superangrypenguin

My brake fluid is not at the 2 year mark, but am looking to change front rotors and pads soon.

I inquired the SA as to whether or not brake fluid would ever contact air (as brake fluid is hydroscopic) as part of this service. He said no.

However, he still recommended to change the brake fluid at the time. I quote "However; to ensure the firmest pedal, it is recommended to have the fluid replaced at the time of brake replacement."

I have no reason to doubt my SA as he is absolutely fantastic, but I don't understand the above and am looking for some further guidance from all of you.

Why would this be? And do most of you change your brake fluid @ the same time?

Thanks

Just204

how long has it been since the last flush? doing brakes won't contaminate the fluid, whats your climate like, is it dry? color of fluid? moisture isn't the only thing, brake fluid interacts with the lines and a corrosive "byproduct" is produced which damages internals of the brake system which is where the recommendation is mostly comes from, its what gives the dark color. if its dark I would do it.

Demvang

I wouldn't change brake fluid with a brake pad replacement ... just do it every 20k miles. Personally, I'll change brake fluid every 40k.

js79

Inspect it for dirt and debris, make sure you're at proper levels. If they feel spongy, then yes flush and change.

superangrypenguin

1.8 years (3 months before the two year mark), so yeah might as well, but I'm more curious than anything as to why I should change it if I haven't hit the two year mark.

Climate - dry. Don't know what the color is and won't know as it's silly to open up the brake fluid reservoir cap as brake fluid loves moisture.

M~Factor

while on the subject, what do you guys recommend for brake fluid?


ATE Blue brake fluid?

superangrypenguin

OEM brake fluid.

tapankd

While on this topic... Brake fluid flush is it every 2 years or every 20k miles.. Thanks

Colin G

Is your brake fluid clean? Mine is right at the 2 year mark and it is still crystal clear so I am leaving it. I'll change it in the spring when I replace the rotors and pads.

tommiett

The brake fluid will stay in my car until I change pads or longer. Seems the German cars want to do a 2 year change. My Toyota list no change intervals. A Corvette I had listed 150k fluid change. My dealer wants $250.00 for this service.... No way....

My 19 year old Toyota 4-Runner has the original brake fluid in it. Still stops....

I know of no one who has ever had brake failure due to moisture build up in brake fluid. I have been driving for 45+ years and none of my cars have ever had a brake fluid change. To me that would be like changing my air conditioning fluid every 2 years. If your getting moisture in your brake fluid, you have problems. I'll probably suck it up and doing it as my MB is still under warranty.

Do what you feel is best for your car and your wallet.

superangrypenguin

Clean.

Are you trolling? This is simply the stupidest comment and unsafe comment I have ever read on this forum. Brake fluid is hydroscopic. Don't be a statistic.

Your logic is similar to "jet engines never need an oil change, so I don't need to change the oil on my car either".

I really hope you're just trolling or making a sarcastic comment.

tommiett

You didn't blame DI for this issue! Amazing! Or maybe someone got your MB ID/PW? ADMINS!!! QUICK... Help SuperAngry@$$!!!!!!!

Trolling? Think you live to read my post and respond. Too much DI exposure I guess. Facebook is calling you......

Did I say never to change it.. NO. Did I quote what my Toyota and my Corvette recommended changes are, YES... Don't be such an @$$.

Just like oil change shops who recommend an oil change every 3,000 miles...it is more of a money-making than common sense approach. If you NEED it, by all means change it OR have it done by someone who KNOWS how to do it properly (especially with ABS brakes), but if not, don't feed the greed! Amazon sells a Brake Fluid Tester for less than 10 bucks.. Save $250 and get one.



Not ALL manufacturers suggest changing your brake fluid often. Good idea? Probably.. Required? Not according to many manufactures. But apparently... You know more then them. Maybe Fiat is hiring.....

Hydroscopic? Correct. But as long as you don't open the system... ZERO water build-up. That's why manufactures have translucent brake fluid reservoirs. If your opening yours to check for DI issues daily.. Yes, you may need to change it frequently. Chances are folks who change it @ home, may get more moisture in the system when they change it than it had before. I use a vacuum pump to restrict moisture build up when bleeding my systems.

How do you know if your brake fluid has moisture build-up? Color. I like my beer dark.. Not my brake fluid.

Maybe I've been too close to my DI engines again........

Your VERY WELCOME to ignore my ALL my comments as I'll ignore all of yours......

dennish

If the rotors measure within tolerances and are not deeply grooved and there is no pulsing when applying brakes, I don't change the rotors.

edgalang

He is recommending it because it's very easy to do, and since the wheels are off, it's one of those "might as well" check box items (easy money).

Prior to the 50k mark, I use to do everything by the book, however I've educated myself since then and now only change the fluid if/when it blips 3% water contamination (checked at every oil change). The tool that tommiett suggested is perfect, especially if you never had experience using paper strips.

As for brake fluid, I use Motul DOT5.1...but then again I have a DI engine so YMMV. (I kid I kid) .

dol4er

I agree with Tommiett, this 2-year interval is extremely short.

Personally, my dealer flushed the brake fluid at the 4th year and the car was perfect to drive before and after the flush - no difference at all.

