Owners of other Honda or Acura vehicles such as the Accord, Insight, Clarity, Fit, HR-V, CR-V, Pilot, Passport, Odyssey, Ridgeline, ILX, MDX, RDX, NSX, RLX and TLX may also find these DIY instructions to be helpful.

A few compatible replacement sets of new front brake pads with their part numbers include the following: Bosch BC914, Akebono ACT914, KFE KFE914-104, Bendix CFC914, Power Stop Z23-914 and ACDelco 17D914CH.

Please use the Amazon Part Finder website to verify the correct replacement part numbers for your Civic. The compatible brake pads may vary depending on the model year, trim level (LX, EX, EX-T, EX-L, Touring, Type R) and body style (coupe or sedan).

The tools and other items needed to complete this procedure include a lug nut wrench, a floor jack, two jack stands, a 12mm socket with a 3/8" drive ratchet, an "F" clamp and a tube of brake caliper grease.

The first few steps are to park the car on a level surface, shift the transmission into "Park" and turn off the ignition.

Engage the emergency / parking brake and place wheel chocks on both sides of the rear tires to prevent the vehicle from moving.

Slightly loosen the five lug nuts on the front wheel by turning them 1/4 to 1/2 turn in the counterclockwise direction with a tire iron.

Carefully raise the front of the car with the floor jack and securely support it with at least two jack stands.

Please do not solely rely on the floor jack to support the vehicle!

Spin off the five lug nuts in the counterclockwise direction.

You can use a 19mm socket with an extension bar to quickly remove the lug nuts.

Set the 5 lug nuts aside in a safe place.

Carefully pull off the front wheel to reveal the rotor, bracket, caliper and suspension.

Set the wheel aside in a safe place. Some people prefer to place the wheel and tire under the frame rail of the car just in case the jack stands and floor jack fail.

The bolt heads face in towards the engine bay.

Loosen the top caliper bolt by turning it in the clockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the car) with the 12mm socket and a 3/8" drive ratchet.

Then loosen the bottom caliper bolt by turning it in the clockwise direction (when viewed from the outside of the vehicle) with the 12mm socket and ratchet.

Set the caliper bolts aside in a safe place.

Rest the caliper on the rotor or suspend it from the suspension spring with a bungee cord or some rope.

There are two "U" or "V" shaped metal spring clips attached to the outer edge of the old brake pads.

The spring clips help spread the pads away from the rotor to prevent dragging and unwanted friction when the vehicle is coasting.

If your new set of pads include replacement spring clips, you can discard the old ones.

If not, set aside the old spring clips aside for re-installation later on.

Remove the old inner brake pad from the bracket.

Make a mental note of where the wear indicator bar or "squeal" bar was situated on the old pads.

On this 2016 Civic, the wear indicator bar was situated at the top of the inner brake pad.

If your new set of front pads includes a bag of replacement hardware, pull the old pad abutment or "anti-rattle" clips out of the top and bottom of the bracket.

Clean off the rotor, lug studs, bracket and caliper with brake parts cleaner spray.

Avoid breathing in the brake cleaner spray or the brake dust since they may be carcinogenic.

Apply a small amount of brake caliper grease to the bracket where the pad abutment clips will be installed, the top and bottom of the new pad abutment clips and the outer ring of the caliper piston.

Avoid getting grease on the friction surface of the rotor or the new pads.

Push the pad abutment clips into the top and bottom of the bracket. Make sure the clips are fully seated.

Pull the caliper slider pins out of their rubber dust boots attached to the bracket.

Apply a thin layer of brake parts lubricant grease to the smooth parts of each pin.

Rotate the pins around a few times and gently slide them in and out to help spread the grease.

If your Civic has been exhibiting vibrations, pulsations or shuddering in the front end during braking, you may need to replace the OEM rotors with new rotors.

A few compatible replacement front brake rotors with their part numbers are as follows: Centric 120.40036, ACDelco 18A82053AC and EBC Brakes RK7116.

To replace the rotors, remove the two 19mm bolts on the back side of the bracket. Remove the bracket and slide the old rotor off the wheel hub. If you have trouble loosening a stuck or stubborn rusted on old rotor, hit it a few times with a rubber mallet. Slide the new rotor into place over the lug studs, line up the bracket and replace the two 19mm bolts.

