Brake fluid always plays an important role in your vehicle. But, it is not true that you will always get the best performance from your brake fluid because it gets older daily. But how can you understand that your vehicle brake fluid has become old and you need to change the brake fluid?
Old brake fluid symptoms help you to know about your brake fluid condition. Old brake fluid has some unique symptoms. For example, you hear a squealing, grinding, or odd sound from your fluid brake. Another bad symptom is, you will notice is that bad brake fluid takes time to stop the vehicle.
These are the common signs which you discover from old brake fluid. So, what can you do when your brake fluid is old? This article helps you fix the issue and provides detailed answers so that you can save your brake fluid and vehicle.
Old Brake Fluid Symptoms
You will notice plenty of differences between new and old brake fluid. Of course, there have some symptoms you will discover from these two types of brake fluid to take the next step.
First, the old brake fluid becomes dirty. Probably, you will find dirt color elements like dust from old brake fluid. Note fresh brake fluid color comes in yellow/green/ or blue.
Second, an old brake fluid produces squealing, grinding, and other types of noise. The noise is truly annoying. It is a common issue that helps you understand that you must change the brake fluid.
Third, damaged or old brake fluid takes a long-time to brake. You hardly control the brake system when it becomes old or damaged.
Fourth, the brake pads vibrating, and it becomes discolored. This is the final stage problem that you get from your old brake fluid.
You notice these core issues from your vehicle’s old brake fluid system. In this situation, you must change the brake fluid without thinking anymore.
How to Check Brake Fluid?
Regularly checking the brake fluid system is a great way to keep the brake fluid system safe. It is crucial because using brake fluid properly makes it have a longer life. Here is a simple guide for you to check your brake fluid by yourself.
- Step 1: First of all, you have to find out the location of the brake fluid reservoir. You will locate it under your vehicle’s hood, on the master cylinder.
- Step 2: Now, check out the brake fluid level against the minimum and maximum levels of the exterior reservoir.
- Step 3: Finally, examine the color and clarify your brake fluid. Probably, it was contaminated. If the brake fluid looks murky, it is contaminated. On the other hand, the fresh fluid looks orange/yellow/green, or blue.
You can easily check out your vehicle brake fluid system to match these steps. Moreover, the above symptoms are also ready to help you understand the vehicle brake fluid condition.
Dirty Brake Fluid Symptoms
The vehicle’s brake fluid usually becomes dirty because of age. Though the main reason is aged or old brake fluid, which makes it dirty, you will also discover some other points described below.
You can easily find out dirty brake fluid with some symptoms. For example, dirty brake fluid comes with annoying noise, an illuminated ABS light, a damaged brake pad, burning smell, and so on.
These are the main symptoms that help you understand that your vehicle brake fluid is dirty and you have to change it as soon as possible.
Symptoms of Bad Brake Fluid
Bad brake fluid is always dangerous for a car owner as well as a car driver. It is a crucial factor for a car owner to fix bad brake fluid as soon as possible for safe driving and journey. Here, you will get a simple list of bad brake fluid symptoms to get a clear concept and easily understand whether your brake fluid is damaged or not.
- A bad brake fluid produces annoying noise
- The brake system lost its working power gradually
- The pedal of the vehicle is not responsive
- ABS warning light
- Of course, bad brake fluid looks dirty
These are the common issues you find out from your vehicle’s bad brake fluid. In this condition, you should take proper steps to change the fluid.
Is a Brake Fluid Flush Really Necessary?
On average, the brake fluid flushes are commended every 30,000 miles or after every 2 years. Moreover, flushing the fluid is also dependent on braking patterns and driving.
To clarify, a driver with a shorter, brake-heavy commute after every 2 years. It is essential for proper brake protection. But you can flush the fluid when you discover bad symptoms from your vehicle’s brake fluid.
How to Flush Brake Fluid?
Most experts suggest that after every 2 years, the brake fluid should be flushed. If you are unable to take service for flushing brake fluid, you can check out the following simple step-by-step guideline to flush the brake fluid by yourself.
Step 1: Keep the Car from Rolling
To stop rolling the car, you need to set the gear and place a stop behind the car tire.
Step 2: Open the Hood
Now, it is time to open the hood and locate the master cylinder. After that, open the master cylinder, and don’t forget to place an old rag.
Step 3: Stuck Out All Fluid
Use a turkey baster so that you can stick out all fluid. You can use a 20% turkey baster to get better performance.
Step 4: Refill the Reservoir
Refill the reservoir backup and fill up the fresh brake fluid. You can check out the user manual to get recommended brake fluid.
Step 5: Secure the Car
In this step, you need to secure the car by using a jack stand once you up the car. After that, remove the wheel.
Step 6: Bleeder Valve
Find out the bleeder valve. It helps you attach a rubber hose over the brake fluid and helps the brake fluid not drip everywhere.
Step 7: Pump the Brake
You can hire an assistant to pump up continuously at least 4 to 5 times. When they are holding the brake pedal down, you need to open up the bleeder valve, and fluid will come out.
Step 8: Repeat the Process
Repeat this process until the fresh fluid come out on the brake system. If you are unable to complete the process, it would be better for you to take service from your nearby automobile shop.
FAQs (Frequently Ask Questions)
Q: How do you know if your brake fluid is bad?
Answer: Some symptoms help you understand whether your brake fluid is bad or not. For example, if your vehicle brake fluid looks so dark and produces annoying noise, you need to understand that your vehicle brake fluid is bad enough. Moreover, bad fluid also changes color, like dark or black.
Q: What happens if you don’t change the brake fluid?
Answer: The main problem you will face is that your vehicle brake system lost its power to control the braking system. You may not use the brake system properly. On the other hand, it can absorb moisture over time.
Q: How often to change the brake fluid Toyota?
Answer: As a rule, Toyota recommends changing the brake fluid every 2 years. Or you can also change the oil after 20,000 miles. Moreover, several factors have to change the brake fluid. You can also change the fluid when it comes in bad condition.
Wrapping Up!
Typically, most car manufacturers recommend changing the oil brake fluid because of creating several problems. There have some common symptoms have which help car owners to understand that the brake fluid is older. For example, when the brake fluid ages, it produces bad noise, the color becomes dirt or dark, and so on.
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