Honda Civic Rear Brake Pad Replacement

Park on firm, level ground and release the handbrake fully. Leave the car in gear and chock the front wheels front and back so it cannot roll while the rear is raised. With the handbrake released, the rear pistons and pads are free, which is what allows the pads to be removed and the piston to be wound back. Slacken the rear wheel nuts by a quarter turn now, while the tyre is still on the ground and cannot spin.

Jack the car under a rated lift point and slide an axle stand beneath the sill or subframe to carry the weight. Leave the jack in contact as a secondary support rather than removing it. Never rely on the jack alone. Undo the wheel nuts, lift the wheel away and set it aside; this is a good moment to inspect the tyre and clean the hub face.

Open the bonnet and remove the brake fluid reservoir cap. As each threaded piston is wound back into its bore it displaces fluid, so the reservoir level will climb. Lay absorbent towel around the reservoir and keep a syringe to hand so you can draw off the rise before it overflows. Roughly 60ml may need to come out across both sides. Keep the fluid off paint and painted surfaces at all times.

Undo the two guide bolts that hold the caliper body to its carrier and lift the caliper clear of the disc. Rest it on the second axle stand or hang it with a cable tie so its weight never pulls on the flexible brake hose. Take care around the pressed edges near the disc, which are sharp enough to cut. Note a correction from the discussion: many of these guide bolts carry a blue thread-locking coating, so do not clean it off or apply copper grease to the threads. Refit them dry and torque them properly.

Fit the rewind tool to the rear piston and turn it clockwise while applying firm inward pressure. The piston is threaded, so it will not retract by pushing alone. Tools with a reaction backplate that braces against the caliper do most of the pushing for you; a plain cube-drive tool must be pressed in by hand as you turn. Standard windback sets are often a fraction too large for the Civic caliper, so position the adaptor carefully; a few tools need a stud ground down to clear. If no tool is available, a G-clamp holding pressure while mole grips rotate the piston will also work as a two-person method. Watch the reservoir level as you go.

This is the step that keeps the brakes healthy and it is missing from many quick write-ups. Take out the two 14mm bolts at the rear of the pad carrier and lift it off. Slide out the stainless pad runners and shims with a flat screwdriver. Over time grit and rust build up on the seats where the pads locate, and that is what makes new pads feel impossibly tight. Clamp the carrier and dress the seating surfaces smooth with a file until the pads can move freely; the surface under the shims should feel smooth to the touch. Refit the cleaned shims and runners afterwards.

Some pads, EBC types in particular, carry thick paint and pressing burrs on the square ends that locate in the runners. Ease those ends with a light pass of the file so the pad drops in and can still slide. A correctly cleaned carrier means the new pads seat with hand pressure alone; if a pad has to be hammered in, stop and clean the carrier further, because a pad that cannot move back and forth will drag and wear fast. Apply only a smear of copper grease to the pad ends, the runner contacts and the shim faces. Keep grease off the friction material, and use no more than a slight film near the piston, as excess there can swell the piston seal and make it stick.

Locate the caliper back over the new pads and refit the two guide bolts, tightening them firmly and evenly. Confirm the pads sit square and are free to move. Mount the wheel, run the nuts up by hand, then remove the axle stand and lower the car. With the tyre back on the ground, tighten the wheel nuts fully to the correct torque in a diagonal sequence.

With the engine running, press the brake pedal firmly several times to drive the pistons back out against the new pads and restore a solid pedal. Do this before applying the handbrake and before moving the car; applying the handbrake first, against retracted pistons, leaves the rear brakes wrongly set. If you are doing both sides, leave the pedal pumping until both wheels are finished. Finally, recheck the reservoir and draw the level back down to the mark if the wound-back fluid has raised it.

Take a gentle test drive to bed the pads in, braking progressively rather than hard from cold. New pads and a serviced carrier often change how far the handbrake lever travels, and it commonly settles after a couple of weeks. If the handbrake still needs too many clicks once bedded, adjust the cable via the adjuster reached through the centre console compartment, aiming for the wheels to lock at roughly four clicks. If the fluid ever shows bubbles or has been overheated, bleed and refill the system with fresh DOT 4 or 5.1 fluid before relying on the brakes.