How to Check Brake Fluid

Video Transcript

"I'm Dave Erb from Dave's Ultimate Automotive in Austin, Texas and we are talking about checking brake fluid. There are many reasons you would check your brake fluid. It's something I would recommend you check at least every oil change just for level and condition. Brake fluid is something people don't think about a lot but it is a maintenance item that can save you a lot of money down the road. Brake fluid naturally absorbs moisture, about 1% through the atmosphere every year. That moisture then will become acidic and start eating away at the internal components in a brake system. That's the majority of the reason that brake master cylinders fail, that wheel cylinders start leaking, that calipers start sticking. Those sort of things you might have heard of before. When you're checking the level of the brake fluid there is normally a marker on the side, a minimum and maximum on the side of the brake fluid reservoir. The brake, sometimes it can be misleading if the brake fluid has gotten old and dark. It may look like it has plenty in there but it will actually be low. So what you want to do is you want to pull the lid off and look down inside. It should be up near the top of the maximum level. What you want to also do is look for color. The brake fluid should be almost a tan or clear type color as it absorbs the moisture and starts to eat away at the internal components of the brake system, it will become much darker. That is the rubber and other things inside the system contaminating the fluid. You also want to pay attention to what type of brake fluid it is. Most cars take a Dot 3 type of brake fluid and it usually says it either on the lid or on the brake master cylinder itself. I would recommend that if you do have the brake fluid changed that you upgrade to a Dot 4. It is a much better brake fluid and it is much more moisture resistant. But if you are adding and you are not replacing just go ahead and add the Dot 3 or whatever is recommended. If you do find that you have to add brake fluid it may be an indicator that your brakes are getting worn because brake fluid has to take up the place of the worn because brake fluid has to take up the place of the worn brake pads by pushing the pistons out or it may indicate a leak so I would get that checked right away. Usual maintenance interval for brake fluids is about 30,000 miles. If you do it every 30,000 miles you will save a lot of money in the long run on your brake system. Thats brake fluid."