2001 Honda Accord: Brake Light + Fogged Windows

This weekend I purchased a 2001 Honda Accord EX with 58k miles.
I had it checked by my mechanic who said it was in great shape except
for a front right baring that needed to be replaced.

I told the dealership, and they said no problem and they fixed it (they
have an expansive service station on their site). I was happy, and
agreed to buy the car. They detailed the car, shampoo'd it, changed
the oil, did brake work so it was in top shape, and things like that.

I drove it home on Saturday and it drove great, except I noticed that
the windows were fogging up. Didn't worry too much, because it was
raining really hard and I thought maybe it was a weather thing. (And
from the smell of the car, I have a feeling the previous owner smoked
in the car).

Sunday I didnt drive the car at all, but we had snow and terrible
freezing weather.

Then today, Monday morning, I go to drive my new car. I turn on the
ignition and notice the red brake light has come on. I keep the car on
as I scrape all the oced up windows (about 10-15 minutes). I get back
in the car, and the light is still on. Check parking brake first, and
it's off. Turn car off and on again, light comes back on.

Start to drive to work anyhow. Light stays on for a good ten minutes.
At one point I apply the brakes slightly at a curve in the road, and
the light goes off! At this point I am noticing how horribly foggy the
side windows are. I mean, REALLY fogged up.

A few minutes later, brake light comes back on. Stays on for about 10
minutes. Then goes off again. Stays off again for the rest of the
drive to work (another 10 minutes).

I call the dealership. They say the FOGGING is most likely a result of
the car being shamppoed. They said when it doesnt dry completely, in
cold weather like this it can get fogged up, and it should clear up
soon.

In terms of the BRAKE LIGHT, he said that it makes no sense because
they just did all the brake work. And what he said is that sometimes
they notice when they do a full maintenance on their cars (before
selling) that a dashboard light will come on as the car readjusts to
all the settings. He said if it comes back on, to bring it back to the
dealership and they will look at it.

This afternoon I turned the car on again, just to check it out, and the
light has not come back on.

Does ANY of this seem reasonable?
Should I be completely alarmed?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

-------------------------------------

Read the owner's manual thoroughly. The fogging is probably because of
the shampoo, combined with low outside temps. The brake fluid may be a
bit low in the reservoir. Manual tells you what to do. Sometimes the
sensor sticks too.
Make sure you're not using RE-CIRC or you'll fog way too much . . . You
need to pump dry outside air thru the car until the seats dry out
completely.

The owner's manual is part of the car. It says so on page one. if it
didn't come with it, demand a new one from the dealer.

'Curly'

 

Thank you for the reply.

Yes, I was told to leave the windows open a bit to air it out. I've
been reading about it happening to others online. So maybe that will
help.

This is my first Honda, and I so confused by the heater controls. It
seems something is always "on". And I'm not even sure what ReCirc is
(you mentioned it). I will read the manual to better understand. Yes,
it is in the car.

Can you explain what you meant by this:
"Sometimes the sensor sticks too."

The brake fluid isn't low because it was just refilled this weekend.
I open the hood to double check.... but ohmygoodness that is a heavy
hood! I thought I popped it open with the button inside the car. But
when I went around to the front it didn't open all the way. So I stuck
my fingers underneath and found that little clasp. I push it in and
was able to lift the hood. But it wouldn't stay open by itself! I had
to hold it up on my own. It was SO heavy!! And when I let go, the
whole thing Slammed shut. Wow, a finger could have come off. Is it
supposed to do that? Don't Honda's hood open autmatically?

 

dude its called a prop. use it.

 

Ah well, I stand corrected.
Honestly, all my other cars had those automatic hood openers. All I
had to do was press a button.

I thought props were extinct.

 

The OP didn't mention if they had a i4 or v6 (and I don't know if it makes a
difference) but on my '01 EX-v6 there is no prop. It stays open on it's own
(gas struts).

Maybe the i4 doesn't have the same?

 

What? No car I have ever personally encountered had its hood open by
anything other than a lever and a cable. Then you have to raise it by hand.
Some hoods do have gas struts like a rear hatch, which would tend to help
you raise it.

Not at all.

You must be used to higher-end (or large older) American cars.

 

What? No car I have ever personally encountered had its hood open by

Haha, yes - I was driving a 1999 Ford Taurus. I pressed a button, the
hood popped open. I lifted it up so slightly, and it would ease up the
rest of the way by itself and then stay open till I shut it. Even the
shut process was very smooth. That's just what I was used to.


Anyway, an update:

The fogging has gone away. I think indeed it was caused by the shampoo
job.

However, the BRAKE light problem still perplexes me.
As I wrote originally, the problem started yesterday morning. It
stayed on for approximately a third of my drive to work (15 minutes or
so, it was on). It didnt go on again in the evening when I drove home
from work and I thought all was solved.

But this morning, it was on Again! As soon as I started the car. This
time it went off after about 7 minutes. Then did not go on again for
the rest of the drive to work.

In both cases, it's been parked outside in the cold weather.

I am bringing it to the dealership tomorrow afternoon to have a second
look at it.
But in your opinion, is it possible at all that this is a cold-weather
sensor thing? I would think if it was really a brake problem, it would
have stayed on longer, and more frequently. And plus, the car wouldnt
have passed inspection the day before!

What do you think?

 

I would think the brake fluid first. Should only take a few minutes to
check if it is low or not. On my motorcycle I had a perplexing problem
where the "brake failure" light would come on flashing (indicating the ABS
was disabled). On my bike, most common cause for that is low battery. That
was not the case. If I drove the bike for 5 minutes, then reset the
ignition (shut it off then back on) the light would stay off. Stay off
until things cooled down (i.e. the brake fluid condensed back to a level
below the threshold). Topping off the fluid took care of it.

 

im guessing a solenoid, like the rear trunk lock on some cars. nice,
until the day the battery is completely dead.

sounds like gas struts. relatively common.

 

The light does double duty - it indicates low fluid in the reservoir and
also indicates the parking brake is on. If your parking brake is not
properly adjusted, the light will sometimes come on because the handle
doesn't go all the way down when released.

How many clicks does it take to set the parking brake firmly enough to hold
the car in place (it should be about 5)?