GregTR

I put 20k miles on my W212 in 7 months. The maintenance schedule calls for the replacement of the brake fluids every 20k miles or 2 years. Do I really need to replace the brake fluid after a mere 7 months? It seems rather stupid as brake fluid deterioration has more to do with water absorption over time than mileage.

PeterUbers

seems like most of your miles are likely highway? Very little actual braking -- or am I incorrect? Perhaps the 2 yr/20k miles presumes a certain amount of average braking done in this time/distance period. Greg, this is sorta your area of car expertise -- do you think it'll affect your warranty if you don't stick to the schedule?

GregTR

Peter,

It is all highway miles. I do a lot of commuting between my house and the various ice rinks in the metroplex, the story of a travel hockey dad. I do have a brake bleed kit and I just flushed my wife's A4 Avant a couple months back, Audi only requires it every 2 years, regardless of mileage. I really don't think doing it myself or not doing it at all would make any difference in terms of warranty. I did buy the 7 year/120k warranty but at the rate I'm going I'll be out of warranty in 3 years.

MBNUT1

I totally agree with your assessment. So the question really is what is Mercedes position relative to the warranty

PeterUbers

I would just do it... You can save $300 somewhere else in yur life ... Get the brake fluid done

Stevehg

No is the answer. All the major manufacturers are now using long life brake fluid, that should last at least 4 years without changing.

hyperion667

I'd sleep at night better having it done: just my opinion

CEB

Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time. Mileage is unimportant.

Long3494Qut

Holy shiz, Greg! 20k?! Damn you take the trophy home on miles compared to mine haha. Common sense wise it feels like 2 yrs > 20k miles but for peace of mind, doing it now as Hype would be best

instantfob

Unless you have previously boiled the brake fluid then it's not going to collect any extra moisture.

I don't think you'll need to flush it right away.

Arrie

We all know the brake fluid does not have a problem in a car driving on highway for 7 months accumulating 20000 miles especially when the time limit is two years. But, if the MB required service asks for it then it is required.

So, my take in this is that yes, the fluid change is required if you want your car warranty to be in effect for any possible brake issues.

Please don't jeopardize your warranty. As was stated in an earlier post you can save the few hundred bucks somewhere else, like at the same dealer service where you would have the fluid changed with some other "small" things, like software updates. Building relationship with your dealer service never hurts.

GregTR

Well, I just did my oil change and cabin filter change. $44 for oil at Walmart, $22 for the oil filter, $40 for the cabin filter. $110 for the whole "B" service and I'll keep driving happily for another 3 months when I'll spend $50 just for the oil change materials. No offense, but I'm not spending 3 hours at the dealer of my own time. It's not just about the money, it's about convenience. It's a lot easier for me to change the oil in my garage than drive to the dealer and wait for them to do it. If I really feel like it I might buy some brake fluid and do a flush next weekend but I might just hold off until November.

Mbenz260e

I do mostly highway on my E-class, 17k-18k a year, did it at the 20k service and paid for it but was thinking along your lines as well, but didn't want to get on a strange rotation either and forget.

My only concern would be later warranty issues rather than the actual fluid.

Quadcammer

oh really?

I was under the impression 3, 4, and 5.1 brake fluid was hygroscopic and absorbed moisture from the air given that its a vented system.

Am I wrong?

Arrie

Funny how you get offensive after your question gets answered...

It is all up to you what you want to do. I offered my opinion and myself would stick to the maintenance schedule by MB unless they give you a written paper that releases you from it without losing warranty coverage, period.

Without brake fluid flush, which you can do yourself or have it done by any shop documenting it, any brake function issue could be blamed on liquid not being changed. You fighting this kind of issues will cost you the fluid flush in the first half hour the process starts.

GregTR

When I bought my oil and pollen filter at the dealer and verified that the Mobil 1 from Walmart is the same as the one the dealer sells I learned two things:

1) The dealer can't buy the oil per quart as cheap as Walmart is selling it ($22 for 5 quarts), he doesn't know how Walmart does it.
2) The brake oil change has to do with time and not mileage, just as expected. The parts guy said he can't say anything other than what the manual says but in reality the fluid will last 2 years regardless of mileage.

I'm not changing the brake fluid, brake malfunction under warranty is the least of my worries, I'm far more concerned with electrical gizmos and gremlins popping up.

Quadcammer

I would just do it yourself.

