are unwilling to admit it.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2009Sep 28
Civic ES
- Automatic transmission
- 14,500 miles
I bought a Honda thinking that I was getting a great car which would give me minimal problems in the short and long term. It turns out that the breaks need to be changed on average every 14,000 miles. I took the car for service on the brakes 15 months after I bought it! Now, it needs new pads again, around 27,000 miles. I do not believe this is the average of wear and tear in the brakes. This is only one of the may issues this car has, and I am ready to return it.
2010Sep 20
Civic EX 1.8L
- Automatic transmission
- 5,000 miles
I bought a 2008 Civic EX in Feb 2010 with 18,600 mi on it. Noticed the car fax report said rear brakes and rotors were replaced at 17,900 mi. That immediately brought a red flag. Why did the rear brakes go before the front and at 17,900 mi?
Recently my wife noticed a chattering noise coming from the right side of the car. I took it to Honda and they said rear brakes were worn. The car now has 23,100 on it and the rear disc brakes are at 2mm. and need replaced. Most of the miles are highway miles and not city driving. I questioned Honda how the brakes could be worn with only 5,000 miles on them. They said they checked all the parts and they are working correctly. This is ridiculous. They claim the rear brakes are probably too small for the car. I am going to keep a close eye on this because once my warranty is gone, I'll be replacing them and paying the cost. Honda needs to address this problem. I have a 99 Honda Civic with 193,600 miles and have only replaced the drums 3 times in 11 years. Come on Honda, you need to fix this problem.
Update from Sep 26, 2010: I called Honda Customer Service and they said my complaint was the first one they had received. Please Honda Civic owners, please call customer service at Honda (800) 999-1009 and register a compaint. Am I the only one experiencing this problem???????
Update from Sep 24, 2011: After 3 trips to the Honda dealer I think they finally fixed my rear brake problem. The put a new caliper on the right rear and so far that seems to have solved the problem. Kudos to the dealership South HIlls Honda. Along with my salesman CJ they cooperated with me each time I took the car in for repairs. Amazingly after reading all the other posts, the front brakes have 34,000 on them and are at about 6mm. Brand new are 11mm I believe. I think the dealership has a lot to do with how the remedy is solved.
2010Aug 10
Civic LX 1.8L
- Automatic transmission
- 39,000 miles
I purchased my 2008 Honda Civic LX brand new, and less then 6 months later, my front brake pads wore out and Honda gave me a one time courtesy replacement. 6 months after that, they were metal to metal again. I am now scheduled to bring my car into Honda on Thursday, because the front pads are grinding metal to metal, and this will be the fifth time that the front brake pads will have been replaced on a car that is 2.5 years old. The last time the pads were replaced (at Midas) was 3 months ago, and at that time, they told me that the rotors were shot and it would cost me $300 to replace them. I told them no way, and took it to Honda, and they replaced the rotors free of charge, since I was within warranty. But nonetheless, 3 months ago I had new front rotors and new front pads and now they are again grinding metal to metal.
Why hasn't Honda recalled their Civics? I have heard that, in redesigning the Civic, that Honda made the brake discs bigger, but neglected to put on bigger pads to compensate. The result, brake pads that grind down to nothing in 3 months. I met a guy with the same year civic the other day and the first question he asked me was "Do you have any brake problems?"
2008Sep 06
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 10,000 miles
At about 10,000 miles my 2008 Honda Civic developed deafening screeching from the front brakes. It would come and go at first and then didn't stop at all. Made appt with Honda dealer (80 miles away, closest one) and took it in. They said brake pads were worn out but they didn't have ANY IN STOCK so I had to wait until they came in. It took 2 weeks! Then when I came in they claimed they wore out that fast because there was dirt in them and also insinuated I must stomp the brake a lot, which is not the case. I'm a little old lady, driving-wise and chronologically. (and why would it be dirt one minute, and me stomping them the next?) I got testy and they said no charge, courtesy, yada yada, but all the while acting very superior. About 6 weeks later driving home after Thanksgiving trip, brakes screamed for hundreds of miles. After rest in garage, no noise, never again. I called Honda at that point and filed a complaint. They called me and were extremely rude, arrogant, kept asking what I wanted! What I wanted was brakes that didn't make noise, ever! Also, when speaking to Honda, they found no record of the front brake pads having been replaced, had to call the dealership to confirm it ever happened. They reported I wore them out and wasn't I lucky they replaced them free of charge? This whole episode left a very bad taste for Honda in general, makes me regret that I switched from Hyundais to Honda for the better gas mileage.
