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Fix The Brake Lights Stuck On (Or Broken Cruise Control) on a Honda or Acura

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Cruise control no longer working in your Honda vehicle? Brake lights stuck on? The fix may be surprisingly simple - all you need is $5, a tiny part and a few minutes.

Required Parts
  • Brake/Clutch pedal switch bumper stop pad - You can buy a generic assortment from an auto parts store or pick up the OEM Honda one (Honda Part No. 46505-SA5-000). These should set you back about $5.
Symptoms

There are a few potential symptoms - You may find your brake lights are stuck on (even with the key removed and the ignition off). It's possible you might find your car dead if the stuck brake lights went unnoticed and drained your battery.

You may also notice your cruise control no longer functions (possibly without any warning lights on your dash).

Diagnose

Find the broken stop pad

1

Unless you've cleaned your car recently look on the driver's side floor for a tiny broken pad, about the size of a penny. I included a picture of mine below.

Image 5959 from Fix the Brake Lights Stuck On (or Broken Cruise Control) on a Honda or Acura
2

Here you can see the old pad and new pad side by side:

Image 5962 from Fix the Brake Lights Stuck On (or Broken Cruise Control) on a Honda or Acura

Determine where the new stop pad sits

3

Get down low and look up at the pedals. You'll see a gap where a switch almost comes in contact with a small circular opening. This is where the stop pad is supposed to be.

My car is a manual and it was the clutch stop pad that broke. You can see the missing clutch stop pad along with the present brake stop pad.

If your pad(s) are still in place, make sure they're seated correctly. You may have a broken switch instead.

4
Step by Step Instructions

Install the new stop pad

5

Press down on the brake or clutch pedal (probably with your hand depending on how much room you have) to move the pedal away from the switch. If you're replacing the pad for the brake and you can't move it enough you may need to turn the car on first. With the car on the brake pedal should depress farther.

6

Now push the pad into the opening then release the pedal. If you're having difficulty fitting it in the opening the pressure on the pad should pop it into place once you release the pedal.

7

The new pad should snap into place

Give it a test

8

Check your brake lights or give the car a spin and engage the cruise control.

Misc Sizes and Specs

Honda Part No. 46505-SA5-000

There are 3 Comments.

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reply:

SO many thanks for the detailed pictures. I had read in other places that it might be this part, but I wan't sure. With your picture of the part, I found it floor and was sure. Still, I just couldn't spot it. (The fuse box is in the way in my 1997 del Sol.) Your pictures gave me enough confidence to justify squeezing my 75 year old frame (luckily a small woman)under the dash and found the spot. I inserted a penny to make sure that this was the only problem, put back in the fuse for the horn (which I had found out elsewhere cut off the backup lights) and the lights stayed off. So now, I just get a part and my cherished del Sol will be good to go.

I usually don't write reviews, but I really want to thank you for sharing your experience and doing such a good job with pictures. Words are not enough for some of us. And it was a thrill, at my age, to start learning about car repair!

reply:

So many thanks for showing me exactly what to do, with pictures, unlike the message boards. Words are not enough for some of us who are very inexperienced. I followed your steps exactly, and found the part on the floor (I would have ignored a random piece of plastic otherwise). Now I was sure that this was the problem, I had enough the confidence to maneuver my 75 year old female frame under the wheel, I recognized the gap from your pictures, the problem area and slip a penny into the gap(as suggested elsewhere.) I then put back in the fuse for the horn -which is also for the brake lights and I had taken out rather than disconnect the battery. The lights now are off when the brakes are off and all I have to do is order the part and replace the penny.

I don't usually write reviews, but sharing your experience with pictures was invaluable for someone who really knows nothing about cars. The Honda Tech forum had words, but that only got me as far as thinking that a broken part might be the problem. It really gave me a thrill to be able to do something on my own!

reply:

Well, you can see how thrilled I was because I wrote 2 comments. Well, actually, I didn't think that the first one had posted so I wrote another one. That just shows how happy I am.

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zachberry
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