Parking Brake Adjustment on 2006 Civic with Drum Brakes (Hybrid)

Hi all, does anyone know where the adjuster is for the parking brake,
on the 2006 Civic. Our model is the hybrid, with drum brakes in the
rear.

The dealer has set it too tight for my taste at a recent brake
service: now it barely gets to the first click of the lever and it's
locked. With the back wheels raised and parking brake off, one wheel
turns freely, but one is scraping a little for about half of the
revolution, and comes to a stop.

I suspect our mileage is suffering a bit since that brake service, but
not sure, we're doing a lot of short trips lately.

I know a little resistance is not unusual, and that it will loosen up
in time, from experience with other hondas. I phoned the dealer back
and they've said bring it in and they'll loosen it, and that it will
loosen. Also, the mechanic said if I wanted to do it myself, the
adjuster is "at the back of the drum". I've had a look and that
doesn't seem to be the case.

I have a shop manual on order, but in the interm, for my curiosity:

Anyone know where the adjuster for the parking brake is? In the center
console? Our old honda's alway's accessed it by taking out the rear
passenger ashtray, but our new civic hybrid looks to have an
unimpenatrable center console. Is it in there, and do you have to pull
the whole dang thing out? Or is it hiding somewhere back at the drum
itself?

Any info greatly appreciated!

 

It may be underneath the car, since the console is not easy to get at.

WHy not take it back to the dealer and have them do it to your preference?

-SP

 

I most likely will do nothing, since I concur with the dealer that it
will loosen over time. Second most like option is I'll take it back to
them. But, I'd like to learn for myself where the adjustment is made.

 

Try www.slhondaparts.com and look at the diagrams.

'Curly'

 

Thanks for the link. I see the equalizer is still the center console.
Not sure if there's still an adjustment bolt there, as it was on our
past hondas

 

Ok, starting from the page you linked, got to here:

http://www.slhondaparts.com/browse.asp?Model=CIVIC&Year=2006&TrimLevel=4DR+HYBRID&TransLevel=CVTKA&Section=F&Category=B++26++%7CPARKING+BRAKE&Doors=4&Emissions=KA&PartCatalogId=14SNC6&ViewParts=true

and item 7 is referred to as the "adjuster nut".

It inside the console, right behind the parking brake lever, before
the equalizer bracket.

 

it won't loosen unless the self-adjusting mechanism is disabled. it's
also a potential safety issue because it can affect the front/rear
braking balance causing the rears to apply too early and too hard,
thereby causing rear wheel lock and spin-out. without abs at any rate.
get it properly adjusted. dealer is just b.s.ing you because they
don't want to fix their own mistake on their own dime.

 

After having a look at this:

http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16370

I managed to get down to the parking brake adjuster nut. It wasn't too
much of a fight, and I tried as much as possible to use just my
fingers and nails, to avoid scratching things. The (auto) shifter
bezel comes of first, then the larger black plastic surround. Just per
the link. Then, you can see the adjuster nut down alongside the
parking brake lever.No screws involved, just a matter of wiggling the
pieces out of their clips.

I had the back end jacked up and on safety stands before doing any
adjustment to the parking brake adjustment nut. I also pulled both
back wheels and had a look inside the drum brakes. Both star adjusters
out somewhere between 1/16"~1/8". A little dust in both drums, and the
shoes are floating ok, moving side to side.

Put everything back, loosened of the parking brake nut, by about 2
revolutions, and applied and released the parking brake a few times.
Lo and behold, neither back wheel is dragging now, just a hint of
whisper on one side, but truly free spinning.

Pulling the lever up one notch: I can't turn the wheel by hand when
the car's raised, though I suspect it would still creep on a slope.
Pulled up 3 notches it feels fully locked. Will check it out on a
grade.

Nice to know you can get at that adjuster nut still, though it's a bit
more of a hassle.

 

good. need to loosen it a bit more though. wheels are not supposed to
be locked until notch 6. 6 thru 9 is the factory spec. or at least,
that's for my older [non-hybrid] civic. also, don't rely on not being
able to turn wheels by hand - cars are heavy and can roll against a fair
amount of braking resistance.

 

Thanks Jim. I'll fine tune things in the next few days. I have the
shop manual ordered for this car: I'll check out the spec when it
comes. One old Accord shop manual I've got on hand says "fully applied
at 4-8 clicks". The way I've got it now feels *about* the way it was
when new, but I'm just going from memory.

I totally agree, a car on grade has a little more oomph than me trying
to turn a wheel by hand, and that's the way to really test it. I'll
check it out that way tomorrow.

 

Then it's in the same place as always. Beats lying under the car, as you
have to with certain Toyotas...

 

It's funny: the first time digging into the console it took me at
least 15 minutes. Then the next day, on the slope in our driveway, I
popped off the two pieces you have take off at the shifter in all of
60 seconds. First time, you're just not sure if you're going to snap
something off. It was nice in the older models with an easily
removable ashtray at the back of the console, that was the modus
accessus.

Far as I can see, the adjustment was right-on prior to the dealer
brake service. The emergency brake had a moderate travel, going up4~5
clicks. In the course of that service, I would speculate the drum
brake shoes starting postion got spread outwards a bit, taking up a
lot of the emergency brake slack in the process.After that service, it
was only possible to pull the lever up to 1 click, or two at the most.

I thought the drum brake auto adjusters would have been "stabilized"
at the factory, and then the emergency brake travel would have been
set, but not sure. Maybe the auto adusters are prone to bind?

 

BTW, really appreciate your FAQ site!

 

they can at high mileage/excess dust/rust, but i doubt it for your car -
unless you've had immersion.

 

The inside of the drums and the auto adjusters all looked very clean.
It's just a bit over a year, low miles, and the hybrid takes a load of
the brake.

The dealer says everything he did was back at the drum, but maybe
that's not the case. I know in the past whenever we've got brake
service the car comes back with the lever really tight, and it always
bugged me. I'd usually back it off a bit.

BTW, thanks Motsco for that link to the Honda dealer with online
catalogue: handy!