2008Nov 17
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 17,000 miles
This is my third Honda. By and large I count myself as a satisfied Honda customer, but have been surprised by how often I've had to replace the brakes on this car. I first had to replace the brakes on this car at the 18,000 mile point. I was very surprised! My dealer told me the problem was that I am riding the brakes--no surprise and definitely wrong since I do not ride the brakes. At this point, my car has 43,000 miles and I am having to consider replacing the brakes on it a third time. I have not been happy with the level of customer service at the dealer, and so have stopped taking this car to him for service of any kind.
Aside from that, and the occasional "clunk" from third gear into first (when I slow down at a stop sign for instance--apparently that's not unusual for this car), I've been pretty satisfied with the performance of this car. Honda needs to take care of this problem though.
2010Feb 12
Civic EX 1.8L
- Automatic transmission
- 28,262 miles
I most certainly did not expect to need to replace the rear pads. In every other car I've owned, rear brakes outlast front brakes at least 2 to 1. Also needed to replace a broken shock in the rear (not related to the brake issue), and also had to purchase new tires from a tire store (not Honda).
It doesn't bode well for me purchasing a new Honda.
2009Nov 04
Civic LX
- Manual transmission
- 24,027 miles
I bought my Civic in May of 2008 thinking I was buying a low-maintenance, dependable car. Everything I have ever heard about Hondas was positive. So, I was in complete shock to find out at my scheduled maintenance check-up that after just 24K miles, my rear brake pads were shot. The service advisor at the dealership was like, "yeah, it's pretty common in these Civics and Accords. I've seen it as early as 17-18K miles." So, basically, Honda KNOWS about this problem but is doing nothing about it. My faith in Honda is now ZERO and I will not be recommending a new Honda to anyone.
2009Nov 02
Civic LX 2.2L
- Automatic transmission
- 19,000 miles
2008 Honda Civic with brake pad wear enough to have to replace the brakes after 19,000. Pretty ridiculous!
2009Oct 05
Civic LX 1.8L V4
- Automatic transmission
- 22,000 miles
I have to agree with others who have posted their complaints, UNBELIEVABLE. I took a beating on a trade-in and bought this Civic in hopes of not having to deal with B.S. issues associated with a used car. What do I get? B.S. issues associated with a new car. Honda should be ashamed and should be taking full liability for these premature brake pad wear issues. From what I can tell brake wear is a problem not only with the Civic but also the Accord, the Accord having more reported complaints than the Civic on this site. I got to say I am not a happy Civic owner at this point in time. P.O.S. is my opinion of this car at this moment. Would I buy another one? Not on you life. Would I recommend a Civic? Not a chance. UNBELIEVABLE! Fess up Honda. Do the right thing.
2009Aug 22
Civic
- Automatic transmission
- 34,000 miles
UNBELIEVABLE! My Civic is only about 22 months old with approximately 34,000 miles. I took my car for a regular oil change and was told by the dealer that my front brakes needed to be replaced. I got really upset since I had the brake pads replaced back when the car only had 16,000 miles. I told the tech at the dealer to make sure that there was nothing wrong with the brake system itself. His response was that I must be riding the brakes. This really got me going since I never had to change brakes so quickly on a car. This is my 5th Honda and I have never had this problem before. They were all automatic with the exception of one. HONDA...WAKE UP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS! I don't want to have to replace my brakes every 15,000 to 20,000 miles. I am currently taking the car to Just for Brakes and replacing the pad. My next step is to make enough noise to make sure that Honda can take some responsibility in this matter.
