Greetings,

I recently posted about some concerns I have regarding my new HCH2's brake system. Just a refresher: I have a sample size of three: my own new '08 with ~900 miles on it, my buddy's new '08 with about 1000 miles on it, and an '06 pool car at work with 22K miles on it.

Issue #1: Weird rear crunching noise if you press the brake pedal all the way to the floor when stopped. It crunches when pressing, then 'un-crunches' when I release the pedal. It sounds like the rear right drum brake is making the noise. It doesn't happen during normal driving, fortunately. I took it in to the dealer last week and got the typical 'That's normal for drum brakes' BS. (Yeah, right, so why do the other two cars not do it, or any other car I've ever owned, for that matter??) Strangely, after driving in some very heavy rain (and deep puddles), it seemed to stop making the sound entirely for a day or so. I also noticed that the sound is much less severe when the car is dead cold. I plan to take the car to another dealer next week.

Issue #2: Minor 'whirring' pump noise after a lot of brake usage. I am no longer concerned about this one, as my buddy's '08 makes the exact same noises. I just find it interesting that the '06 doesn't make the noise AT ALL. Maybe they changed pump suppliers?

Issue #3: If I press the brake pedal to the floor while stopped, (to the point after you feel that 'click' of the pedal), I hear three quick 'pshhuuuh' sounds. It's exactly the sound of air pressure being released, like a semi truck's air brakes. Could someone else please check and tell me if their car also does this? I never tried it on the '06, but my friend's car does NOT do it, so it concerns me a bit. His car also seems to have a smoother transition during braking when the engine does the Auto Stop routine, so I wonder if this might be related.

That's if for now. I love the car, but am hoping to resolve these minor concerns soon.

Thanks for any advice,

Rob

My car makes the whirring noise, particularly after three short pumps. I don't know what that noise is, but it made it from day one.

I don't seem to have a rough transition when going into Auto Stop, but I don't have anything to compare it to.

To expand on Issue #1, I also have now noticed that I can get the exact same noise if I pull the manual parking brake. It happens even when the engine is off.

lawndart: Can you test for Issue #3? I'm just curious if it's a normal thing. While stopped with the engine in Auto Stop mode, push the pedal to the floor (past that 'click' feeling) and hold it. In about three seconds, you'll get a series of 'pushh' noises. Or, do you?

I tried to see if your issue issue #3 was something that I could reproduce. I didn't really notice anything out of the ordinary when the car went into AS. The brakes didn't make any additional noise after I was at a full stop and the pedal was pressed all the way down.

I tried it again last night and it wouldn't do it for me either!! I have no idea what that means.