Took the 09 RAM hemi in for an oil change today,j 25000 kms and they are telling me my brake fluid is dirty and should be flushed. Now I have never flushed the brake fluid as something that needed to be done other than during a brake pad replacement or line repair. Especially at the low mileage. It does not look bad to me I think they should wipe the outside of the reservoir before they come up with that????? Anyone else had this issue?

 

Brake fluid is good for atleast 60kmi or 5yrs. At those intervals the brake fluid should be flushed as it's hygroscopic(moisture absorbing) and becomes very corrosive and makes your braking spongy and less heat resistive.
I'd tell them to go scratch for now and wait it out a few years since you have low mileage.

 

Audis and BMW change the brake fluid every 2/24 I believe.

I have had 15 year old cars with 150,000 miles with the original brake fluid too..

I wouldnt worry about it, if you are paranoid when you do the brake pads have them do it. The wheels are off already so they shouldnt charge you that much more extra to do it. Just have to make sure they know what they are doing, some cars if you run dry bleeding it its a PITA to get air out of the ABS pumps without power or vacuum bleeding.

 

That is what i figured I have never had the brake fluid flushed, maybe they inadvertently do it somewhat when the bleed the brakes when then change the pads, but I don't see any reason to, the only thing I think is they should loosen the bleeders, just crack them so they don't seize up. My kid paid 400 bucks in Canada for Wagner lifetime warranty ceramic pads and 3 year warranty on the rotors on his Avenger. Taxes in which are like 50 bucks of the price. This was not the dealer, did he get hosed?

 

You don't bleed brakes when you change pads

 

That is what I meant when I said I didn't see any need to, it referred to bleeding my brakes. I think they are trying to make me screw up so if something at all goes wrong with the braking system they will say they warned me. I think I will have it flushed at a place that specializes in brakes, there are a few shops here and there.Or I should say looked at and get a second opinion.

 

Ever wonder why people get "stuck calipers" or leaking seals on their calipers, or their brake lines rusted from the inside out. It's because they never flush out their old brake fluid. It's corrosive!
I find it funny how guys will change to drilled/slotted rotors an pay $100 for specialized pads and then never flush out their old brake fluid that probably has 10% moisture by volume and causes the brakes to be spongy and even more spongy when they get hot....doh..


When a shop flushes your brakes, they hook up a vacuum canister to your master cylinder. I wouldn't allow them to do the old pump flush by cracking your bleeders to do a manual pump. Your master cylinder rod only gets a small portion of it used. There is generally a light rust mark where it doesn't get fully pumped(pressure keeps the pedal from going to the floor) so when you pump the pedal to the floor, your surpasssing the point of normalcy and entering light rust territory. The rust will wear on your seal and cause internal leaking. Gotta be very careful to not pump to the floor when you do a manual flush! 70%max! I do the manual pump, but I know what I'm doing and take care because it's my car, and not just another car that comes through a place I work at. I like to put a 2x4 under the pedal to prevent overpumping.

 

Easier DIY method is a Motive Pressure Bleeder, then one person can do the job easily. You do need adaptors for each type of master cylinder you have, but it works really well for bleeding, flushing and initial system fills. The one I have cost me under $100 with adaptors for my boat trailer, standard large cover MC and a round adaptor for one of the cars.

 

I called the dealer and asked them how they check if the fluid is okay or not, they compare it to a chart for colour. Well I called a brake shop he told me bring it by if I am worried and he will do a moisture test he figures most likely they are just hoping they can scare you into some service. I will get a written test from him so I have something in case I have some type of unrelated brake service that should be warranty and they will say well when you had 24000 kms we told you your fluid was dirty.One interesting thing the brake shop said was if you buy a vehicle of the lot that has been there over 6 months you should demand,whatever fluid change that the manual says should be done, like oil for one says monts or 13000 kms. Also brake fluid has more of a chance of getting moisture in it if the vehicle sits around.

 

Back in my days of dealerships/wrenchin, i used a vacuum bleeder canister at the caliper bleeder screws (and or wheel cylinders too). Started at the RR-LR-RF-LF. Pouring in fresh brake fluid as the master cylinder fluid decreased. (do not let the master cylinder go dry during this process or you`ll have air in the brake system) When the fluid started to become cleaner looking thru the clear vacuum hose, ran one extra bottle of brake fluid thru it to insure a good clean flush, stopped, topped off the master, job done. Never once ever had an issue after the job was done. Since i dont/wont work for dealerships anymore, (with GOOD reason) i still use this method on my own vehicles at home. I flush ALL my brake systems once a year at the begining of springtime. I do not use DOT3 fluid, i only use DOT5 fluid. Since i started many many years ago doing brake flush`s this way, i have never had a caliper piston or wheel cylinder ever get stuck, nore did i ever have to replace them again, and some of these vehicles i`ve owned, went over 200,000 miles without ever replacing a caliper piston, or seals. Now the caliper pins themselves, i pull an clean them, re-lube them at the same time when i do my flush`s. I`ve yet to have to replace a caliper, just pads and rotors, which is very normal. Flushing the brakes is a GOOD thing, dont let anyone tell you any different. (as long as its done right...!!!) You will notice how much more effective your brakes will be after the flush and lubing the calipers and floating pins. If you dont maintain your brake system, its just going to cost you everything in the end, and without saying, rightfully so. I`ve always thought of it this way, i change my motor oil and filter, my trans oil, diff lubes, coolant very often, why would i ignore something more important like brake fluids. Its a safety factor to me, the life i might save might be my own, by having a brake system i can count on everytime i need it.

Brake fluid is cheap...change it, and often