BUG-E J said:Brake fluid is hygroscopic (sp) and obsorbs moisture over time. If you keep it changed you are much less likely to have a failure due to contamination.
socsmm6 said:The Toyota dealership keeps telling my wife she needs to have her brake fluid changed in her highlander as preventive maintanece. Wtf? I have never heard of that.
Sounds like dealer bs.
Normally I have a caliper seize up or something and end up pouring fluid all over everything. We are on the same maintains program it sounds like.RustyC said:Thank you Mr. Dealer but I will defer that fluid change till the time when I need to replace a caliper.
The suv has around 45,000 miles on it. Toyota said it was around 380.00 bucks. :****:TBItoy said:how much is it going to cost?
I think newer Toyota are pretty stupid about brake repair, like it has to be hooked to a diagnostic computer to pulse the ABS system to bleed the brakes or something.
I'd change my brake fluid every 10 years/150k miles or so.
Yeah supposedly allegedly it causes the metal inside the systems to rust and pit from the inside cutting lip seals and also lowering the boiling point of the fluid. We recommended it with every brake job. All your doing is bleeding the brakes till you get clear fluid. Used a vacum bleeder. Ours was only around 140 bucks. I wouldnt do it but if you have a brake failure warranty may not cover it. Price an abs module i fogure its about 2kForMud said:That's the reason they got away from using metal cans and went to plastic, it would absorb moisture and cause rust in the can.
socsmm6 said:The suv has around 45,000 miles on it. Toyota said it was around 380.00 bucks. :****:
I feel like any vehicle that big should have air brakes instead of hydraulics. I'm a huge air brake fan and actually think they need to start putting them on these new one ton trucks that can tow a damn house.kkoepper said:I had brake failure in a 36' diesel pusher motorhome in the mountains of Utah while flat towing a car from CA to IN. The fluid was old and had absorbed enough water that the brakes boiled the fluid after a long stint of downhill. I had a supplemental brake system on the towed car, thank God, because that's the only brakes I had. Serious pucker. I will never neglect brake fluid again. Having said that, I don't think you would have to worry about your Toyota if you're not using the brakes heavily in mountains or doing something else that will overheat them. I've always heard that brake fluid should be changed every 2 years due to it's hygroscopic nature.