NHTSA Complaint #10411572 — 2009 HONDA CIVIC

BRAKE BOOSTER, BOOSTER HOSE/CHECK VALVE FAILURES. NINETEEN OCCURRENCES OF HARD BRAKE PEDAL AND LOW PERFORMANCE OF THE BRAKE SYSTEM ON 2009 HONDA CIVIC 4 DOOR SEDAN. THE 1ST HONDA 2009 CIVIC SEDAN HAD THE SAME BRAKE ISSUES AS THE 2ND ONE THAT I OWN NOW. I HAD AN ACCIDENT ON JUNE 7, 2011, THE CAR DID NOT BRAKE NORMALLY. MY PROBLEMS WITH THE CURRENT CAR STARTED ON MAY 19, 2010. I PURCHASED THE CAR ON APRIL 27, 2010. I CONTINUALLY HAVE A HARD BRAKE PEDAL ON APPLICATION OF THE BRAKES ON THE FIRST 3 OR 4 APPLICATIONS OF THE BRAKES AFTER STARTING TO DRIVE. THE DEALER CONTINUALLY CLAIMS THEY CAN FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKES AND CAN'T DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM ON TEST DRIVES. AN INDEPENDENT HONDA GARAGE INSPECTED THE BRAKES 1 WEEK AGO AND DID THE HONDA BOOSTER BRAKE TEST PROCEDURE, THEY FOUND THAT THE BOOSTER HOSE/CHECK VALVE ASSY FAILED THE TEST. IT TOOK THEM 45 MINUTES TO COMPLETE THE INSPECTION WITH THE TEST. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THE SAME AFTERNOON AND THEY ONLY SPENT 19 MINUTES ON THE CLOCK, HAVING THE CAR FOR 5 DAYS. THE DEALER STILL CLAIMED THEY COULD FIND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE CAR AGAIN. I DROVE THE CAR THE 2 BLOCKS TOO MY TRUCK AND THE APPLICATIONS OF THE BRAKES WERE ALL HARD PEDAL, REQUIRING HARDER PRESSURE ON THE PEDAL TO STOP THE CAR. THE NEXT MORNING THE CAR DID THE SAME THING COMING DOWN THE HILL TO THE FREEWAY. THE BRAKES SEEM TO RECOVER AFTER THE 4TH APPLICATION OF THE BRAKES. I HAVE CONTINUALLY COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS TO THE DEALER SERVICE DEPT. THEY REPLACED THE BOOSTER HOSE/CHECK VALVE ON THE 1ST CAR AND THEN JUST AS I WAS REACHING THE END OF THE WARRANTY, THEY REPLACED THE BOOSTER ON THE CAR. BY THAT TIME I WAS DONE WITH THE CAR AND TRADED IT IN ON ANOTHER ONE, SAME MODEL, SAME YEAR. I FIGURED IT COULDN'T HAPPEN WITH ANOTHER ONE. SAME THING HAPPENED 3 WEEKS LATER ON THIS ONE AND SO FAR 19 INSTANCES HAVE BEEN LOGGED WITH DATES, TIME AND LOCATIONS. THIS INFO IS IN THE POLICE REPORT AND A CERTIFIED LETTER OF COMPLAINT SENT TO THE DEALER. *TR