brake fluid removal & fill directly from reservoir

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by minh123, Dec 28, 2012.

  1. minh123

    minh123 Junior Member

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    Hi my brake fluid looks dark blue/greenish colour. I want to avoid going to the dealer and doing a brake fluid drain/fill.
    I'm thinking of removing the old brake fluid from the reservoir (eg: using a syringe and sucking it up one by one), then pouring some new yellow dot 3 fluid back into reservoir. All this will be done from the hood via the reservoir.
    My question is:
    1. Are there any benefits in doing this?
    2. Would this set off error codes or cause any other problems?
     
    #1 minh123, Dec 28, 2012
  2. adamace1

    adamace1 Senior Member

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    I don't think that will help any. For safety you might need to have the fluid flushed from the lines to each wheel. When this fluid is bad it can cause minor/major braking problems. I don't think it will set off any error code. But will not do any thing except make the fluid look better in the reservoir.
     
    #2 adamace1, Dec 28, 2012
  3. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I agree that the OP's suggested procedure is primarily cosmetic. That does nothing for the fluid down in the lines near the wheel cylinders which age due to repeated heat/cool cycles and the passage of time. If the fluid looks bad in the reservoir, it will look much worse at the wheel cylinders.

    The suggested procedure will not cause any faults if the OP can refrain from fully emptying the container, thus allowing air to enter the system.

    Bottom line: if the OP is concerned about this issue, he should pay for the brake fluid to be replaced.
     
    #3 Patrick Wong, Dec 28, 2012
  4. minh123

    minh123 Junior Member

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    Thanks for your reply guys...i'll reconsider it.
    The only reason I want to avoid going to the dealer is that I recently (approx 6 months) had my brake fluid flushed and filled at the dealer - the fluid was initially yellow straight out from service, then after 1 - 2 months became this blue/green colour again.
    Any ideas what I should do again to get that nice yellow colour?
     
    #4 minh123, Dec 28, 2012
  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    How about taking a clear, sharp photo and posting, so we can see what you are talking about.
    How many miles have you driven over the 1-2 months since the brake fluid change?
     
    #5 Patrick Wong, Dec 28, 2012
  6. minh123

    minh123 Junior Member

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    IMG_0301.JPG
    It's a 2006 prius. The brake fluid when I bought the car 2nd hand at 120 000km was this colour & I was concerned it needed a change... I then brought it to the dealer for a brake fluid change at around 125 000 km, done another 10 000 km since then so its sitting at around 135 000 km. Since the change gradually the fluid returned to the same blue/green colour as above pic.
     
    #6 minh123, Dec 28, 2012
  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Strange. I would expect the brake fluid color to remain amber, for a very long time. The original fluid in my 2004 with 139K miles looks better than your photo.

    Perhaps you might ask your dealer's service writer why the brake fluid color has changed so quickly and what if anything s/he would recommend.
     
    #7 Patrick Wong, Dec 28, 2012
  8. 69shovlhed

    69shovlhed Surly tree hugger

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    they must not have flushed it correctly. a lazy tech will do what op suggested rather than actually doing a complete flush. i don't know how difficult it is to flush the prius, but it might not be as simple as most cars since it has braking by wire instead of a traditional master cylinder.
     
    #8 69shovlhed, Dec 29, 2012
  9. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    Green brake fluid is either caused by copper corrosion or contamination from some kind of assembly grease.

    Brakes 101 - Class is in! : Brakes

    I would request for the dealer to perform another flush and refill.
     
    #9 The Critic, Jan 1, 2013
    cwerdna likes this.
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