2009Jul 29
Civic
- Automatic transmission
- 17,000 miles
A few days ago, I was driving into my garage and heard loud squeal. I got out of car and bumped it with my knee and as it rocked, it squeaked. I drove it down the road again and it got louder and louder. Seemed to subside while braking and resumed when brakes released. Noise coming from drivers side wheel only. It brakes fine and does not pull left or right while braking. I have dealt with brake problems on many cars over my years of shade tree mechanizing and have never seen one happen in less than a year old car with under 17000 miles on it. I am taking to dealer tomorrow 8-3-09 and they better not try to give me the run around about driving habits and the like or there might just have to be a Roy D Mercer pulled here. Wish me luck.
2009Jun 01
Civic EX 1.8L 4 cyl
- Automatic transmission
- 28,000 miles
Bought the Civic in Jan of 08 and last month i heard a scraping noise from the rear end. I figured it can be my brakes as i just had a Honda dealer check them in May and was told i had 4mm left in the front 3mm left on the rear pads and they where ok. This was at 26k miles. So i bring it in last month and they tell me all 4 pads need to be replaced, In two thousand miles my front pads where down to 2mm and my rear where at 0mm. I was told by the service agent that all newer 06 and above civic, accords and a few other models had their rotors size increased but Honda was too cheap to install bigger Non Organic pads, so the fact i made it to 28k miles on was a miracle. I was told Honda knows the pads wear fast and it will cost me 300 to get them fixed. I of course told them to piss off and did the pads with my uncle for 100 bucks.
What pisses me off is i had a 98 Chevy Malibu who's original break pads lasted 45k miles and that car was a POS. I bought the Honda so i wouldn't have to put a lot of money into it like i did the Malibu. I will say other than the brake pad issue i love my civic, i'm just not happy every 15-20k miles i'll need new break pads.
2009May 20
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 20,600 miles
UNBELIEVABLE! My Civic is only about 17 months old with less than 21,000 miles. I thought there might be some rock or dirt in the front brakes since they were making a scraping sound while I was driving...not even when I was braking. When I took my car into my Honda dealer, they said the front brakes have gone through the pads! I've had a lot of Hondas in my life and wouldn't even generally think about getting new brake pads for at least about 40,000 miles. I am sitting in the Honda service waiting room and another guy is having the same problem with his Accord. HONDA...WAKE UP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS! I don't want to have to replace my brakes every 15,000 to 20,000 miles.
2009Jan 31
Civic LX
- Automatic transmission
- 9,000 miles
I'm pissed because my breaks were squeaking and i thought I couldn't possibly need new breaks being that my car is less than a year old and barely has 9,000 miles. Dealership told me the front was worn down to a 2.8 and the back breaks are at a 4 (those should be replaced at 3). OMG, I almost let this go another few weeks thinking maybe it was dust or something. So they tell me that Honda is aware of the problem and working out a fix, that they aren't sure why their 08 and 09 civics and accords break pads are wearing down so fast. WTF, i'm so pissed, i am in the midst of dealing with them and calling consumer affairs because I am not about to pay to keep replacing the breaks on my new car or every 9k miles. What happens when the warranty is up? So they haven't touched the back breaks but those will need to be replaced what in a few weeks? I want to know if anyone else has had this problem and had it remedied.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2011Oct 01
Civic
I can't believe how bad the brakes wore out on my car. It was making a terrible "sleigh bell" sound even when driving 70 mph on the freeway (without engaging the brakes). I thought something terrible was happening to my car and feared thousands worth of damage. My fiance took the car into Honda and the service dept said that it is the brake pads. My fiance knows a lot about cars so he really thought it was something worse than the brake pads. Honda said it would cost $165 to replace the brake pads. What a joke! My fiance promptly picked up my car and paid them $30 for "diagnosing" the problem. He went down to the auto parts store and spent $40.11 for new brake pads. 1 hour later, my car is fixed! My car only has 40,000 miles! The clerk at the auto parts store agreed that a car's brake pads should never wear out after 40,000 miles. I think there should be a recall after reading all of the complaints!
Megan S.
Oroville, CA, USA
SEND A COMMENT »