Brake Fluid change?

[rudebhoy]

Wife’s Polo was in for MOT and service yesterday. They email the results, all was fine apart from they recommended the brake fluid be changed in the next month at a cost of £100.

I had a look around and saw that Halfords did it for £49. I was going to ask the VW garage if they would price match, but when we went to pick the car, they said “the good news is there is nothing to pay”. I said what about the recommended brake fluid change, the woman said “dont bother with that, none of the mechanics change theirs, I’ve had the same car for 15 years, and never changed mine. It’s just a money making thing for VW”.

That just didn’t sound right to me, but I’m not mechanically minded.

Thoughts? The car is 5 years old, and has done just over 10k ( that’s not a misprint).

 

[PJ87]

Wife’s Polo was in for MOT and service yesterday. They email the results, all was fine apart from they recommended the brake fluid be changed in the next month at a cost of £100.

I had a look around and saw that Halfords did it for £49. I was going to ask the VW garage if they would price match, but when we went to pick the car, they said “the good news is there is nothing to pay”. I said what about the recommended brake fluid change, the woman said “dont bother with that, none of the mechanics change theirs, I’ve had the same car for 15 years, and never changed mine. It’s just a money making thing for VW”.

That just didn’t sound right to me, but I’m not mechanically minded.

Thoughts? The car is 5 years old, and has done just over 10k ( that’s not a misprint).

For the sake of £50 id prob just do it
Quick Google reckons do it every 2 years

That said if it was that vital why on earth isn't it part of the service schedule?

 

[Oddsocks]

Defo a money maker, my a4 “ had to have it “ at its three year service. The car had only done 23k.

I asked if the brake fluid was so important, what about the auto gear box oil and power steering oil which no one could answer. Also questioned why it wasn’t included in the service given they were changing the oil… again, blank faces.

 

[rudebhoy]

For the sake of £50 id prob just do it
Quick Google reckons do it every 2 years

That said if it was that vital why on earth isn't it part of the service schedule?

I did ask why it wasn’t included, she said “because it’s a servicing of the engine”. I was losing patience with her by that point, so just left it.

 

[PJ87]

I did ask why it wasn’t included, she said “because it’s a servicing of the engine”. I was losing patience with her by that point, so just left it.

I find they are adding more and more to the list to make money out of people who won't question it

My wife's last service they said air conditioning needed regassing as they recommend every 2 years. I have to admit i did it as we bought the car second hand so thought just have it done now and then don't bother again. However every 2 years is rubbish

My car was serviced this week . They said two the tyres are just under 5mm advise replacement. Which again is rubbish when you press them it's no we just advising you to keep an eye .. how many people just see it and go best do that

@Oddsocks when we were ice cars we got our cars done at the same garage every year (until he sold for cross rail but continued servicing out of the garage attached to his house) anyways he was always reasonable, £200 max for service and MOT but he always replaced the oil even if the manufacturer said every 2 years he said I might aswell do every year keep it ticking over. For the price I never questioned him as I trusted him far more

 

[Imurg]

I was under the impression that brake fluid absorbs moisture over time which reduces it's effectiveness due to the possibility of air bubbles and that moisture can rust the pipes..
A sealed bottle has a shelf life of 2 years and an operating life of around 2 years so if its 4 years since your last change then it's time to get it done.
The deterioration will be gradual to the point of almost being unnoticeable until your brake lines fail and then...........

 

[GreiginFife]

At 5 years, yeah get it changed. It isn’t an oil and should be regarded separately. As Imurg says it’s hygroscopic and it will deteriorate over time. It shouldn’t rust brake lines as they are copper for the most part but any oxygen getting in to the pipes will oxidise them and probably be the cause of the next MOT failure.

I don’t subscribe to the notion of every 2 years, that’s mainly manufacturer service interval recommendations but by 4 years it’s definitely up there to be done with the servicing.

Personally, I change the fluid when I change the pads and/or discs which, on a road car, should probably be about 4 years max. Granted your wife’s car is low mileage so brakes metals are probably ok.

 

[rudebhoy]

At 5 years, yeah get it changed. It isn’t an oil and should be regarded separately. As Imurg says it’s hygroscopic and it will deteriorate over time. It shouldn’t rust brake lines as they are copper for the most part but any oxygen getting in to the pipes will oxidise them and probably be the cause of the next MOT failure.

I don’t subscribe to the notion of every 2 years, that’s mainly manufacturer service interval recommendations but by 4 years it’s definitely up there to be done with the servicing.

Personally, I change the fluid when I change the pads and/or discs which, on a road car, should probably be about 4 years max. Granted your wife’s car is low mileage so brakes metals are probably ok.

Thanks.

She has had the car from new, and always had a VW service plan, so it could well be they flagged this 2 or 3 years ago and it was done then.

I’ll have a rake through her paperwork to check.

