Fantasma

I have a pretty new '07... just over 1300 miles.
When I am coming to a stop and braking hard or brake hard suddenly sometimes my brakes will do something I can only descibe as "locking up"...

They will not properly clamp down on my pads and I get a feeling of "click click click" in my brake pedal... i push harder and it still doesnt help, it just ends up making my wheels lock up and I end up skidding down the road. The brakes just arnt gripping as they should but my wheels are still locking up???

Needless to say its ****ing dangerous and I've almost hit cars because of it.
It can happen when I'm lightly braking, then start breaking heavier for the upcoming stop or whatever it is... or when i suddenly brake hard (NOT enough to normally activate ABS)...

Is this something normal with this car that you all experience? I've never experienced this on any of my other cars before. Is something wrong with my ABS system or brakes?

Fantasma

I really dread the dealership visit though... I was going to take it one time for something else and the minimum was like 2 hour visit... and no loaner unless my car had to be there overnight, WTF!

I don't want to waste 2+ hours for them to check something that shouldnt be broken to begin with. Especially with nothing to do while waiting.

Stratocaster

if you want this fixed, you need to let the dealer handle it.

You clearly have a problem with the ABS system. I can brake from 130 to 55 and the wheels NEVER lock up. Get it fixed before we read about you in the news paper and your family is sueing Honda for your untimely death.

Jacques79

I've experienced this in my pevious 2002 S2000 and my current 2003 S2000 which has about 12k on the clock (no track use)

I don't like how this car brakes. I know everyone says the S2K has great brakes for a stock car on a race track, but I guess I've had faulty S2000s...

My friend's new 2007 Civic SI has the same brake pedal vibration and it takes a while for the car to stop.

Brakes are not the strong suit of Hondas in my experience (aside from my last 1999 Integra type R)

JLEEzAP2

It's happened to me a couple times where your braking and your at about 10 mph when it happens. Most of the times it was when I was braking a little later then I should have and there was a rock or a dip or something that I run over as I'm coming to a stop and the car skids a little bit and the brakes feel like it is locked and bouncy.

Fantasma

yeah, what is up with that... most of the time it just happens out of the blue and ive been lucky to stop before rear ending someone or sliding out into the middle of the intersection... i dont have time to left off the pedal and try again

is it fixable or is it normal?

CBR2200

Take it do a dealer. If your life isn't worth waiting two hours at a dealership for then think about the other people on the road you may hurt.

It is definitely not normal.

YoZUpZ

same thing happens to me if I pass over a manhole cover or a brick portion of the street... I drive in downtown SLC a bunch on the way to school, and yeah... just any tiny bit of traction change can 'eff my brake... its ridiculous...

mikegarrison

OK, at first I thought you were just describing normal ABS (which does sort of feel like a "click click click" in the brake pedal). But then the rest of the description made me wonder.

So please clarify: are the wheels actually locking up and you are sliding (ie. tire smoke, squeeling, etc.) or is the ABS activating too early and not allowing you to apply any brakes?

Does it happen every time or just occasionally?

What shape are your tires in? Are they OEM or at least as good?

All these guys who are saying "this happens when I go over a bump" are actually experiencing normal function of the ABS. When you go over a bump or a manhole cover or a painted line in the wet or whatever then your tire suddenly has less grip than it had before. This is not the fault of the car. In such cases, without ABS the tire will just lock up and slide. With ABS the brake pedal will pulse under your feet and the brakes will try to get as much braking as they can without sliding the wheel. In either case, you will not stop as fast! This is because the tire doesn't have grip, not because the brake system is faulty.

But it's not impossible for the ABS system to be faulty. If you really suspect it is, that's what the warranty is for.

JRock

Yes I've noticed in my Honda cars (the latest being a MY06 Civic EX) that uneven road surfaces will cause ABS to kick off even at light braking pressure. It's a "safety feature" but can be unnerving because you don't stop as quickly or as hard as you, the driver, had intended.
It's worse when it's only one or two little uneven parts in an otherwise normal road and you happen to brake right over them while coming up to a stop sign/light/etc, sending the brakes into ABS mode which has the result of reduced braking pressure and thus increasing the length of road needed to brake to a stop compared to what you had planned and expected. Now suddenly you need more room to come to a stop than what you left available and thus you feel like you have to fight against the ABS to stop the car properly and it can possibly end up causing an accident.