Has anyone replaced brake fluid when your Mach e turns into 3 years old?

[MoonRiver]

Its manual calls for it. Mine will be three in a couple of weeks. I tested the fluid with a ITEQ Brake Fluid Liquid Tester Pen. It oked it. So I'm not doing anything with it.

What do you guys think?

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[Doobster6]

Its manual calls for it. Mine will be three in a couple of weeks. I tested the fluid with a ITEQ Brake Fluid Liquid Tester Pen. It oked it. So I'm not doing anything with it.

What do you guys think?

These aren’t always reliable (what can you expect for under $15) and must be calibrated for the exact kind of brake fluid in your system. That said, I’ve often wondered if the three-year rule was a maintenance revenue ruse that should be s9mehow combined with actual miles driven…..

 

[TRP]

Last time mine was in for "service"...ie tire rotation....service writer tried to tell me there was a bunch of service items required. Total came to about $1100 worth. One was brake fluid flush and replace. Obviously I did not do any of it after checking the service recommendations in the manual and found that he was wrong about most of what he was recommending.

Long story.............no I have not replaced it

 

[flapjake314]

my service dept refused to do it, it turns out it is on some of the documents saying it is needed and not in others. specifically, it is not in the service dept's ford software that logs / recommends actions

i was under a service plan so i could not force them to do it under the service plan as a result (and i did not intend to pay out of pocket for it)

 

[RickMachE]

I have never replaced brake fluid in a vehicle, so no, I'm not doing it.

 

[stoopid]

3 years seems too soon for average use (say 10,000 'normal' miles annually). 50,000+ and maybe 5 years? It's hard to know, flat driving on the highway uses the brakes less. Moisture absorption from just existing takes a long time to compromise the fluid. Being heated (used) repeatedly takes its biggest toll, so a lot of hill braking would accelerate things. And it's a closed loop hydraulic system, so it's tough for particulate matter to make its way in almost eliminating that source of degradation. With EVs, regen absorbs some of the car's momentum so on our vehicles in particular even downhills are less impactful on the braking system.

I've owned a few cars for 4+ years and 80,000+ miles and never replaced the brake, differential (if it had one), or steering fluid. That would make some people twitchy, but understanding how these fluids (rarely) get fouled and (rarely) necessitate replacement puts my mind at ease. These aren't race cars running at their very edge of function, there's a lot of tolerance build into the system.

 

[MoonRiver]

These aren’t always reliable (what can you expect for under $15) and must be calibrated for the exact kind of brake fluid in your system. That said, I’ve often wondered if the three-year rule was a maintenance revenue ruse that should be s9mehow combined with actual miles driven…..

The idea to replace it I think is because of the brake fluid hygroscopic characteristic, which is not mileage dependent. Even it sits there it still absorbs moisture from air. I guess the three year call is one rule fits all thing. How much moisture in the fluid all depends on the environment humidity, and how old the fluid in there.

 

[Dana3502]

Last time mine was in for "service"...ie tire rotation....service writer tried to tell me there was a bunch of service items required. Total came to about $1100 worth. One was brake fluid flush and replace. Obviously I did not do any of it after checking the service recommendations in the manual and found that he was wrong about most of what he was recommending.

Long story.............no I have not replaced it

What?! My main reason for changing from ICE to EV was to avoid that all dang upselling that happens at oil changes. I will definitely ask around before I decide what Ford dealer to go to when I hit that 10,000 mark.

 

[Jack Roberts]

Its manual calls for it. Mine will be three in a couple of weeks. I tested the fluid with a ITEQ Brake Fluid Liquid Tester Pen. It oked it. So I'm not doing anything with it.

What do you guys think?

I changed both my 12 v battery and my brake fluid at my 3 year service and paid for both with points.

 

[Jack Roberts]

I changed both my 12 v battery and my brake fluid at my 3 year service and paid for both with points.

Someone on here said in the new break fluid standard the brake fluid encapsulates moisture in the fluid to prevent it damaging brake components and needs to be removed. The 3 year term was used because it’s not really mileage dependent.

 

[ChrisO]

Looking at the maintenance schedule in the Ford App it shows the scheduled to be 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, ... Nothing about "3 years".

All of these list that they check the brake system, but none states that they replace brake fluid. And I wouldn't expect it to say that. I would expect that they would change it based on the check. If bad replace.

Given that with the advent of a hybrid brake system I would expect the brake fluid to last much longer than on an ICE car.

I asked Copilot about this:

 

[Adventureboy]

I will change mine in the summer when it hits 3 years. This is one of the most ignored maintenance items. Brake fluid is hygroscopic to remove moisture from the brake system. It absorbs moisture from the air over time, especially in humid climates and it has a limit on how much moisture it can hold, hence the need to change it.

Light colour is usually ok. Amber -change, Brown- way too late.

 

[MoonRiver]

Looking at the maintenance schedule in the Ford App it shows the scheduled to be 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, ... Nothing about "3 years".

All of these list that they check the brake system, but none states that they replace brake fluid. And I wouldn't expect it to say that. I would expect that they would change it based on the check. If bad replace.

Given that with the advent of a hybrid brake system I would expect the brake fluid to last much longer than on an ICE car.

I asked Copilot about this:

That makes more sense to me. Mine 22 manual is like this

 

[SuperD]

Interesting - for my 2024, I don't see anything anywhere regarding brake fluid maintenance (other than "fill if necessary") - the owners manual shows this for "Scheduled Maintenance" :

...and in the online maintenance schedule (from the first image above at https://www.ford.com/support/maintenance-schedule/) it shows this for the "odd" 10k, 30k, 50k, etc maintenance schedule :

...with the "even" 20k, 40k, 60k showing this (basically adding a "Replace the cabin filter") :

This goes on totally unchanged until the "final" maintenance schedule at 200k, which states to also "Change the coolant" :

 

[dalola]

I do all my vehicles every 2 years. It's so simple & inexpensive to DIY, and I've worked on enough corroded brake systems over the years, why not avoid that if possible? Of course, the trouble won't show up until years down the road, so I'm helping out the next owner(s). But I also enjoy this type of work, so to each their own. If I were paying someone to do it, I probably wouldn't. ?

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