brake & steering fluid change

[fly trekker]

Recently took highlander in for oil change and tire rotation at 35k miles. Service rep recommended the brake and steering fluid be changed for a total of $200 ($99 each). Color on fluids was off (darker) than it should be indicating dirt, particles, etc. that could cause future problems such as clogged lines.

Declined the services but it did make me wonder as I never had any shop make such a recommendation. Was this guy legit or has this dealer gone the ways of many others I used to go to that tried to weasel money out of customers?

My brake fluid does look dark from outside the plastic reservoir.

Need some advice...........thanks in advance for any and all responses.

[JMDEMT04]

Dont really know how legit that is but I was told the same thing about the power steering fluid in my Tacoma before I traded it in.

07 Black DCSB 4.7

[Tundradrenalin]

DOT3 brake fluid should be golden color. If it is indeed dark, then yes, you should have the system bled and refilled. Good preventative maintenance, often overlooked.

Power Steering fluid should be checked for emulsion. If there are bubbles present during the emulsion test, the fluid should be extracted and refilled. Then checked again. Repeat extraction/refill until emulsion tests come back negative.

[SOSHeloPilot]

.
My daughter (18 y/o) took her 2007 Hyundai (2 1/2 years old & maybe 20k miles) in for service. Customer Service Rep. told her brake fluid was dark and it needed changing.

Daughter said no to brake fluid change ... and CSR put it in the record .. "that customer declined to change contaminated brake fluid".

I wanted her to just change it ... but she no. She would not spend here money.

IMO ... dealers are doing this for revenue and to limit warranty expenditures.

SOS

PS ... I am a ... "fluid changing nut".

I believe in changing all the fluids well before their time. The only fluid that I don't change is my windshield washer fluid. ...
.

[deadrx7conv]

Brake fluid should be bled every 2 years. Thats just simple maintenance to remove a fluid that attracts moisture which degrades the fluid and the braking system. Wet brake fluid = rust, and your calipers, ABS, master cylinder, wheel cylinders..... will last much longer without battling moisture or rust.

Power steering fluid can be siphoned/refilled, maybe a pint of ATF at most, every now and then. Once a year with a good synth-ATF should keep the rack and pump happy forever. I siphon/refill my PSF at every oil change(the power of Mityvac).

There is no need to pay someone $100 to flush the PSF. You can change it out yourself, over time, for <$10. I get 2 siphon/refills out of a quart of ATF, which cost <$10.

The brakes should be bled by someone with experience. So, with todays overhead and labor costs, $100 is fair for a complete brake bleed/flush. Even with my Motive brake bleeder, I would charge at least that much to do it in your driveway.

[bepperb]

100 seems reasonable for the brake fluid, but I have a bad feeling that it's a money grab and they won't bleed the brakes, just drain and refill the overflow and show you a nice clean resivoir. If they're bleeding the brakes then that seems reasonable.

100 for the PSF is ridiculous. A quart of ATF and a turkey baster and three minutes. Come to my house and I'll do it for 75!

[TedL]

My wife has an '02 Odyssey, and Honda has changing the PS and brake fluids on the maint. schedule, for, IIRC, the 3 year/36k mi interval. I firmly believe in the practice, and it's really cheap and easy to do.

For my 3 Toys, I flush do the brake fluid whenever I do pads, which works out to about 40k/3 years. The P/S I do while I've got everything out for the tranny fluid exchange at 30k. I use 12 qts. +/- for the tranny, but buy 15 just in case, so almost always have several left to do the PS change. All cheap longevity extenders easily done at home.

[avconsult]

Follow owners manual schedule for fluid replacements. They are the ONLY ones who did the hundreds of hours testing and collaboration with lubrication engineers on YOUR vehicle to form what you see in the manual. Unless someone produces a Toy TSB that updates the manual recommendations, don't let anyone talk you into fluid changes based on "color" or any other "rule of thumb". Fluids darken with age but is has, by itself, no bearing on their performance or life.

[hl]

I know brake fluid won't last forever and all brake fluids in our 3 Toyotas are clean. I do have a question on power steering fluid--my 1984 Camry (I bought it new) still has the original power steering fluid in it. I have NEVER had to add any--COULD I possibly cause leakage or other problems by removing the old fluid and refilling with new ? That may sound stupid, but I found out the hard way on a Ford (my Dad's) to not change out old transmission fluid in a well worn transmission--it trashed it in 3 miles from the shop--and it was an "experienced" transmission shop that said "don't worry--it won't happen" but it did.

[deadrx7conv]

All those hours of testing and collaboration have lead to recalls, TSBs, sludge monsters......

Owners manuals try to hard to lower the cost of maintenance.

If you want to keep your vehicle a long time without problems, then maintenance is the key.

And, you can't cause problems with maintenance.