Brake fluid change
 

The book maintenance says to change the brake fluid (flush and fill only I think) at 15k miles. That seems to be a very short interval. Does anyone do this at 15k miles? I asked a service manager at Toyota about this and he shrugged and side to not worry about it

Depends heavily on how it is used. I'm at 2x in 15k miles... One was after the bbk install, one this spring (where I mostly needed a bleed but messed up...)

I'd do it if it says it. If you don't track the car and just daily drive it just flush it with regular fluid otherwise use a higher performance fluid. Flush the clutch slave cylinder while the brakes are being done.

My dealer said it was unnecessary @30K miles.. I asked again at 40K, and was told the same thing. I did it anyway. It's cheap insurance. Might as well do it.

You can get one of those brake fluid testers. It tests for moisture. That's the enemy of brake fluid -- moisture. If it reads high, then replace it.

If you feel you must replace it, then replace it. It's your peace of mind. I replaced mine at the 2 year mark just for m own peace of mind. I don't track my car and my fluid was still in good condition when I did it.

x 2

i use brake fluid tester to replace it as well. dont feel like wasting my money and time either. yeah if you feel it must then do it.

No need to flush all the fluid, just the fluid in the caliper and some of the line. I bleed my brakes every 15k or so. With two people it takes no time at all.

Perfect opportunity to introduce your kids to the 'pump and hold' brake bleeding routine. lol

or get bleeder kit. only $20 bux from harbor freight

Brake fluid is changed by age not mileage. Water absorption is the issue. In humid climates flush all brake fluid every two years regardless of mileage. In dry climates three years is ok.

as has been said, get the tester and test for moisture.

if it's "wet" or very dirty then change it. otherwise I don't worry about it

You can get away with original brake fluid for years and years.
Most cars probably never ever change it.
But, if you want to work on your car and be a car guy,
then why not learn to do it for $10?
Good chance to learn something new.
Every 2 years is a decent guideline.

I've had at least 20 cars in my life and have never changed the brake fluid. I top it of from time to time. But I have never changed it.
I still have a Mk 4 GTI with the original brake fluid in it. It has 265,000 miles on it. And the brakes are as good as the day I bought it new. (The brake pads have been changed a few times.)

Ya know what?
This got me thinking. I just changed the pads on the FR-S a couple weeks ago and I never even opened the hood to check the brake fluid.
I think I'll go do that right now.

The schedule for my 2016 BRZ says 30k miles, which seems more reasonable.

I'm going to change mine at 30. Even that seems like a short interval but it's so easy to do (and cheap) why not. I'm at 25k ish right now, so by Springtime I'll do it

I changed my old Toyota's brake fluid after 15 years and 100k miles just because I wanted it. Not because I need to. Pretty sure the factory fill can last 8 years if just DD.

Ehh my brakes were getting mushy so when I put new rear pads and rotors on a few weeks ago I flushed and changed the brake fluid at ~85k miles.

Once a year or two has been my stand by. Fresh fluids see never a bad idea.

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I have just changed the brake fluid in my GT86 with Motul 5.1

I do mine every 20k with Motul RBF600.

The week after I got the car new, I changed the fluid, and now I plan to do it yearly in November. I also heavily track the car, so my maintenance intervals are much more frequent.

15k diff/trans, 20k brake. I'm still trying to figure out my oil interval using Blackstone

For future reference and for anyone reading this, you can damage your master cylinder if you swap out the pads and fail to remove/loosen the cap on the brake fluid reservoir while you squeeze the pistons into the calipers to make room for the new pads.

Also fyi, you said you never change your fluid but you "top it off from time to time". It's a sealed system and you should never need to top it off unless something in the brake system is damaged and in that case it needs to be replaced.

There's no way "the brakes are as good as new" if you're still running the original brake fluid after 265k miles. If you're just driving the speed limit everywhere on flat ground, brake early and lightly before stops, and never do any type of performance/spirited driving then you probably just don't notice a difference and they may very well work fine for your driving style, but outside of those conditions you would definitely realize your brakes don't have the same thermal capacity or pedal feel as new fluid. It's a safety issue for most people driving these sports cars to run that long without a fluid change.

I did the change a few months ago and what a difference. The brake feel is a lot better and the brakes bite better.

just wondering what fluids you guys run? prestone should be ok for daily driving?

It should be fine for daily driving, just make sure it's DOT3 compliant.

What fluid you should use depends on your usage case. For daily driving or autocross use, any DOT3 compliant fluid will be fine. For extended spirited driving through the hills or forests, generally any a DOT 5.1 compliant fluid will be fine. Finally, for track/lapping use, get a proper high temp fluid. The lowest I would recommend is something like Motul RBF600 or equivalent but be aware that the pedal may go soft after events until you perform a partial bleed. Better fluids are available for more extreme usage cases.

As for my personal bleeding habits, I bleed once a year now with Castrol SRF React. I like it because it never fades, doesn't need partial bleeds like cheaper fluids and only needs to be bled once a year. It's really expensive but as the old adage goes, you get what you pay for.

thanks for the info. i might hit the track or auto-x once or twice a year, but nothing crazy.. i think prestone will be fine for me