Hey all,
My fiance drives a 2003 Accord V6 Coupe Automatic. She describes a brake problem as follows:

In the morning on her way to work, she'll back out of the driveway in reverse, and when she gets ready to apply the brake, it doesn't budge! she has to use the e-brake to stop the car. After that, things seem to be ok. This has happened to her about 3 times in the past month, in the same exact situation (leaving for work in the morning).

She took the car into Honda, and they said they couldn't find anything wrong with the car.

Can anyone shed some light on the situation? I'd hate for her to get nervous and not use the e-brake and bump into something. Not to mention, she shouldn't have to use the e-brake to stop the car.

Thanks all,
Tom

 

First off, if the brake pedal doesn't budge, that is a very bad safety problem. It's under warranty, and I'm sure the dealer will fix it. Even if it was out of warranty, if it is caused by some type of design problem they would fix it to prevent potential lawsuits resulting from injury.

But that's not what you're asking. It could be a couple of things. It could possibly be a clogged vacuum hose going to the brake booster. If it takes time for the vacuum to build up in the brake booster, then the brakes would have no power, and it would take a great deal of force to apply the brake.

Although unlikely, there is a chance that your master cylinder is binding up. I can't think of how this could happen, but if it truly doesn't budge, then it has to be either in the master cylinder or in the brake pedal assembly. If your floor mat or something else creeps up behind your brake pedal, it could prevent it from being depressed.

She may do this already, but your fiance should try the brakes out before moving backwards. The more you pinpoint the problem, the easier it will be for the dealer to correct it.

I doubt that the problem would be elsewhere in the brake system, since you would still be able to get some brake pedal motion. any problems in the proportioning valve or the calipers would still allow you to depress the brake pedal and stop. The ABS has nothing to do with brake pedal motion.

 

I vote the vacuum assist problem but if she steps harder on the pedal it should still stop. The lack of vacuum may make it seem like there are no brakes when there indeed still is ..... tell her to step harder next time before resorting to the e-brake.

 

Thanks guys/gals. I'm going to relay this information to my fiance'. She may not understand most of it, but at least she can be a little more informed for her next trip to Honda. I hope she can get it fixed/resolved, because as you guys and gals have said, it is a pretty big safety issue to her and those around her.

I'll try to keep you all posted on what the problem is discovered to be...

Thanks,
Tom