Changing Brake fluid ?

[reesers3sport]

Took my 06 3sport for 32,000 km service and when I went to pick it up service guy tells me my brake fluid needs to be changed because it's dirty !
I'm not the most knowlegdeable person on cars or car maintenece, but i've never heard of changing the brake fluid especially when no other components were to be replaced.
I was wondering if this serivce guy was trying to pull a fast one or is this a genuine service that people have done.

Thanks,

[Flagrum_3]

You should of asked him how it got dirty :chuckle

Total Cash Grab...amazing he didn't try to sell you a tranny service too!....enough said.


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[Wild Weasel]

People will argue otherwise, but I agree with F3. 32k km's is way too early to need to change brake fluid. I wouldn't expect to change it until double that unless there's some underlying reason such as a break in the system or something.

[EvilEric]

Took my 06 3sport for 32,000 km service and when I went to pick it up service guy tells me my brake fluid needs to be changed because it's dirty !
I'm not the most knowlegdeable person on cars or car maintenece, but i've never heard of changing the brake fluid especially when no other components were to be replaced.
I was wondering if this serivce guy was trying to pull a fast one or is this a genuine service that people have done.

Thanks,

Use a different service person next time. I went for 48k yesturday and the guy at the counter told me that the mechanic had found my brake fluid to be a little dirty as well BUT he said he looked at it himself and didn't think it would be a problem for another 4+ months.

He said I should be aware of it and they will check again next couple services.

[RX9]

u may need to add it, but never heard about it "its dirty" totally BS.
ddi u mind if i ask did u add the break fluid by the engin oil by accident?

[Wild Weasel]

You NEVER need to add brake fluid unless you've got a leak somewhere!

The level goes down as the pads and rotors wear, but if you top the fluid up, it will overflow when you replace them. Don't do it.

[m3z00m]

i'm a mechanic and yes you do need to replace your brake fluid. maybe not that soon, hard to tell without looking at it. on any older car you should be flushing your braking system every 2 years, as brake fluid does break down over time. personally i do it every spring on all my vehicles, brakes is the most important part of your car.

[Fuman]

what Flagrum_3 said!

[MZ3_GS]

Should do it every year, it does get dirty and it can absorb moisture. Also as your pads wear down, the fluid will drop and it could trigger your hand brake light.

[Wild Weasel]

Should do it every year, it does get dirty and it can absorb moisture. Also as your pads wear down, the fluid will drop and it could trigger your hand brake light.

That's ridiculous. Sure, the fluid level drops as your pads and rotors wear, but it should never drop low enough to get a warning light unless all your pads are overdue for replacement. This should almost never happen as the front and rear pads will need replacing at different times.

When you replace them, the fluid level comes back up. No problem.

It takes a long time for fluid to become past due in a regular street driven car. I wouldn't suggest changing it sooner than about 80,000 km's or so.

[MZ3_GS]

That's ridiculous. Sure, the fluid level drops as your pads and rotors wear, but it should never drop low enough to get a warning light unless all your pads are overdue for replacement. This should almost never happen as the front and rear pads will need replacing at different times.

When you replace them, the fluid level comes back up. No problem.

It takes a long time for fluid to become past due in a regular street driven car. I wouldn't suggest changing it sooner than about 80,000 km's or so.

w/e man. Brakes are probably the most important component on your car. Why would you not want to have the fluid changed. You will notice better braking modulation. Brakes should be serviced and inspected regularly anyways.

[WeatherB]

That's ridiculous. Sure, the fluid level drops as your pads and rotors wear, but it should never drop low enough to get a warning light unless all your pads are overdue for replacement. This should almost never happen as the front and rear pads will need replacing at different times.

When you replace them, the fluid level comes back up. No problem.

It takes a long time for fluid to become past due in a regular street driven car. I wouldn't suggest changing it sooner than about 80,000 km's or so.

I've seen this happen first hand on our previous Protege 5... The light came on after about 20,000KM whenever you take a corner / brake. I topped it up a bit and all was well.

[Fuman]

w/e man. Brakes are probably the most important component on your car. Why would you not want to have the fluid changed. You will notice better braking modulation. Brakes should be serviced and inspected regularly anyways.
Flushing it once a year, is a waste of money man. If you really want to, you can just bleed it a bit, and re-top fluid. No need to do a full flush.

Yeah, change it won't hurt the car, but its just wasting your money away. If you want, change the fluid to dot 5.1 or dot 4. DO NOT USE DOT 5

[MZ3_GS]

Flushing it once a year, is a waste of money man. If you really want to, you can just bleed it a bit, and re-top fluid. No need to do a full flush.

