My owners manual recommends brake fluid changes every 2 years. That seems to be WAY overkill. I have had cars that I didn't change the brake fluid for 15 years and nothing happened. I know brake fluid absorbs water, but is it really that significant after only 2 years?
2 Year Brake Fluid Changes--Overkill?
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Not overkill at all. Especially since you live in the salt belt. Getting fresh fluid in there and giving the system a good once over looking for corrosion and free pad movement is a really good idea on a regular basis. Plus keeping the bleeders freely moving and free from corrosion will require getting in there on a regular basis.
2018 Honda Pilot
Should be every 3 years.
Brake fluid is hygroskopic (it attracts water/moisture)....water in it lowers its boiling point.....and those two things combined are the reason why you should change your brake fluid that often!
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/cut-open-a-clogged-brake-hose.334825/
That brake hose was killed by rust jacking. No amount of bleeding was going to stop that. You would have had to treat the metal bracket to keep it from rusting. Keeping an eye on it and keeping some form of fluid on it would have helped, something you could do if you're under there on a regular basis maintaining the system.
I shoot for every two years, it ends up being no more than about 26-28 months. The job is easy enough, and I try and coordinate it with a tire rotation or brake job if possible. My bet is there are millions of cars in the junkyard for one reason or another that never had brake fluid changed out. In fact I have spoken with many people over the years that had no idea it had to be changed. IMO brake fluid is something many people think is a "lifetime fluid."
Every 2 years based on; keeping a vehicle for a very long time and having the best possible brake performance in the most extreme conditions & situations even if an instance or situation is only one time in our experience.
It's not only about the condition of the brake fluid, it is also about the rest of the brake system components. I mean, we can only do the best that we can do.
It's not only about the condition of the brake fluid, it is also about the rest of the brake system components. I mean, we can only do the best that we can do.
Two years was (may still be) the interval for BMW's. Heck it's only your brakes, what could go wrong?
^ Exactly.
I took care of three Honda's between 2001-2020 and always did every 3 years; never had any issues with any part of the systems.
My Hyundai owners manual for my 2018 Elantra Sport says 30K or every 48 months, whichever occurs first.
Wife's Audi says every 2 years regardless of mileage.
The Audi specifies a DOT 4 LV brake fluid. LV means low viscosity which is needed for proper ESC and ABS function in very cold operating conditions.
Ford has switched to specifying and factory filling with DOT 4 LV brake fluid in most of their vehicles including the F150.
Dealers do sell Motorcraft DOT 4 LV fluid.
My go to brake fluid is Bosch. This is a LV brake fluid:
https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-ESI6-3...e+fluid&qid=1608986241&sr=8-2#customerReviews
Wife's Audi says every 2 years regardless of mileage.
The Audi specifies a DOT 4 LV brake fluid. LV means low viscosity which is needed for proper ESC and ABS function in very cold operating conditions.
Ford has switched to specifying and factory filling with DOT 4 LV brake fluid in most of their vehicles including the F150.
Dealers do sell Motorcraft DOT 4 LV fluid.
My go to brake fluid is Bosch. This is a LV brake fluid:
https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-ESI6-3...e+fluid&qid=1608986241&sr=8-2#customerReviews
Amazingly Hyundai says 2 years in Europe...
I found the low viscosity fluid helps also at regular temperatures, if you have an fast cycling ESP unit. To the point you can't feel ABS in your brake pedal.
I personally believe that every 3-5 years is OK considering most people don't do it at all. However I do my own during tire rotations or summer/winter tire change overs even if I only crack open the bleeders and gravity bleed(a little bit) during this time & top off the fluid resivior. But, I deffinitely flush the whole system properly when replacing brakes/rotors. So, my brake systems get more bleeding than they may actually need but, that's just me!
To me, a proper brake system flush it to remove all fluid from the resivior(turkey Baxter/suction syringe/whatever) and start with new/fresh fluid and bleed the system by vehicle specification.
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And how long do you expect to keep it?
“The books” say 2 years and I used to be a fanatic about it. nowadays it’s probably double that, and usually not just by itself... like I’ll wait until something else requires a wheel or two coming off. We live in a humid climate and even at a 4 year interval the fluid doesn’t seem to degrade much. I havent had a master cylinder or caliper fail from fluid issues in a long, long time.
Did they have ABS? If so, you're probably playing Russian Roulette that it's trouble-free another 5 years. 15-20 years is when things start to go bad and a new ABS pump can easily total a car of that age.
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