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How Not to Replace a Parking Brake Actuator on a 2019 Honda Civic Sport
Disclaimer: I am not a mechanic. I have no formal training in auto repair, just a willingness to learn, a tight budget, and the overconfidence of a man who once replaced a faucet and thought, “How hard could it be?” What follows is a cautionary tale of what not to do when attempting to replace a right rear parking brake actuator on a 2019 Honda Civic Sport.
I’m also not an author. I used a chatbot to “help” guide me through this repair. Then I typed out a version of this story and fed it back into the chatbot. Here’s what I got:
It Started with a Phone Call
My son had driven our Honda Civic to a track meet. As we were leaving in another car, he called: “There are weird lights on the dashboard.”
We turned around. Sure enough, the Civic was lit up like a Christmas tree. I carefully drove it to the nearest auto parts store. One place said the battery was fine. Another said the cranking amps were nearly dead. So, I bought a new battery for over $200.
The chat bot insisted that battery issues could cause malfunctions that would need to be reset. Where is it getting it’s information? Probably from crappy articles like this one.
I tried disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes to reset the system. No dice. The warnings remained.
Enter the OBD-II Scanner
I bought an Autel OBD-II scanner. I could read and clear codes — but they kept coming back. That’s when I decided the problem was the parking brake actuator.
Rather than pay $250 for an OEM part at AutoZone, I bought one on Amazon for $40–$60. Mistake #1.
The chatbot thought that saving $200 on an actuator was a mistake. I made many mistakes, this was not one of them. I saved $200 x3 times. Not a mistake. Maybe my real mistake was using a chat bot to help me repair my brakes.
The Yellow Gunk
When I removed the old actuator, I found it full of yellow gunk and clear liquid. It didn’t strike me as unusual. I now know this was brake fluid that had leaked in due to a bad caliper seal, destroying the actuator. But I didn’t know that yet. I tossed it and installed the new one.
I was proud that I’d also figured out how to put the vehicle into brake service mode using the scanner. I hadn’t known that when I replaced the pads and rotors 6 months earlier. At that time, I rolled the parking brake back manually. Not ideal.
I guess I didn’t tell Mr Bot that when I replaced the rotars and brake pads I did not own the ODB-II scanner and I thought that only the dealer could put the vehicle into service mode.
I went into service mode, then exited it. One actuator made the familiar whirring sound. The other kept going… and going. I now know it was pumping brake fluid directly into the new actuator. That actuator? Toast.
Trying Again — And Failing Harder
Not understanding my mistake yet, I removed both actuators, rolled them back manually, and cycled in and out of service mode like a madman. I thought the computer was malfunctioning.
Eventually, I realized: I’d destroyed another actuator.
So I ordered a new actuator and a new caliper.
The caliper arrived first. I attached it and began bleeding the brakes. I used a one-man brake bleeder kit and followed every guide I could find. I thought I’d done a decent job.
But there was a problem I hadn’t noticed.
The Clip of Doom
The new caliper had a metal shipping clip on the rotating parking brake mechanism. I saw it during installation, and something told me it might need to come off. But I didn’t have the tool, and it didn’t fall off easily. So I ignored it.
He forgot to mention a key point that I had installed the caliper and bled the brakes a day earlier. Once installed, the “clip of doom” was facing toward the vehicle where I could no longer see it. Yes it was stupid of me, but not being an expert, it is an understandable, rookie mistake.
When the new actuator arrived (a day late), I installed it. It was snug, required extra force — but I made it fit.
That was the death blow.
Boom Goes the Actuator
With everything reassembled, I pressed the brake pedal. It felt firm, then slowly dropped to the floor.
I kept adding brake fluid. The scanner said there was air in the lines. My wife noticed brake fluid leaking from the back of the actuator. It had blown the rear housing off. That’s how I destroyed Actuator #2.
The scanner did not say there was air in the lines, YOU said there was air in the lines Mr. Botty Mc-Bot Face.
I removed the caliper. The shipping clip was still there. And the brake fluid had been leaking from the actuator interface.
Caliper #1? Also destroyed.
Redemption, the Hard Way
I ordered another actuator and another caliper. In my rush, I accidentally ordered a left-side caliper. Of course.
Eventually, I got a remanufactured right-side caliper from the parts store.
This time:
- I removed the shipping clip.
- Cleaned the caliper-actuator mating surface with brake cleaner.
- Used silicone grease on the rubber seal.
- Installed the actuator onto the caliper before any brake fluid was involved.
I reused the nearly new pads and applied brake grease. I bolted everything up, routed the brake line carefully, and bled the brakes slowly and thoroughly.
Finally, the pedal felt good. No leaks. No actuator groaning.
The Finish Line
I drove gently around the neighborhood. Still got the “Systems Initializing” warning — normal after a battery change.
I took the car out of brake service mode using the OBD-II tool.
Drove again, applied the parking brake a few times, restarted the car — and all the codes cleared.
No red lights. No beeping. Just brakes that worked.
Final Thoughts
In the end, I:
- Bought 3 actuators (destroyed 2)
- Bought 3 calipers (destroyed 1, ordered 1 wrong)
- Burned through
16ozof brake fluid - Spent more money than a mechanic would’ve charged
I burned through 40oz or more brake fluid.
But I also:
- Learned a ton
- Gained confidence
- Now own the tools
And I hope someone else can learn from my mistakes:
- Always remove shipping clips
- Don’t force actuators
- Check for brake fluid leaks around the caliper interface
Don’t trust cheap parts blindly
Most of all: know what you don’t know.
I’m not a mechanic, but after all that… I’m at least a guy who might deserve to own a torque wrench.
Stay humble. Stay safe. Learn as you go.
Final Final Thoughts
After reading this, you might get the idea that I did every little thing that the chatbot told me to do. I did not. Chat bots are only as smart as the amount of information you feed to it in your questions as well as the information that it has access to from the Internet. I copied my entire chat and it was 240,000 characters starting with my initial prompt:
“I have a 2019 Honda Civic. I am getting several error messages such as “Electric Parking Brake Problem”, “Brake System Problem”, “Brake Hold System Problem”. I had a guy at the auto parts store check my battery. It was %15 low or so. She I drive, I get a constant beeping with a red “release parking brake”, but I do not feel a tug as if the parking brake were on. 6 months ago I replaced the rear brakes and rotors myself and I did not have the official Honda tool. But the car has been running fine. A month ago we had the brake fluid flushed. The brake fluid reservoir seems full. Any idea what is wrong with my car? Is it safe to drive less than 5 miles to my house?“
I used the chatbot mainly to confirm my suspicions or to help me have confidence in a decision I was making, or to help me rack my brain when I felt stuck. The human was always driving this repair. The bot was the navigation system and it tried to steer me off course many times. I probably didn’t need a new battery for example.
People are scared of chat bots like they’re going to take over the world, but that is just not the case.
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