Brake fluid change at two year service?

FYI, if you read PRIME's regular Maintenance Schedule, it does not mention any particular miles or year interval to perform brake fluid change. It only specifies regular bake inspection including mostly fluid level and leak. That said, I have read in other car forums that brake fluid change every 2 years is not excessive. My PRIME's brake fluid was colorless and clear, and I did not change it at 20K, nor my dealer suggested it. It will not be covered by the free Toyota Care. So if you let the dealer perform this additional task, prepared to pay for it. You can check fluid yourself by simply examining the color and clarity of the brake fluid. Old brake fluid tends to be muddy brown/black, and looks like used motor oil. There are also brake fluid test strip and meter you can purchase from auto parts stores, if you are not sure of what to look for.

 

I just realized that you are from UK. I guess, you don't have free Toyota Care service. Also, your scheduled maintenance may be bit different from my US version. Does it actually shows in UK version of Maintenance Schedule? If it specifies to change brake fluid at 20K miles/2 years, it would be best to follow that schedule, IMHO.

 

That's an interesting set of maintenance tasks at 2 years/20,000 miles. Even if they "replace" the brake fluid, do they just suck out what's in the reservoir and put in some fresh fluid there? Or, do they flush out all the existing brake fluid from all lines, pistons, ABS, etc and ensure the entire system has fresh fluid in all areas?

This one is a hoot: "Replace windscreen washer fluid." What could possibly be the basis for that? I can see top it off, but to pull out all the existing fluid and replace with more of the same?

Is the UK model equipped with a hand brake? In the US, we have the foot pedal parking brake.

I would skip this one - "Replace remote control battery." Wait until it dies in three more years.

 

Yeah, I think so. It is interesting to see the differences in TOYOTA recommended maintenance schedules for different regions. They are basically the same car, but some driving environment and/or customary auto practices are different enough in UK and US. As I pointed out, in US version of scheduled maintenance, there is no mentioning of regular brake fluid change. US version recommend cabin filter change at 30K/3yrs. Most interestingly, I don't see Rotate tires on your list. US version have that every 5K. I have heard that this is mainly US thing and European do not rotate tires as standard practice. Is that true?

Here is the list of scheduled items for US 20k/2yrs and 25k/2.5yrs.

 

what is the difference between 'inspect', and 'check'?

 

Synonyms

 

what is the difference between 'inspect', and 'check'?

$10 an hour labor rate? I think the "check" for the mats is to check that they are properly secured. It's the only check on the list. I'll bet a lawyer had a hand in writing that, after the unintended acceleration issue that was partially attributed to improper or improperly installed floor mats.

 

Even in the US, the best time to bleed the brakes will vary by humidity. Tuscon is much less humid than New Orleans so can go longer on brake fluid. There are test strip so you can change based on water or metal content.

 

Semantics.

 

I've never replaced the brake fluid in any car I've owned. Admittedly, the 140K I had on my '09 was the highest mileage car I've had. That said, my wife's '06 has over 210K miles and to my knowledge is still on its original brake fluid.

And I agree, there is no reason to replace the fob battery until it dies. I think I've only replaced it once in each of the Gen II Prii we've have/had. Replaced it once for my father-in-law in the 2010 he eventually gave to my older daughter. The really sad thing is he had it replaced about a month prior by Toyota and it crapped out. I just went to the grocery store and bought a new battery.

 

On my 4runner I've found that the brake fluid in the reservoir never really goes bad. It never gets particularly hot, and it doesn't seem to be exposed to much moisture. But the fluid in the calipers becomes dark amber after a while. If it turns brown or black or is very dirty then you probably waited too long to change it. I think in the calipers it's a result of a combination of higher heat and moisture working its way past the piston seals. A lot of people have problems with the calipers corroding and getting stuck on older generations, but I haven't heard of as many problems with the newest generation calipers.

Since the Prius uses the brakes pretty lightly I don't think heat is much of a concern. Moisture could still be a problem. I'd probably start to think about changing the fluid after 5 years or so. When you do it's important to the old fluid out of the calipers, not just replace what's in the reservoir.

 

I've got the sense Toyota UK holds their maintenance cards very close to their chest. I recall looking for an official published schedule, and finding nothing.

For any UK owners, looking at the schedules from other countries might be a good cross-check. FWIW: Toyota USA says nothing about changing the brake fluid, and Toyota Canada recommends tri-yearly or 48K kms, whichever comes first. Further: Honda Canada has (as far back as I can remember) always recommended tri-yearly brake fluid changes, regardless of mileage.

