Brake Disc Pads Problems of Acura TL

Instructions in the Acura oem service manual for my 2004 Tl has an error that could result in the front disc brake pads being installed incorrectly on cars with the manual transmission option. This could cause the brakes to work incorrectly. Advice I have been given by Acura customer service in torrance, CA and my local Acura dealer about the correct installation direction are in direct opposition.

See all problems of the 2004 Acura TL 🔎.

I had to break for a cat running in the road to a heavy and complete stop. It caused the one of the front brake pads to melt and now are harden and don't stop as well and makes a heavy grinding noise. Took to dealer and they said its ok just to brake hard a few times and will clear the pad. I have tried this and the nose is getting worst. I feel that the car in emergency stop will cause the brake to fail or melt do to the higher friction. Pad dose not seem to be soft but hard now. The car may not be able to stop in emergency stop once pads heat up. The Acura will not fix the issue because they don't see it as an issue.

Early on I noticed that the brakes in my 2006 Acura Tl had a relatively soft feel in operation. Indeed, from the first day of ownership of the brand new car I'd been surprised at the difference from my previous car -- a 1995 Nissan maxima -- which had solid feeling brakes. I attributed this softness to the new car's greater weight -- the brakes did after all, stop the car. But they never felt truly secure. In the last 2 years, the softness progressed slowly at first, and then worsening with an increasing rate of decline. At the start of July 2013, I was alarmed to find that I needed to pump the brakes for them to engage and stop the car. On 7/3/2013 the mechanic I saw found that air was in the lines, and that this apparently had let the right rear pads stay in contact with the disc requiring servicing of that portion of the system. He alerted me that a defective brake modulator problem was known to affect many Tls of that time period. As it is an expensive part and not yet recalled, we opted to bleed the lines and fix the other damage hoping it would turn out that the line had simply leaked somehow. The drive away was the first & only time I've ever felt solid brakes on this car. But before I'd reached my home 10 miles away, they'd become spongy. By the next day I needed to pump them. Clearly, the modulator is introducing air to the lines. I essentially set the car aside while deciding whether I should replace it or fix it. I'm about to replace the modulator at my expense as I've decided I'm not prepared to buy a new car after all, but the brakes must be made safe. Acura has issued a bulletin, but they've not accepted responsibility for selling new cars with a defective part that completely fails, eventually. The problem they've imposed on the public is serious. Please don't wait for there to be a death before requiring a recall of the part by Acura. Thank you.

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Rear brake pads worn.

See all problems of the 1996 Acura TL 🔎.