Yeah, change it won't hurt the car, but its just wasting your money away. If you want, change the fluid to dot 5.1 or dot 4. DO NOT USE DOT 5

Using DOT 5.1 fluid in a street car is a waste of money.

[Wild Weasel]

w/e man. Brakes are probably the most important component on your car. Why would you not want to have the fluid changed. You will notice better braking modulation. Brakes should be serviced and inspected regularly anyways.

Yes, they're important. Yes, you want to change it. Just not every year. Every 3 or 4 years is more appropriate.

[Flagrum_3]

w/e man. Brakes are probably the most important component on your car. Why would you not want to have the fluid changed. You will notice better braking modulation. Brakes should be serviced and inspected regularly anyways.

Lets see...Why wouldn't I want to change my brake fluid every year? ...Well for one its absolutely unnessary, two, you or anyone else would never notice any difference in brake performance (maybe a placebo effect), three, its a waste of money and finally there is always the chance that you may contaminate the system in doing so, making things worse...remember the ol' saying, "If it ain't broke don't fix it" :bang

I can argue forever that Brake Fluid would never need changing even long after most people here will get rid of thier vehicles, but I guess you could look at it in the same manner as using synthetic oil versus regular oil, its not neccessary but we do it hoping it has the effect of our cars running better and longer.So in saying that, if I were to change my brake fluid as a preventative maintenance type act, then I would probably do it every four to five years....and I would not venture to change from the Mazda prescribed Dot 3 brake fluid, this could be detrimental, i.e cause damage to seals etc;

Thats my take on it anyways.


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[Fuman]

Using DOT 5.1 fluid in a street car is a waste of money.
lol... Since you are wasting money anyway, you might as well use DOT 5.1.
At least you get a higher boiling point with DOT 5.1.
w/ DOT 5.1 there is a smaller chance of the fluid boiling on you.

[Wild Weasel]

Good luck trying to boil a DOT4 fluid on the street.

Unless you're heading to the track and doing laps, there's no reason for anything higher than DOT4, and frankly, most DOT3 fluids on the market will suit you just fine.

Just my opinion on the matter. When you start getting into stuff like DOT5.1 then you get into shady territory where maybe you confuse it with DOT5 and trash your braking system or something.

I'd never recommend it.

[Fuman]

Good luck trying to boil a DOT4 fluid on the street.

Unless you're heading to the track and doing laps, there's no reason for anything higher than DOT4, and frankly, most DOT3 fluids on the market will suit you just fine.

Just my opinion on the matter. When you start getting into stuff like DOT5.1 then you get into shady territory where maybe you confuse it with DOT5 and trash your braking system or something.

I'd never recommend it.
i was just saying he seems a bit paranoid.
agreed, if ppl use dot 5, their brake system will likely be toast.

[Fuman]

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/070725.htm <-- good article.
notice it says "over the years".
And note: not all dot 5.1 are silicon based.
E.g. Motul Dot 5.1 is NOT silicon based

[MZ3_GS]

Well first off, I would like to say I don't use Synthetic motor oils, I think they're a waste of money for a street car. I know you can argue that start up protection is better, longer change intervals blah blah blah, the list can go on.
(How many of you wait till 16000KM to change your oil anyways)

I don't think the cost is justified, if you use Synthetic and follow the service interval you're doubling the maintenance cost for your vehicle, at 12000Km it is 50% more.
I just don't see the cost benefit, I don't plan on keeping the car running till 1,000,000 Miles, regular stuff is fine.

Anyways back to the brake fluid, ya so ever year maybe excessive, but I make sure all the fluids in my car(s) are changed at least once every 12 months. Cost of brake fluid? Probably less than $1 of synthetic motor oil.

[Flagrum_3]

Well first off, I would like to say I don't use Synthetic motor oils, I think they're a waste of money for a street car. I know you can argue that start up protection is better, longer change intervals blah blah blah, the list can go on.
(How many of you wait till 16000KM to change your oil anyways)

I don't think the cost is justified, if you use Synthetic and follow the service interval you're doubling the maintenance cost for your vehicle, at 12000Km it is 50% more.
I just don't see the cost benefit, I don't plan on keeping the car running till 1,000,000 Miles, regular stuff is fine.

Anyways back to the brake fluid, ya so ever year maybe excessive, but I make sure all the fluids in my car(s) are changed at least once every 12 months. Cost of brake fluid? Probably less than $1 of synthetic motor oil.

I was using the oil just as an example of better vehicle maintenance, but if you think its a waste (to use synthetic), you should really do some reading...Anyways you can't really compare the two as oil will get contaminated very quickly as compared to brake fluid, as brake fluid is in a completely sealed system, it cannot get contaminated unless the system is compromised.

I don't care if you change all your fluids every year, all the power to you, but don't go telling others that its neccessary.


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