Brake fluid change intervals - waste of money for most?

[st13phil]

and just as important the corrosion inhibitors get depleted over time.

^ This is the bit that most people miss.

I have a 24 year old motorbike that only ever had the brake fluid changed once at last year

I’ll make a small wager that if you were to strip the calipers and/or master cylinder you would find evidence of corrosion. It’s certainly been the case with every motorcycle brake system I’ve stripped when the brake fluid hasn’t been changed for years.

It’s similar to the argument that you don’t need to change spark plugs at a timed interval because very few miles have been covered since they were last changed. Then, a few years later, you find the plugs seized into the cylinder head and you’re in a whole new world of pain.

 

[KennyN]

It’s similar to the argument that you don’t need to change spark plugs at a timed interval because very few miles have been covered since they were last changed. Then, a few years later, you find the plugs seized into the cylinder head and you’re in a whole new world of pain.

In that case they should be removed and refitted at the "big" service and not replaced at an extra £200 unless they have exceed the recommended mileage.

I had the six plugs replaced on the Cayenne and it was £440 , which is a complete rip off - Porsche paid thankfully.

I had the oil replaced on the Cayenne after 12 months and 2500 miles and it was £500 , because the car said it was required - Porsche didn`t pay

If you want to keep a full MDSH and an intact warranty (which you do) then they have you by the short + curlies - and they know it.

Lot to be said for running an older vehicle that can be maintained with logic and common sense , as well as a few tools.

K

 

[TC350]

It bothers me considerably that so many people here are willing to pay well over the odds for a car because of its three-pointed star, yet question the need for something that may save their life or someone else’s life. And to make this even more incredulous, it’s one of the cheapest things to do to your car.

The tyres that connect you to the road and the brakes that help you to stop, especially in an emergency, are by far the most important features of any road going vehicle. But because they don’t make the car look or sound any better, or go any faster, they’re considered by a frighteningly high number of people as unimportant incidentals, until it’s time for an MoT.

I don’t care if brake fluid manufacturers and garages are conning us into the need to change the fluid so regularly. The financial cost of doing it is peanuts; the potential life cost of not doing it is massive.

 

[st13phil]

In that case they should be removed and refitted at the "big" service and not replaced at an extra £200 unless they have exceed the recommended mileage.

I don't disagree with that. I'm old enough to remember when plugs were "cleaned and re-gapped" as part of a service, rather than simply replaced.

As a nipper, I used to clean and test the plugs from my dad's car using one of these in the workshop where he worked:

 

[ALFAitalia]

On most of my, admitted older, cars I don't change my brake fluid a a matter of course at a set time...it tends to just happen!....Somewhen in the 3 years or so a caliper will fail, a rubber hose will perish or a caliper will need a rebuild.....a fluid change happens then! Something is bound to happen somewhen that requires new brake fluid to replace what's lost during the job....so not much more work to change it all!!!

 

[st13phil]

Somewhen in the 3 years or so a caliper will fail, a rubber hose will perish or a caliper will need a rebuild.....a fluid change happens then!

That's the reality of running older cars, when the maintenance schedule becomes "fix it when it breaks" rather than "replace it before it breaks".

 

[Bellow]

I've always taken the opinion that the only way water can get into a properly maintained brake system is through the breather hole on the reservoir,

There's a rubber membrane that prevents that.

If pad changing is done correctly ie, the bleed nip is opened when the caliper piston is pushed back in, the fluid vulnerable to degradation will be expelled. That the nip was open demands a cursory bleed to finish the job. Those steps go a long way to keeping the fluid fresh.

 

[ALFAitalia]

That's the reality of running older cars, when the maintenance schedule becomes "fix it when it breaks" rather than "replace it before it breaks".

Im not quite that bad.....Im always under my cars or under the bonnet playing with stuff....and I do tend to spot stuff before it actually breaks (OK not my turbo before anyone says!!)

 

[st13phil]

Im not quite that bad

I know - I was teasing a bit, but...

The reality is that most people are not the petrol heads that participate in forums like this and default to running older cars with a "fix it when it breaks" attitude to maintenance. You only have to look at the MOT failure notices for older cars to see that even dangerous safety related faults are ignored until the law steps in.

 

[tonysmb]

I don't disagree with that. I'm old enough to remember when plugs were "cleaned and re-gapped" as part of a service, rather than simply replaced.

As a nipper, I used to clean and test the plugs from my dad's car using one of these in the workshop where he worked:

I remember seeing those, and my father having a metal tube (containing loads of very thin metal rods) that you threaded the plug into and shook it to clean the plug. Imagine paying the main dealer £200+ per hour to do that.

Is that a generic picture or one of yours and, if so, what's the Jag, a 1960's S-Type?

 

[st13phil]

Is that a generic picture or one of yours and, if so, what's the Jag, a 1960's S-Type?

It’s a generic photo I found via google search, I’m afraid.

 

[markjay]

... I'm old enough to remember when plugs were "cleaned and re-gapped" as part of a service, rather than simply replaced...

To be fair, in the olden days, the spark plugs were cleaned and re-gapped every 3,000 to 6,000 miles... now they are simply replaced every 40,000 miles.

 

[rf065]

To be fair, in the olden days, the spark plugs were cleaned and re-gapped every 3,000 to 6,000 miles... now they are simply replaced every 40,000 miles.

I recall in the US some time ago, Ford were first before a few others to recommend spark plugs to be changed every 100,000 miles.
Amusing from a country where owners change their oil almost monthly!

 

[190]

I recall in the US some time ago, Ford were first before a few others to recommend spark plugs to be changed every 100,000 miles.
Amusing from a country where owners change their oil almost monthly!

Fascinating how different markets have developed diverse views on maintenance practice. I already mention that brake fluid changes are not a big thing in the US and as you say oil change intervals have been very frequent with 3000 miles as the norm. That anomaly is fading now but one other difference they still have is very thin oil. Largely driven by the Environmental Protection Agency, they have been using thinner grades than Europe for a long time. You can have an identical engine and the manufacturers recommendation will be a thinner grade in the US than it is in Europe. 0W20 has been around for years and now 0W16 is becoming commonplace. Of course the petrol heads on automotive forums rail against this and do their own thing by using the next grade up. That's rather pertinent to this particular thread because what they are doing is engaging their brains and not taking a manufacturers recommendation at absolute face value if they think an ulterior motive is at play.