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I live on the coast and do some mountain driving and towing where the brakes heat up. I try to change brake fluid every 2 or 3 years. I'm at 2 1/2 years now and it's on my ToDo list. Any garage with a pressure bleeder can do it in 15 minutes so it shouldn't cost much. If I lived in the desert, I'm not sure I'd bother.
As brake fluid absorbs water, it lowers the boiling point. If you don't mountain drive and you don't tow, it's unlikely to be an issue. When you wear out the brakes, flush it then.
A lot of manufacturer's don't state the flush interval on a lot of vehicles. I've heard it often argued that it was a liability issue vs lack of need to do so.
Regardless, I change out the fluid on my cars on a 1-2 year schedule. I usually try to do it with a brake job (if needed) and every time I've flushed the fluid, I've noticed an improvement in pedal firmness and response.
How often you need to flush the fluid does depends on the environment. Even though a brake system is sealed, it can absorb moisture through the rubber seals and hoses. How much and at what rate all depends if you live in a dry area, or a rainforest.
At 160K miles and 12 years, I would flush that fluid regardless. If you have no idea what you are doing, have a shop do this job. But otherwise, it's a simple task usually involving a couple of bottles of fluid and a 10 or 8mm wrench. A $50 pressure bleeder kit makes it even easier.
Yeah, I would flush the fluid, and I have always experienced that better, firmer brake pedal with fresh fluid.
If you keep good, clean, dry fluid in a brake or clutch system, in my experience, the seals stay good and you very seldom have any leaks.
Yeah, I would flush the fluid, and I have always experienced that better, firmer brake pedal with fresh fluid.
This all the way!!! After I flushed the brake fluid on my 76 Chevy truck (surprisingly all the bleeders came loose) the pedal was SO much firmer and felt so much better driving it afterwards. And as others have pointed out, brake fluid is hygroscopic and absorbs water over the years, so flushing it is a good idea.
When it comes to fluid flushes, I'll never tell somebody NOT to do it (unless you have an automatic transmission that's already cooked and the particles in the fluid are the only thing keeping it working). It can't hurt, I've never heard of something breaking because the fluid was changed too often.
simple rules for fluid changes,
- use manufacture fluids, except for engine oil, so anti freeze, brake, transmission, steering, differential should all be bought from dealer parts department
- for oil= 3 to 5 k miles, transmission= every year, brakes= every year or 2, differential and steering=30 k miles
- do not use a flush machine, or any flushing, but simply drain and replace
-for the transmission, drain and fill with same amount collected
these fluid changes, with manufacture product, is a small insurance to pay for long trouble free life of your car!
Brake fluid should be flushed every two years, according to my car's owners manual.
I've probably been stretching that to three years, and maybe it's been even longer on my second car. Which reminds me that I should probably get this done. The fluid is relatively cheap and with the right tools it only takes 10-15 minutes. If you take your car to a shop, the two things to be concerned with are 1) are they using the right spec brake fluid, and 2) are they actually flushing the brake fluid or just telling you that they did it?
I usually change mine every 2-3 years but that was when I lived in a dry environment. We just moved to Florida last fall so I won't be stretching the flushes out to 3 years.
The fluid must be incredibly dark now in your car.
160K and 12 years on the OEM brake fluid? Yes, it should have been changed years ago.
Ford wants you to inspect the whole brake system (pads, fluid, etc) every 10k miles.
Agreed, the brake fluid should be changed more regularly, but I would be suspicious of an oil change place doing it. It's fairly labor intesive and depending on how it's done can take 2 people.
I usually grab my wife or a kid to pump the brakes but a vacuum based bleeder might be employed.
^^Like they say, every 2-3 years or 30-36K is erring on the safe and clean side.
Time is important, miles are not, when it comes to brake fluid. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and can absorb water whether the car is being driven or not.
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