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On the 5th-gen CR-V the rear brake job itself is easy: two 12 mm slide-pin bolts, two 17 mm bracket bolts, rotor off. What makes it different from an older Honda is the electric parking brake, which is fitted to every 2017-2022 CR-V including the 2020+ Hybrid. The piston is screwed out by a small motor on the back of the caliper, so no amount of clamping will push it back in.
The fix is a scan tool with Honda EPB maintenance mode, which retracts the actuators before you start and recalibrates them after. Cheap code readers will not do it. The single most common mistake is trying to wind or clamp the piston back without service mode, which strips the actuator gears or sets an EPB fault that then needs a tool anyway. The second most common is skipping the hub face cleanup, which produces a pulsating pedal a few thousand miles later.
| Item | Type | Product search |
|---|---|---|
| Scan tool with EPB service mode Bidirectional, Honda EPB retract/release function (Autel, Foxwell NT530/NT644, Launch, etc.) Retracts and re-calibrates the electric parking brake actuator; the piston cannot be pushed back mechanically. | Required | search retailer |
| Breaker bar 1/2 in drive, 18-24 in Loosens lug nuts and the 17 mm caliper bracket bolts, which are often very tight. | Required | search retailer |
| Socket, lug nuts 19 mm 6-point, 1/2 in drive (thin wall for alloy wheels) Removes the rear wheels. | Required | search retailer |
| Floor jack 2 ton minimum Lifts the rear of the vehicle at the pinch-weld or rear subframe jack point. | Required | search retailer |
| Jack stands 2 or 3 ton pair Supports the car while wheels are off. | Safety | search retailer |
| Wheel chocks Pair Front wheels must be blocked since the parking brake is released during service. | Safety | search retailer |
| Socket, caliper guide pin bolts 12 mm 6-point, 3/8 in drive Removes the two rear caliper slide-pin bolts. | Required | search retailer |
| Wrench, guide pin hold 17 mm open-end (to hold slide pin if it spins) Keeps the guide pin from turning while loosening the bolt. | Recommended | search retailer |
| Socket, caliper bracket bolts 17 mm 6-point, 1/2 in drive Removes the caliper mounting bracket from the knuckle to free the rotor. | Required | search retailer |
| Ratchet set 3/8 in and 1/2 in drive with 3 in and 6 in extensions Access to caliper and bracket bolts behind the wheel. | Required | search retailer |
| Torque wrench 3/8 in drive, 10-80 ft-lb Sets caliper pin bolt torque correctly. | Required | search retailer |
| Torque wrench 1/2 in drive, 25-150 ft-lb Sets bracket bolts and lug nuts. | Required | search retailer |
| Bungee cord or wire hook Hangs the caliper so the flexible brake hose and EPB wiring are not stressed. | Required | search retailer |
| Hex/Allen bit set Metric, includes 8 mm and 10 mm Needed if you remove the EPB actuator motor to wind the piston in manually. | Recommended | search retailer |
| Rear caliper piston wind-back tool Cube/adapter kit with Honda plate Only needed as a fallback: with the EPB motor removed, the piston still screws in clockwise. | Recommended | search retailer |
| Bolt for rotor removal M8 x 1.25 bolts, two, about 40 mm long Threaded into the rotor's jacking holes to push a rust-stuck rotor off the hub. | Recommended | search retailer |
| Dead-blow hammer 2 lb Frees a corroded rotor from the hub face. | Recommended | search retailer |
| Wire brush Steel, plus small hub-face brush Cleans rust off the hub mating face and bracket pad abutments so the new rotor sits flat. | Required | search retailer |
| Brake caliper pin grease High-temp silicone caliper lube Lubricates slide pins and pad clip contact points. | Consumables | search retailer |
| Anti-seize or brake paste Copper-free ceramic brake lubricant Thin film on hub face and pad backing plate ears to prevent seizing and squeal. | Consumables | search retailer |
| Brake parts cleaner Aerosol, 14 oz, 2 cans Removes protective oil from new rotors and cleans old dust. | Consumables | search retailer |
| Rear brake pad set 5th-gen CR-V rear pads (Akebono/Honda OE style) Replacement friction. Comes with new shims/clips on quality sets. | Parts | search retailer |
| Rear rotors Pair, solid rear rotor, 310 mm diameter (verify against your old rotor) Replacement discs; 1.5T, 2.4 and Hybrid all use the same rear rotor size on this generation. | Parts | search retailer |
| Nitrile gloves and safety glasses Brake dust and cleaner spray protection. | Safety | search retailer |
Fastener sizes are identical across the 1.5 turbo, 2.4 K24 and the 2020-2022 Hybrid: 12 mm caliper pin bolts, 17 mm bracket bolts, 19 mm lug nuts, and the same solid rear rotor. Only the Hybrid differs in practice, where regenerative braking means lighter pad wear but more rotor corrosion, so rotors often need replacing before the pads do.
| Wheel lug nuts | 80 ft-lb (108 Nm) |
| Rear caliper guide pin bolts (12 mm head) | 17 ft-lb (23 Nm) - verify in the service manual |
| Rear caliper bracket-to-knuckle bolts (17 mm head) | 41 ft-lb (55 Nm) - verify in the service manual |
| EPB actuator motor bolts | verify in the service manual |
Not properly. The only tool-free workaround is unbolting the EPB actuator motor from the caliper and winding the piston in with a cube tool, but you still risk a stored fault and lose the ability to recalibrate. A budget scan tool with Honda EPB service mode is the better route.
The two caliper guide-pin bolts take a 12 mm socket, and the caliper bracket bolts that hold the assembly to the knuckle take a 17 mm socket. Lug nuts are 19 mm.
The rotor has two threaded jacking holes. Thread in M8 x 1.25 bolts and tighten them alternately a half turn at a time to walk the rotor off the hub. A dead-blow hammer on the rotor hat also works once you've penetrated the rust at the center.
Rear pads typically last 40,000-70,000 miles on gas models. Hybrids often go far longer on pads because of regenerative braking, but rear rotors in salt states frequently rust out first and force the job early.