ATE 200 is like $12 a liter. Takes maybe 2 hours.

Arrie

It is your choice man. You take the risk but remember it is easy for MB to claim that the ABS system does not work as designed just because the brake fluid was not changed at every 20000 miles. And they are very good at going by the book. Essentially you agree to the warranty terms when you buy the car and those terms are what MB wrote in the book.

With a car of this class I would not jeopardize the warranty in any way.

But it is your car and you do what you like. Just don't come back later on complaining MB does not fix some brake issue under warranty because the flush was not done...

PeterUbers

+1

Everything in life comes down to risk stratification ... This is no exception

faz999

you can always take it to sears for $40 make a appointment online any sears auto $40 you can't go wrong lol

PeterUbers

There's a great start to finish write up on a c300 owner taking his car to Pepboys, got shorted a couple quarts and the engine blew ... He had to take them to court and got full reimbursement for the engine repair ...

At least if they screw u at Benz, it would be easier to get subsequent repairs covered gratis

GregTR

As always, fear sells. I'm quite confident in my mechanical skills, more so than some grease monkey at Sears.

Based on my research, I'll do a bleed of my own at one year and keep changing the oil every 10k with Walmart Mobil 1.

thefisch

As others have pointed out, the only risk of not following the schedule is MB denying a claim because of lack of related maintenance. Of course they would have to prove that was the cause.

If you continue to rack up miles at this rate, you will be out of warranty before you own the car for 2 years, maybe sooner. If you haven't had any brake issues in the first 7 months then you should be fine for the next several months if not longer. If you were planning on selling the car soon that would be a different factor to consider. So there is not a lot to risk here IMHO. Since you can handle your own maintenance, you'll be keeping the maintenance up to your standards which seem to be more than sufficient to keep the car well maintained.

Personally I am keeping to the scheduled maintenance but I am not a high mileage driver nor do I have the tools or inclination to do most of the work myself. I like the idea of piecemealing the work but then you have the inconvenience of taking it here for an oil change, and then there for the brake flush, etc. The more shops you deal with the more chances that someone will screw it up and the more time it takes. Once I am out of warranty, I plan to take it to the local indy and tell them what to do rather than this service package BS.

Arrie

There you go, you can do it yourself. But why wait for the one year marker? If you can do it why not do it at the 20000 miles documenting it and be worry free with the warranty?????


You are sawing pennies now for what? To prove MB is wrong with their required brake fluid flush? You will still lose it if there is an issue with the brake system and you did not have the flush done within 1000 miles of the target 20000 miles no matter the time limit. Just remember that.


But it is your car and decision...just trying to help with your original question...


P.S. I change my oil between the 10000 mile changes the dealer service does, i.e. I pump out the oil thru the dip stick tube at 5000 miles after the dealer service. This way my car engine sees new oil at every 5000 miles and I also use Walmart full synthetic Mobil 1 oil in 5 qt jugs. Low cost compared to the dealer but I still take the car to the dealer at every 10000 miles to keep all service up to date. This will happen as long as the car is under warranty for another 2 1/2 years, perhaps even longer.


After that, it is all up to me with power tunes etc, which will happen. Before that it will be taken care of by the MB service and I will enjoy the almost 400 hp the engine produces until the warranty runs out.

CEB

There is no need to go to the dealer to keep your warranty intact.

While it is imperative that you do all servicing on-time, who does it is immaterial as long as it is done properly and documented.

You can go to the dealer and it will be entered into the computer
You can go to an indy mechanic and keep your receipt
You can do it yourself and keep a logbook.

When getting service done anywhere but the dealer, it would be wise to make sure that the receipt documents the types of fluids used to be able to show that they meet the specs set forth by MB.

If doing service yourself, use some sort of a log book to keep track of what you did and when you did it. Keep receipts for all fluids and parts and make sure that the products used are clearly identified. I'll sometimes add box tops or labels if the receipts are a bit unclear.

As far as the brake fluid flush is concerned, it really is time based and has no connection to mileage - but - if MB calls for a set interval that cites miles then it should be done as per MB requirements unless you can get something in writing from MB that relieves of that mileage obligation.

In Germany, the MB requirement to change brake fluid is every two years (no mileage requirement) with the exception of SBC vehicles that have a 1 year interval (also no mileage). Why MB USA has a mileage requirement is beyond me, but they do so it should be followed.

VW has a "first change in 3 years, thereafter every two years" requirement".