So I will definitely not flush the brake fluid anytime before another 4 years pass. Probably I will go for 6 years next time.

edgalang

For me, my personal light bulb lit up when the dealer suggested I change my fluid at the 40k mark (I had them flush out the fluid at the 20k mark before I knew better), but when I tested it prior to making the decision, I was still at 1% water contamination. After this, I decided to flush it myself when I reached 2%. Moving forward, I think I'll stretch it to 3% since this seems to be the industry standard.

Keep in mind though, the car never sees extreme hot or cold conditions and is garaged daily. I also don't unnecessarily open the fluid reservoir, so perhaps the reasons above is partly why my brake fluids can last a long time.

superangrypenguin

That tool is woefully inadequate. I've sent in my brake fluid to be tested in a lab and the results I've received are FAR different than that tool tells me.

Take that tool and stick it into a new can of brake fluid - you'd be shocked at the result.

Or, take that tool and dip it in water, how can the result be green?

You don't even need to take it from me.


No system is 100% sealed, and yet some "geniuses" in this thread seem to think so. Yes, Toyota and one other carmaker says that brake fluid is lifetime.

Apparently MB said tranny oil was lifetime too, and a class action later...

Nothing is lifetime. If some of you want to save $150 for a brake fluid flush, then you're cheap but that's your call. Some of us (me) realize that it's not worth skimping on these safety items.

ALL OTHER CAR MAKERS recommend 2-3 years to swap out brake fluid, and a handful say don't worry about it. I'm not going to listen to the 2 carmakers, especially when neither has made that recommendation for a Mercedes.

To one idiot upthread, yeah I've decided to ignore you. You're not worth my hourly rate of $295/hour.

Cheers all.

Just204

I have to laugh at that one.. but hey, maybe he does have the $$$$ for your time??

Brake fluid is not lifetime, trans fluid is not lifetime , oil is not lifetime. heck, claiming fluid is good for the life of the car is total bull, well at least until the system fails due to contaminated fluid. opps, guess its time to buy a new car because the fluids say time is up as they last forever .

superangrypenguin

LOL!!!

I'm no proponent of big government, in fact I'm quite the proponent for small government, but it's idiots like the one upthread which make me have a belief that governments should mandate brake fluid inspections as it is a critical component to stopping a vehicle. I can't believe some people are cheap to the point of rolling the dice with that one.

I hope he doesn't end up killing someone because of his poor decisions. I can live with the fact that if he kills himself then that's fine as he's made the decision to save $150 or $200, but driving is a shared responsibility with shared repercussions, unfortunately.

tommiett

My state is one that requires a vehicle safety inspection once a year. Guess what? Brake fluid moisture level is NOT part of the inspection.
Show me a Single news report about a car crash due to high brake moisture levels in the brake fluid.


From the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration


QUOTE

Brake fluid will accumulate moisture over time. In fact, according to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 20 percent of the cars it tested had brake fluid with 5 percent moisture content.

End Quote

Did the cars still stop? Yup..... Crazy 5% owners... probably.

You better hide in your garage if you think most people are changing their brake fluid every 24 months. Maybe with your 1/2 mill a year, you can start a free brake fluid change service to save us all from this terrible issue.

Also if your making almost 12k a week.. why are you trolling MBWorld? i also did not know that being an @$$hole paid that much. I think you need a raise......

Bottom line.... TEST your brake fluid and let logic determine the action. 3% or less... save your $$$$.

edgalang

Maybe you got a bad one, but I would not actively use or further recommend something I haven't tried, tested and verified myself. If trust is your issue, then feel free to keep sending in brake fluid to have it lab tested...OR...perform the fluid flush per recommendation and move on.

You asked and people responded.

superangrypenguin

1) I'm not doing additional research for you but Google really is a wonderful tool. Do you know how to use this? Here, I'll be nice, this one is on me: www.google.com
2) You clearly don't understand what billable rate means and that income does not mean 40 hours * billable rate - must be a sign of the type of education you clearly have or lack. Even if I did make a trillion $ a year, it's called a hobby, but I wouldn't expect you to understand that.
3) Replace your brake fluid with coolant. It works even better. I even found two sites on Google of people doing this. It's absolutely amazing!

Ignored. You literally are the definition of a troll. You must think you're smarter than people with engineering degrees who design cars but oh well, enough of my brain cells have been wasted on you - NEXT.

Unfortunately you drive a Benz. You should be relegated to the lower classes of Honda drivers out there.

Did you read the thread? One option is to replace it early (September 2017 as opposed to February 2018 which is the two year mark) and the other is to replace it in Feb 2018. Obviously I'll be choosing one or the other.

tommiett

[QUOTE=superangrypenguin;7265499]
Unfortunately you drive a Benz. You should be relegated to the lower classes of Honda drivers out there.
[/QUOTE

Only a real @$$hole would rate folks by the car they drive.....

edgalang

You must seriously be heated if the comments bother you so much, to not see that you've already been answered.

The thread began by you asking the forum if you should change early by your service advisor recommendation based on the service already being performed, or go by the book per manufacturer recommendation. Folks respectfully replied by saying it doesn't matter since we (the folks who replied) find either one is overly conservative. I've also already expressed that a pad/rotor change should be mutually exclusive to a fluid change, but since the wheel is already off, and the nipple is right there, the dealer can just add that as another billable item.

tommiett

Sorry... Probably too much DI fumes.....