Just got back from a trip to Canada to find our front brakes, bearings and axle were cooked! The dealer is at a loss to understand what happened. I set the Brake Buddy up according to the directions for a Honda Fit. Never had a problem with the Saturn we flat towed. Anyone have any input?

Are the brakes cooked on the coach or the toad?

The toad.

What year, model saturn?

I'm now towing a 2009 Honda Fit.

Don't know about the Fit, I am sure you pumped the brakes with engine off to deplete the brake vacuum before you started to move??. I didn't do that on my first toad and although I caught it quickly it did over heat the brakes some what

Is pumping them 5 times enough?

My instructions were to pump the brakes as many times as it took to deplete the vacuum in the booster. DO NOT to start the engine after pumping the brakes.

If it is required to run the engine briefly to recirculate the trans fluids, then must pump the brakes again.

Well, Honda has decided that BrakeBuddy is at fault and Brake Buddy says that my Brake Buddy was working perfectly. So Honda refuses to cover any of the $3000 in repair bills. Remember this when you decide what toad to purchase.

What about insurance? Have you explored that route as it appears to fall under the category of an "accident".

I can't see it being Honda's problem. The issue is directly related to the Brake Buddy I'm sure. The question is did it fail or did you fail to set it properly. If you are sure it's Brake Buddy's fault, you could get Good Sam to contact them for you. They publish (I think it's them or FMCA or both) articles where they get the manufacturers to stand up to defects and bad service.

If you think you messed up, insurance or wallet.

Hi,

I tried the insurance route; no dice. I also noticed that the back brakes were undamaged. AND the brake indicator in the motorhome only lit up when I hit the brakes on the Barth. Weird!

Sad to say, insurance would not apply to the situation. The coverage possibility would be either collision or comprehensive. The collision would be out because there was no collision with an item. Therefore, it would fall back to comprehensive. Comprehensive is basically an itemized coverage so it would not fall under that. It is really in the venue of a mechanical scenario or mechanical failure which would not be covered. Probably also would not be covered under a warranty or extended warranty plan. NOW IF, you had a scenario where the damage was the result of a covered collision or coverage comprehensive claim, then it could be covered. For example, you ran over a tire or hit road debris and it hit the electrical cable coupling on the toad and because of that activated the braking system on the Honda, then that could be covered under the Honda's collision covered subject to the collision deductible.

I know this gets technical, but that's what we are here to help each other with. Likewise, I would call on one of you all with a mechanical question I couldn't figure out.

I had another thought as to the cause. When you push on the brake pedal on a car, don't the front brakes tend to activate slightly before the rear brakes. Could an adjustment have been "too tight" which put a slight activation on the front brakes but not quite enough to activate the rear brakes?

K&E

Interesting point. I just called Honda to ask them how I could tell if the brakes were on IF the brake lights were not on. It's their contention that the brakes were slightly on and that's what cooked them. However, the brake lights were NOT on.

quote:

I had another thought as to the cause. When you push on the brake pedal on a car, don't the front brakes tend to activate slightly before the rear brakes. Could an adjustment have been "too tight" which put a slight activation on the front brakes but not quite enough to activate the rear brakes?

I would think the front and rear brakes would go on at the same time, but with biasing towards the front brakes (higher pressure). You would have either a pressure switch or a mechanical switch that engages the brake lights and it might be possible to have some brake pressure without enough to engage the light switch. To "ride" the brakes with a small amount of pressure would also heat them up and make them grab even further perpetuating the problem. I suspect the Brake Buddy as the culprit, it must have applied a small amount of brake pressure that eventually cooked the brakes. Could the mechanical lever have shifted under way to activate some brake? Additionally, how do you know the brake light was not on at times under way?

Hi,

I tested the brakes several times before getting underway. I also carefully monitor the brake indicator I have on the dashboard. It seldom came on.