Brake Fluid service @ 10k miles????

[Noctb48MD]

Okay the dealer just shook their head when i mentioned the difference between dot 3-4-5.1 fluid. This is at 355 darcars. Idk what to do. So i held off?

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[FuzzyRev]

Okay the dealer just shook their head when i mentioned the difference between dot 3-4-5.1 fluid. This is that 355 darcars. Idk what to do. So i held off?

And I just shook my head trying to make sense of what the hell you just said. Use DOT4 and move on with your life.

 

[razorlab]

And I just shook my head trying to make sense of what the hell you just said. Use DOT4 and move on with your life.

In the basement. Darcars in 355 years. idk. hold off. Banana stand.

 

[FuzzyRev]

dot 3-4-5.1 fluid. This is that 355 darcars. Idk what to do.

In the basement. Darcars in 355 years. idk. hold off. Banana stand.

 

[NINaudio]

In the basement. Darcars in 355 years. idk. hold off. Banana stand.

Darcars 355 is apparently the name of a Toyota dealer in Maryland. Not that anyone could guess that without googling it or living nearby it.

 

[Andrew4Supra]

I still think 10,000 miles is ridiculous for a normal street usage for a brake fluid change for any car. That's a bmw thing.

 

[nosavingthrow]

Just got mine done, as the notification popped up at roughly 36 months (presumably since the car was built, since I bought it May 2021)

I went to my local independent shop that is familiar with Supras as the nearby dealerships are either of questionable competence or have other known hassles such as requiring keeping the car overnight no matter what the work is.

Wasn't aware of the difference in fluid, might go check the work order and see if they noted what they used.

 

[Todday1]

There have been some other threads on this but if you buy a power bleeder with a European master cylinder cap then this easy to do with out trying to have someone pump break peddle etc. you do have to pull the wheels. So if you have a jack power bleeder/ catch bottle you can do this yourself. Takes about 2 bottles the first time. Would get a high temp dot 4. Fluid. I have given up on dealers. They are worthless on this car. I also agree however for street use it is probably not required this soon. If peddle feels squishy then would do especially if you have gotten hot through some events.

 

[lucky phil]

There have been some other threads on this but if you buy a power bleeder with a European master cylinder cap then this easy to do with out trying to have someone pump break peddle etc. you do have to pull the wheels. So if you have a jack power bleeder/ catch bottle you can do this yourself. Takes about 2 bottles the first time. Would get a high temp dot 4. Fluid. I have given up on dealers. They are worthless on this car. I also agree however for street use it is probably not required this soon. If peddle feels squishy then would do especially if you have gotten hot through some events.

The brake fluid on my DD's last 2 years before it is around 3% water contaminated and requires changing. Not all brake systems are totally sealed by design.

Phil

 

[Noots]

The brake fluid on my DD's last 2 years before it is around 3% water contaminated and requires changing. Not all brake systems are totally sealed by design.

Phil

Although 2 years isn't all that bad, I wouldn't be putting any trust in a conductivity tester. All those are good for are bloating service bills.

Personally I wait until my master cylinder has corroded into pieces.

 

[lucky phil]

Although 2 years isn't all that bad, I wouldn't be putting any trust in a conductivity tester. All those are good for are bloating service bills.

Personally I wait until my master cylinder has corroded into pieces.

I have one and I have checked it's calibration and they are surprisingly accurate.

Phil

 

[FLtrackdays]

I still think 10,000 miles is ridiculous for a normal street usage for a brake fluid change for any car. That's a bmw thing.

Bingo and what @Todday1 said. Who the hell is going to do repeated threshold braking if not tracking? Maybe on rural mountain roads? Even that’s a stretch. However, if the pedal feels soft or the car isn’t stopping as well as it use to, give her a flush. It’s cheap!

Heading to the track for a 3 day weekend. I’ve got fresh fluid and ready to roll. Seen too many peeps sitting trackside because they didn’t flush or bleed their fluid. If in doubt, flush it out

Side note: our other 4 cars - not flushed and use DOT3 fluid. They stop great! I’ll never boil that fluid & don’t need higher temp DOT4 fluid that gets wetter quicker. We drive them in town, the fluid looks clear, pedal feels firm. I don’t have track pads on those cars either. Don’t need the squeal, brake dust, or insane repeated stopping power. Same idea

 

[lucky phil]

A few general comments on brakes and fluid. Some cars such as Ford Focus RS mk3 have a brake system thats not totally sealed. The cap sealing bladder has an integral "valve" so total sealing isn't guaranteed. You can get water ingress beyond the usual leaching through the cap bladder and other rubber components.
Not all fresh brake fluid in a sealed bottle off the shelf at the auto store is zero moisture content as it should be. I have bought batches that straight out of the sealed bottles have been 1.5% water contaminated. Anything greater than 2% you should change out. These days I buy the fluid and open it at the counter and test it before I leave and exchange any that don't pass.
Pressure bleeding is far superior to the old pump the pedal style bleeding and much safer especially in older vehicles that may not have had adequate fluid changes over the years. In these cases contaminated fluid can accumulate at the end of the master cylinder stroke and cause corrosion at that point where the M/C piston never travels to in normal braking events. You then go and use the old style pump the pedal bleeding methodology and bingo you're pushing the M/C piston to a place in the cylinder bore that it never normally sees and the corrosion damage at that location destroys the M/C seals during the bleeding process. The amount of corrosion necessary to do this is miniscule. M/C seals won't tolerate even a grain of sand sized particles.

Phil

 

[razorlab]

One of my cars is 10 years old on the original fluid. The car will not just explode. People cry wolf about this crap way too much.

 

[SlowFreddy]

One of my cars is 10 years old on the original fluid. The car will not just explode. People cry wolf about this crap way too much.

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