general problems of the 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid

I started to notice this issue months after purchasing it used from a private party. During the winter time when it was particularly cold outside, I noticed that my power brakes would start working when I first start up the car. Eventually, I would discover that the brake booster check valve was sticking and preventing the power brakes from being active when starting a vehicle in the cold weather. It was very confusing at first because there would be stored power brakes in the vacuum booster from the day before that would be used up when backing out of my parking spot. However, as I was moving forward and subsequently wanting to apply the brakes, I found that the power brakes were not working. The brake pedal became hard and would not go down and I had to jam on the brake pedal as hard as I could to get it to slow down. However, once the car engine had been on for a while, I would hear a click noise (probably the check valve unsticking) and then power brakes were restored for the rest of the commute. I eventually had the brake booster vacuum hose replaced (which also contained the check valve) and no longer had this issue. The mechanic who replaced the hose confirmed that the check valve was faulty because the old hose would not allow air through when they tried to blow through it from either direction.

Have noted on a few occasions that the brake booster is not activated when a car has been sitting overnight or for extended duration of time. What typically happens is that I start the vehicle and shift it into gear and proceed. However, if I have to brake within 1-2 minutes of starting the car, the brake booster appears to not be working and I am left using manual brakes essentially since the vacuum boost is not working. Once the car has been running for a few minutes, the brake booster starts working normally. Because of this intermittent behavior, I have almost crashed into things while backing up or driving forward since the power brakes were essentially not working in those scenarios. I have checked the brake booster system and everything appears to be normal. Brake pedal does not sink during normal operation, nor does there appear to be a leak in the brake system when I prime/pump the brake while the car is turned off. After investigating the issue, I have found a temporary solution is to start the car and pump the brakes first before going. The brakes will lose the vacuum boost in the initial 2-3 pumps and then after a few more pumps will get the normal vacuum assist back. I have gone to my local Honda dealership and asked them if there are any technical service bulletins associated with the issue and they have told me that there are none. I know that because of the Honda integrated motor assist in their hybrid vehicles, there is an extra vacuum switch module that controls the brake booster so that it can turn the engine back on during idle-stop to restore brake boosting. I suspect that there is an issue associated with that 3-way joint that is causing initial loss of vacuum. Online forums have indicated potential premature failure in the brake vacuum hoses. . Read more...

It always happens in the winter time, I get in my car to leave and I have no brakes. The pedal is very hard/stiff and you have to pull the emergency brake in order to actually stop. In fact I almost hit a car today and the car had actually already been warm and went into a place for about 30 min and I assumed they would still be warm, wrong that's when I about hit a vehicle because I couldn't stop!.

I own a 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid and every winter (mn) at least 6 -10 times a year the brakes do not work. The power braking system simply doesn't work. It takes every bit of strength in my legs to apply the brakes, and it is still quite hard to come to complete stop. Seems as if the colder it is, the worse and more frequent this happens. No one can give me an answer as to why it happens or how to fix it. However, they say just warm the car up first. We have warmed our car up, kept in the garage and after 25 minutes of driving down the road, car warm, so thing can happen at any given moment.

I have a 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid. I was driving my vehicle away from my home and had trouble pressing on the brake pedal. The brake pedal would not depress and I could not use the emergency brake to stop either. The brake was hard and seemed as if it was frozen or stuck in place. When I pulled the emergency brake lever all it did was beep and flash that I had pulled it, it did not slow me down or stop me. I had gone through 2 stop signs at this point. I finally was able to get the car into reverse so that the engine would rev and the brake pedal would finally depress. That was the only thing that would work. The car did not go in reverse but it did stop enough for me to actually use the brake. I called Honda directly and because no complaints were previously issued they could not help me. My local dealers were too booked up to handle the issue as well. After it happening a total of 4 times I was finally able to get in touch with a mechanic who will be checking out the vehicle. I am very lucky that this did not end up in a crash or fatality. I had my 3 year old son in the car and I am pregnant with our second child. Systems should be in place to help people out in situations like this and there were not. For this reason I would never buy a hybrid nor a Honda again. Im hoping the mechanic I found can fix the problem or atleast figure out what it is before myself or someone else gets hurt when my brake pedal decides to fail again. I have tried letting my car warm up before leaving my home to ensure that may help and it does not. It actually made it worse and instead of it only happening once on that trip, it happened twice. When the pedal is stuck I cannot stop, I can slow down but not enough to stop. Something really should be done about this before it happens to anyone else.

I am not one to be affected by hype nor hysteria, but I do have some serious concerns about the brakes on the 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid. When driving over rough surfaces or slick (due to ice or snow) roads the 2005 Honda Accord Hybrid has a delay in braking response. There have been numerous occasions where I have almost rear-ended a car in front of me because of poor braking response/performance. I have wondered for quite some time if this was due to the regenerative braking interfering with the anti-lock braking system. The recent events with certain Toyota models have caused me contemplate whether there's an inherent problem with regenerative braking systems as a whole. Honda has not yet issued a recall regarding this problem, but when I was at my last routine service appointment, my service agent told me that other 2005 Honda Accord Hybrids have been experiencing problems with their braking systems. They offered to fix the problem, but the repair was over $1,800 - a price I could not afford. It seems to me that if the problem is endemic to this particular model, there should be a recall issued.

When starting call first thing in the am in cold weather (below 35) I must pump the brakes before driving, if not they respond as if there is no power braking occurring and hard braking is required. This will occur several times before they seem respond normally.

I was traveling east on I-195. I saw that a police officer had a vehicle pulled over on the right. I moved over to the left lane. When I did, I crossed onto the rumble strip on the left of the highway. I applied the brakes while on the rumble strip and nothing happened. The vehicle began to accelerate wildly. I tried to bring the vehicle back under control. My husband pulled the emergency brakes. Instead of slowing us down; the vehicle went out of control. I clearly remember the last moments screaming brakes! brakes! we then went sideways before going across the grass median into opposing traffic. We were immediately struck on the passenger side by a vehicle-traveling west. My husband took the full force of the impact and was killed instantly. I went into a coma. I was airlifted to texas neuro rehab in austin from capital health hamilton, NJ. Now I am permanently disabled. Not a moment in my life has gone by since that day without thinking of my husband and what happened to us. I remained in a coma until oct, 2005 I woke up in TX. I have permanently lost my ability to walk, talk, or write normally. Honda issued a recall in 2005. I received it after the accident. I never gave up hope of finding the true cause. Recent problems with other hybrid vehicles were exposed. I continued looking on the web for Honda owners with similar complaints, and have found many. Limited space prohibits me from giving you more than one link. . Read more...