It may look like a car that was never removed from the box it came in, but the Honda Element isn’t boxy when it comes to the brakes. Based on the CR-V platform, there is also nothing tricky when it comes to service. But, its brake system is hardware intensive with floating shims, abutment clips and pad separator springs in the front.
There are no glaring TSBs or recalls, but Honda recommends the use of an on-the-car brake lathe to machine the rotors.
FRONT BRAKES
Make sure that the caliper pins are installed correctly. The upper caliper pin and the lower caliper pin are different. Installing these caliper pins in the wrong location will cause vibration and uneven or rapid brake pad wear. See the adjacent diagram for placement.
All model years use springs that push the pad away from the rotor. These springs reduce noise as well as improve fuel economy.
The caliper guide pin bolts have a torque spec of 25 ft.-lbs. The caliper brackets have a torque spec of 80 ft.-lbs.
REAR BRAKES
Like the front brakes, the upper caliper pin and the lower caliper pin are different. Installing these caliper pins in the wrong location will cause vibration, and uneven or rapid brake pad wear.
The rear brakes on all models are discs with the parking brake in the rotor’s hat. The caliper guide pin bolts have a torque spec of 16 ft.-lbs. The caliper brackets have a torque spec of 41 ft.-lbs.
PARKING BRAKES
The rear parking brake is in the hat of the rotor. The only difficult item when replacing the shoe is reattaching the springs that hold the shoe to the upper pivots.
To adjust the parking brake at the wheels, you must remove the center console and back off the nut on the adjuster with the lever down. Next, remove the plug on the rotor’s hat and turn the adjuster until the shoe locks against the parking brake drum. Then, back off the adjuster eight clicks.
To adjust the parking brake lever, you have to remove the center console to access the equalizer bar. On the SC model with the larger center console, there is an access panel on the driver’s side.
With moderate force, the lever on 2003-‘08 models should engage after four to seven clicks. On 2009-‘11 models, the lever should engage after 12 to 15 clicks. SC models have a different spec due to the different center console. On 2007-‘11 SC models, the lever should engage after eight to 10 clicks.