I'd recommend using Loctite Blue (medium) or even the Loctite Red (High Strength - requires heat for removal) threadlocker adhesive on the two bracket bolts.

If you have a torque wrench, the service manual specification for the front bracket bolts is 80 lb-ft of torque.

In order for the caliper to fit over the thicker new brake pads, the piston needs to be compressed or "retracted" back.

Attach the "F" clamp to the caliper and use the back of an old brake pad to evenly distribute the pressure across the piston.

Move to the right rear area of the engine bay and locate the brake fluid reservoir tank situated to the left of the 12V automotive battery and in front of the cowl near the windshield.

Twist off the brake fluid cap in the counterclockwise direction and set it aside in a safe place.

Slowly turn the "F" clamp handle in the clockwise direction until the piston is just about flush with the rubber dust boot that surrounds it.

Try to avoid pinching or otherwise damaging the rubber dust boot around the piston.

Repeatedly check the level in the reservoir while you are compressing the piston to make sure it doesn't over flow.

Clean up any spilled brake fluid immediately since it can easily damage painted surfaces.

As soon as you are done compressing the piston, replace the brake fluid reservoir cap by twisting it on in the clockwise direction.

Detach the "F" clamp from the caliper and discard the old brake pad.

The wear indicator bar should be situated at the top of the new inner pad.

Push the two pads together until they are flush against the rotor.

Carefully lower the caliper over the brake pads and into the bracket.

Try to avoid pulling on, bending, kinking, twisting or stressing the rubber brake fluid hose.

Spin in the two caliper bolts a few turns by hand in the counterclockwise direction (as seen from the outside of the car) to help prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

If you do any drag racing or autocross racing with your Civic, it would be wise to use Loctite Blue threadlocker on the caliper bolts. (Or better yet, safety wire your caliper and bracket bolts.) For normal every day driving, just tightening the bolts to the proper torque specification is fine.

It would be best to use a torque wrench to tighten the caliper bolts to the service manual specification of 25 lb-ft of torque.

If your brake pedal has been feeling soft or spongy, there might be a few air bubbles or some moisture in the brake fluid or the brake lines.

It would be best to bleed your brakes at this time to flush out the old fluid with fresh new genuine Honda DOT 3 brake fluid.

(The owner's manual specifies that you may use DOT 4 brake fluid or another brand of DOT 3 brake fluid but do NOT use DOT 5 since DOT 5 could damage the braking system.)

I personally use and highly recommend the Allstar Bleeder Bottle for changing brake fluid. It has a one way check valve and a strong magnet to hold it to the rotor which makes bleeding the braking system and easy one person job.

Check out my Acura MDX Brake Fluid Bleeding Guide for more information on the procedure.

The brake fluid bleeder valve is located on the back side of the caliper just below the top caliper bolt. It is covered by a black rubber cap. To open and close the bleeder valve, you'll need a 10mm wrench.

Double check that the caliper bolts, bracket bolts and bleeder valve are all tight before moving on to the next steps.

Spin on the five lug nuts a few turns by hand in the clockwise direction to help prevent them from becoming cross threaded.

Slightly tighten the lug nuts in a criss-cross or star pattern with the lug nut wrench.

Continue progressively tightening the lug nuts in the clockwise direction in a criss-cross or star pattern with the tire iron to about 1/8th to 1/4th turn past hand tight.

It would be best to use a torque wrench to properly tighten the lug nuts to the owner's manual specification of 80 lb-ft of torque.

Check the brake fluid level in the reservoir bottle and pour in some new DOT3 fluid until the level reaches the "MAX" (maximum) line.

Be sure to record the brake pad change in your vehicle's service records.

Over the next few days, keep an eye on your parking space, garage or driveway for drops of fresh brake fluid which might indicate a leak from the bleeder valve or the reservoir.

It would also be a good idea to double check that the lug nuts are still tight after a few trips.

Please check out all of my 2016-2019 Honda Civic DIY Repair & Maintenance Guides.