I've never changed my brake fluid. 105K mi. I have a mental block/phobia about changing brake fluid on an ABS equipped car. I don't have any problems w/ the brakes. Should I do it or let sleeping dogs lie?

 

you could just use a syringe to remove fluid from the reservoir and not wory about the rest of the fluid. If your not having any problems and if its not a strange color, probly not neccessary though

 

Yea it's bad but you're not alone. Virtually every older car that I look under the hood of has black brake fluid (and clutch fluid).

 

I asked my father in law about this (he has 4 cars with 150k, 175k, 250k, and 310k - 3 GMs and a Chrysler) and he says he has never changed brake fluid on its own. The only time he's ever changed it was when he had to due to a caliper or master cylinder replacement. He thinks changing break fluid is pretty pointless on its own. He also doesn't really change ATF that often, and he got 295k out of the 4L60 in his Astro van, so he must be doing something right. His 2 FWD cars (Saturn SL and Dodge Intrepid) did nuke their trannies at around 130k so it may be more important on FWD where I'm sure the tranny gets hotter being under the engine.

I've heard that old break fluid does absorb water (which is why it turns black) but that it can't hold more than 2-3% volume in water and beyond that point it doesn't absorb any more. I have no idea if that is true or not. It probably is a little worse on the calipers/master cylinder/etc but really whose to say that those wouldn't get messed up anyway in 10+ years? And its not like they cost all that much compared to major parts like rear ends or transmissions.

 

If you use rebuilt calipers when you do a brake job, it is probably pointless. I rebuild my own calipers so I want them to last as long as possible so I change out brake fluid every two years.

 

It matters more on a car that you are going to drive hard and brake hard like if you were racing it because then, if you have water in the brake system, it can boil and turn to steam and the brakes go away. I do it because it's a point of maintenance and I don't consider it difficult. And I dont like black brake fluid in there with all it's impurities.