Mazda OEM Brake Fluid

[Zonso]

Went into the local dealer to get some Dot 3 brake fluid in preparation for some work and found out all they have and use is Mazda High Performance Dot 4 (0000-88-BF00) fluid for all vehicles. The bottle says compatible with Dot 3/4; however I was still surprised as my understanding(may be outdated/mistaken) was Dot 4 fluid may case issues with seals in vehicles spec'd for Dot 3? Anyways was wondering if anyone knew anything about this fluid - no offense to parts staff who are not always knowledgeable.

Also noted Canadian Tire is marketing various types of brake fluid under the OEM label and was wondering about the quality of that as well.

[Johns 08 3 GT]

You can use dot4 in a dot3 car. Not the other way around. What your thinking of is dot5. Silicon based IIRC. But dot5.1 can be used in a dot4.

[AwAfrican]

John's is correct, as for the "OEM" fluid at crappy tire, they all meet OEM specs really can't go wrong with them... Note would I put them in a car that's on the track and needs a higher boiling point, nope but for a daily sure.

[TheMAN]

there's no such thing as "OEM specs"
brake fluid must meet standards set under Transport Canada's CMVSS 116... that's all.. just because it "meets" the standards, doesn't mean it's any good at all... the thresholds are low... you can buy any brand DOT3 grade brake fluid and it'll at least meet the standards... good brands far exceed them, will enhance braking performance, improving safety, and have much longer service life... get the cheap crap and expect brake fade after a hard stop or two and the fluid not lasting more than a year... even some expensive brake fluids (auto maker branded ones, for example) are overpriced garbage

there's tons of research information out there regarding which brake fluids are good... you don't need to buy super expensive $100 brake fluid, but the sound choice is to get something that has good performance for the money... you don't have to buy OEM brake fluid either, but some of them are known to be good (Ford, for example)... it's all up to you to figure this out