Just to share my 3rd gen DIY experience:

The 3rd gen Repair Manual has a clear instruction for changing the brake fluid without Techstream. Also, @NutzAboutBolts has done a very helpful video, pinned in the 3rd gen Maintenance Forum. I've done this, using:

1. Large Mayo jar with hole in lid. (empty and cleaned, obviously, lol)
2. Length of clear tubing (maybe 2') with brake bleed bolt coupler (The bleed bolt coupler came with a Mighty Vac tool. It has a concave socket, like a ball joint, which locks on positively. It's not mandatory; you could just push on a snug tube and maybe secure with zip tie. Still very handy to use the proper connector. Auto shops should have them.)
3. Largish syringe with tube extension very slim tip (for basting out reservoir)

With the car raised and on safety stands, and my wife helping out, pushing the brake pedal, it took maybe an hour, and another hour fussing around raising/lowering the car. You could do it without taking the wheels off, car on the ground, but it's pretty cramped.

Attached is the fourth gen Repair Manual instruction for replacement of brake fluid, both with and without Techstream. A few hints:

1. In the instruction for getting into "invalid mode", they say to shift from Part to Neutral. It's not mentioned, but you need to depress the brake pedal to do this.

2. Following is the sequence for bleeding. It IS explained in the attachment, but it's maddeningly obscure, buried in repetitive instruction: Front/Right, Front/Left, Rear/Left and Rear/Right. Now, this is North American sequence, there's an outside chance the left and right would be reversed for UK cars? Is the reservoir on the other side? Worth noting: the third gen sequence is the same. Also, @NutzAboutBolts does not follow this sequence, but it seemed to work out anyway. All things being equal, I would stick with the proscribed sequence.

3. It's not mentioned, but it's common practice (@NutzAboutBolts does it in the video), to get a head start on fluid replacement, by basting out most of what's in the reservoir, and replacing with fresh. There are some caveats in the instruction about not letting the level get too low, worth checking.

4. Again with @NutzAboutBolts video, he points out how easy it is to the rears. Your assistant can just hold the brake pedal down and the fluid will keep pumping out. There is a caution in the Repair Manual, to not exceed 100 seconds. That's likely way too long anyway.

He also notes that the fronts are more traditional, and shows very clearly with split screen, how to coordinate pushing the brake pedal and open/close of the bleed bolt. You want to err on the side of caution: just open/close the bleed bolt for a split second, since the brake pedal will drop to the floor very fast. Repeat the process multiple times.

 

Thanks for posting the Gen4 Repair Manual for the brake fluid change. When the time comes for mine, I have to ponder if it's worth trying DIY or not. LOL

BTW... when you say

I get this image in my head, but somehow, I have a gut feeling this is not the type of a large mayo bottle I should be using for this procedure. lol

 

I'm using Costco's biggie, 1.9 liter, equals 2 quarts?


Measured the OD of my tubing, then drilled a single hole, slightly bigger, in the middle of the lid. It's basically just a catch jar, nothing tricky.

I used two pint containers of Toyota DOT3 brake fluid, that seemed to work out about right. Leave a little in reserve, just in case you want to fine tune the level, a day or two later.

I've noticed too, if I open the passenger door, reach across to pop the hood, leave the driver's door closed, the level in the reservoir is high. Then open the driver's door, pump starts whirring, and the level drops at least 1/2". You want to note the level at the outset (say after driver's door has been opened), then finish up with the level the same. Don't overfill: it's natural for the level to drop a bit, as the pads wear down.

 

Another Kirkland contender, to the left of my brake bleed "equipment", their coconut oil, lol. I used the latter for partial coolant drain, when doing the EGR cleaning.

 

Oh, so it is a jar just like I imagined. Not knowing exactly how it is used, I was thinking of a "squeeze" type bottle for some reason.

 

There are brake bleed jars, that look kinda like an oil catch can. They have two openings in the lid, one with a tube running down to the bottom, and you're supposed to partially fill them with brake fluid.

I could not see the point. You want a big container, one capable of holding close to two quarts., that's about it. Keeping air from entering the system is accomplished by only opening the bleed bolt when there's positive pressure inside the system.

I believe it also helps if the tubing arcs down to connect to the bleed bolt, which pretty much happens naturally, due to the bolt orientation.

Watching that video you get a good idea of the tricks. He uses vacuum, but it's not strictly necessary. Just be careful, with the fronts in particular, always have positive pressure, pushing the brake fluid out when bleed bolt is open.