 

[jim8flog]

I agree with Imurg about brake fluid absorbing water (hydroscopic).

What I find odd is that they want an extra charge for doing as part of a service. I drive Peugeot and it is just part of the standard every 2nd year service.

 

[GreiginFife]

Thanks.

She has had the car from new, and always had a VW service plan, so it could well be they flagged this 2 or 3 years ago and it was done then.

I’ll have a rake through her paperwork to check.

It is manufacture specific, example would be my 8 series has a two year service interval so brake fluid is done at year 4. But the 3 series they “recommended” it was done on the year two service which I said no to and explained I would do it myself come the time it needs doing.

 

[Eesat 90210]

Have to admit, I lost interest in sticking to rigid servicing schedules with main dealers when they started asking "do you want xx done"?
Well, you tell me, that's the whole point of a servicing schedule isn't it?
Apparently not though, so once it got to that situation I just use reliable local garages who judge it each time on merit.

 

[Oddsocks]

I was under the impression that brake fluid absorbs moisture over time which reduces it's effectiveness due to the possibility of air bubbles and that moisture can rust the pipes..
A sealed bottle has a shelf life of 2 years and an operating life of around 2 years so if its 4 years since your last change then it's time to get it done.
The deterioration will be gradual to the point of almost being unnoticeable until your brake lines fail and then...........

Great explanation and thank you. If they know this then it should be included in the service pack and not an additional cost. This isn’t about reliability it’s safety which should be mandatory.

On the principle given if the engine oil loses its viscosity ( check me out ) over a period of use hence needing to be changed on a regular basis, the brake fluid should fall under the same guidelines.

 

[Imurg]

Great explanation and thank you. If they know this then it should be included in the service pack and not an additional cost. This isn’t about reliability it’s safety which should be mandatory.

On the principle given if the engine oil loses its viscosity ( check me out ) over a period of use hence needing to be changed on a regular basis, the brake fluid should fall under the same guidelines.

I seem to recall that my local Citroën garage checks the brake fluid on a service and advises if it needs changing...sound like there's a way they can test it.

 

[Oddsocks]

There’s defo a test, I just don’t get why on a new car with a service plan you should be charged. It should fall with the service parts.

 

[GreiginFife]

What’s the test? There was no test on brake fluid when I worked in a garage.

The only “test” was brake efficiency, if that was reduced and the discs and pads were ok then next port of call would be brake line inspection and then lastly fluid would be checked for air in the system but the fluid stays the same colour and viscosity so there’s no visible way to see if its degraded.

It’s also not as simple as saying xx years and it needs changed, especially on new cars. The older the brake system the more likely there will be air/moisture ingress and therefore more likely to be needing changed.

Newer brake systems are using less copper piping and this too prolongs the lifespan of the system.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I wonder how many people would actually notice their braking gradually becoming more spongy and less effective, just as they don't notice a tyre gradually going down.
I have no problem with a manufacturer recommending something be done, it gives me the choice then especially on the time and finance level (if so disposed)

 

[Oddsocks]

I wonder how many people would actually notice their braking gradually becoming more spongy and less effective, just as they don't notice a tyre gradually going down.
I have no problem with a manufacturer recommending something be done, it gives me the choice then especially on the time and finance level (if so disposed)

I didn’t notice recently that my two fronts were to the wire on the inside which is scary.

A credit to the suspension but scary.

 

[jim8flog]

I wonder how many people would actually notice their braking gradually becoming more spongy and less effective, just as they don't notice a tyre gradually going down.
I have no problem with a manufacturer recommending something be done, it gives me the choice then especially on the time and finance level (if so disposed)

I do I even had to tell the salesman his older demo car needed the brakes bleeding ( I drove a one year old version a new version and it was easy to tell). I can tell on my own car that the pedal is starting to get a bit of long travel.

Easy test in the old days was to pump the brakes if the pedal got steadily stiffer then they at least needed bleeding.

 

[NearHull]

Hydraulic oil is hydoscopic. Brake systems maintenance is a crucial part of the vehicle’s Safety Case, if you deviate from the maintenance requirements you are moving away from the Safety Case, putting yourself and others at risk. I speak from a long maintence engineering background, albeit with aircraft, but the same principles apply.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I do I even had to tell the salesman his older demo car needed the brakes bleeding ( I drove a one year old version a new version and it was easy to tell). I can tell on my own car that the pedal is starting to get a bit of long travel.

Easy test in the old days was to pump the brakes if the pedal got steadily stiffer then they at least needed bleeding.

I don't disagree, but you could argue (nicely of course) that the difference is probably more noticable as you are going from one vehicle into another. Couldn't you also get low brake pads also mixed up with a lower efficient brake fluid?. I know when I've got close to needing the pads replaced on the van I can feel more travel in the pedal so you know they are going to need replacing soon.