2013 Accord Caliper Replacement

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So, unfortunately took me a while to realize it, but it seems the e-brake on my left rear caliper has gotten very stiff and has been wearing down my pads. I took a look and sure enough, it's very tough to retract the parking brake arm on the caliper. I was able to get it moving slightly using brake cleaner and forcing it back and forth a bit, but by using an infrared heat gun I can see that's not really working(that rotor is always about 100 degrees F hotter than all the others when I stop the car), if I avoid the e-brake all together. Today I forgot and parked it using the e-brake and that rotor was 450 degrees F when I got to work!

My understanding is it would be tough to fix this on my own and I'm better off replacing the caliper? Assuming that's true(if it's not please advise), I've been looking at different choices on RockAuto. Seems they have new(aftermarket), remanufactured and coated vs. non-coated. ACDelco for example makes a new one that is not coated - I take that to mean it's made of aluminum. That's the cheapest option. They also have remanufactured ones that are about double cost with the core charge.

Is ACDelco decent? Better to do reman or new? I'm kinda nervous about the aluminum because I believe the originals are cast iron coated.

Thanks for the help!
 
You can rebuild the caliper, but it's a slightly more complicated since it has the parking brake mechanism built in. You can find videos on YT of people doing it. For my money, a "lifetime warranty" caliper at Advance or Autozone is my preference in this case.

I have an Acura and one of the parking brake cables developed a hole, allowed water in, and then would freeze overnight - point being, be sure that the caliper is the actual problem. Sounds like you have, but just in case!
 
Just replace them with new ones from Rock Auto, they are much better than hit and miss remans. The ones from Raybestos and Pagid are good.
 
You could rebuild the caliper on your own - the tricky part is the parking brake mechanism and attaching the piston. Get a OEM Honda rebuild kit.

The new Chinese calipers seem like a better option than the hit or miss aftermarket remans from Cardone or BBB. Honda has been lightweighting their calipers for a while - I wouldn't be surprised if the OE Akebono or Nissin caliper is aluminum.
 
Originally Posted by Donald
Who uses an e-brake in 2020 unless manual.


Well, most people don't because they don't care, or they don't know any better.
And that's why I sometimes see cars in "park" rolling down hills. All it takes is one wheel to break loose on a piece of ice, and the car is rolling.
 
Ok, thanks for the advice everyone. I'm not crazy about trying a rebuild on my own, so I'll try a replacement this weekend. Thanks!
 
Originally Posted by Donald
Who uses an e-brake in 2020 unless manual.



Anyone who parks on a hill that doesn't want the weight of the car resting on the parking prawl in the transmission or constantly pulling on the motor mounts.

Yes, the transmission is designed for it, to a point, 3000+ lbs resting on a small piece of metal in the transmission in my mind borders on abuse.

That's also why it is typically called a 'parking brake' and not an 'emergency brake' any more.

Copy straight from the manual for a 2003 Accord:

"Always use the parking brake when
you park your car. The indicator on
the instrument panel shows that the
parking brake is not fully released; it
does not indicate that the parking
brake is firmly set. Make sure the
parking brake is set firmly or your
car may roll if it is parked on an
incline.

If your car has an automatic
transmission, set the parking brake
before you put the transmission in
Park. This keeps the car from
moving and putting pressure on the
parking mechanism in the
transmission making it easier to
move the shift lever out of Park
when you want to drive away."

To the OP, if it were me, I would just replace the caliper and be done with it. I've usually had good luck with parts store rebuilds as long as I didn't buy the cheapest thing out there. 2013 is new enough that the cores in the system should still be in pretty good shape and haven't switched over to crap 'new' calipers.
 
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It's not called an "emergency brake" for the same reason that a Personal Flotation Device is no longer called a "life preserver."
 
Just get a used one of ebay for $30 and call it a day. The Accord uses the same caliper from 08 - 17 on the rear. My caliper was frozen too and i bought the newest lowest mileage OEM one i could fine on eBay for cheap
 
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I hit my sticky e-brake hardware on my 2000 accord with some wd-40 and it did the trick. I know not ideal for rubber, but I wanted something that would lubricate but not evaporate
 
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