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Is Brake fluid service necessary at 3 years?

K-Rog

K-Rog

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16
Location
Coventry
Vehicle
Looking to buy
Hello, I have booked my 3 year old beach in for its MOT and service and the garage have automatically added on an air conditioning service and a brake fluid service. I’m cancelling the air con one as I don’t think it is necessary, but does anyone know whether the brake fluid one is needed or is it simply another way for them to make more money?

Thanks in advance! K
 
Brake fluid absorbs moisture, so should be replaced as per service schedule. You risk brake failure if not.
 
I would have the brake fluid changed, I would also have the pollen filter changed if that is what they mean by aircon service, what I won't tolerate is the unnecessary replacing of the aircon gas.
 
Brake fluid change. I always assumed that meant a full bleed/replace as opposed to sucking out what’s in the master cylinder reservoir and refilling.

One of the above seems worthwhile.
 
Brake fluid service is needed the first time after 3 years. Then every 2 years. This means sucking out the master cilinder reservoir, refill it under pressure, and then bleed all 4 brake calipers, including the oil going to the clutch, if you have a manual gearbox.

Aircon service is disputable. Pollenfilter is changed every xxx km or xxx years in time on normal service.
After a couple of years it might be worth to check the gas level, because all the sealings from the hoses may start to dry out and leak invisibly. So you might loose 200 grams (over 1kg of gas in a triple zone airco system), and then it is advisable to refill with gas. Then you should only have to pay for the work and 200 grams of gas, because they recover all the remaining gas and put it back in together with the missing amount, and a bit of oil with fluor tracing fluid to check for leaks.
 
Agree with TripleBee !
Make sure they bleed the clutch. Seems that some work shops don’t do that.
I did mine my self, and found black fluid.
44274
 
I'm a totally technical dimwit.

If the recommendation is to change something then I change it. I am in control of a 3 ton vehicle that is a killing machine if it all goes pear shaped.

A few quid is nothing compared to the burden of carrying around forever the "perhaps if I had someone may not have died".
 
If you are planning to keep the car for a long time, then I would definitively do all service, including brake fluid on time. Yes you could probably get by a couple of years without replacing brake fluid, but the brake system will suffer shorten lifespan. Internal corrosion and so on will increase the risk for problem. Also when replacing brake pads and you push all that brake fluid back in the system. It is hard to clamp of the brake line (they are hard and can be damage) in these cars. One particle in the abs pump and you have trouble. Same thing with the clutch. Having all that contaminated brake fluid will shorten the life span. And most work shops seems to not bother doing this. And water pump for the axd/axe bnz/bpc (2,5 L diesel, 2004-2009) that’s a joke. It is not on the service program, but still they fail in all cars. Some cars have there engine ruined if not discovered early since the coolant will leak inside the engine into the engine oil. And of course one basic thing like the engine oil, here in Scandinavia 99 % of all cars are on long life/flexible service regime, which means oil change up to 30000km. Scandinavians typically drive short distances and 6 months a year we have sub zero temp, sometimes down to -30 Celsius degrees. You should of course choose fixed intervals up to 15000km in those conditions.
Car manufacturers consider the cars lifespan to be 200 000 km or 10 years, but a car can live for much more than that if you take care of it...
 
In the same way you risk a 1000 year wave if you go out in a boat. I’m not saying don’t do it but let’s keep things in perspective shall we?
Each one for himself, but something failing in a car will happen faster than 1000 years if you don't take care of it.
 
One other thing to note is that if you have an extended factory warrantee then following the VW service schedule is a condition of that warrantee. So if you ignore the service schedule they may decide not to honour any claim.
 
Car manufacturers consider the cars lifespan to be 200 000 km or 10 years, but a car can live for much more than that if you take care of it...
I will definately break that rule! :cool:

Mine is 9 years old now, but I am not going to throw it away any time soon.
With all the environmental issues the last few years, I am going to keep going as long as I can. Even if I have to invest € 5000 to keep it running.
If the prices of the California's are going too keep rising, I can't buy a new one for less than €5000.
 
One other thing to note is that if you have an extended factory warrantee then following the VW service schedule is a condition of that warrantee. So if you ignore the service schedule they may decide not to honour any claim.
I asked this question direct to VW customer service last year and they confirmed by email that the 3year brake fluid and air conditioning service is advisory but not compulsory so isn't included in prepaid service plans and doesn't affect the VW extended warranty if not done.
 
This is strange, my Cali is just over 6 years old with over 40K and a VW service centre said back in Nov 18 that it is due this year on its next service? nothing has been touched since then.
 
Brake fluid service is needed the first time after 3 years. Then every 2 years. This means sucking out the master cilinder reservoir, refill it under pressure, and then bleed all 4 brake calipers, including the oil going to the clutch, if you have a manual gearbox.

Aircon service is disputable. Pollenfilter is changed every xxx km or xxx years in time on normal service.
After a couple of years it might be worth to check the gas level, because all the sealings from the hoses may start to dry out and leak invisibly. So you might loose 200 grams (over 1kg of gas in a triple zone airco system), and then it is advisable to refill with gas. Then you should only have to pay for the work and 200 grams of gas, because they recover all the remaining gas and put it back in together with the missing amount, and a bit of oil with fluor tracing fluid to check for leaks.
From Experience air con system's have improved a lot from my first one of 22 years ago, was 3 years and had a re-charge!, 6 years the Cali air con still going strong and Daughters Seat Ibiza 9 years,was told it best to switch on air con once a wk, you can just switch on and then switch off activating the pump, instead of running it on a journey this will keep seals supple so no gas leak.
 
I asked this question direct to VW customer service last year and they confirmed by email that the 3year brake fluid and air conditioning service is advisory but not compulsory so isn't included in prepaid service plans and doesn't affect the VW extended warranty if not done.
I guess that not replacing the brake fluid is unlikely to do any mechanical damage to the the brake system, so would not be likely to come up as a warranty claim. The fact that VW recommend a fluid change at a set interval would put the responsibility for any failure or reduced efficiency of the brakes back to the driver/owner.
 
I asked this question direct to VW customer service last year and they confirmed by email that the 3year brake fluid and air conditioning service is advisory but not compulsory so isn't included in prepaid service plans and doesn't affect the VW extended warranty if not done.
I guess that not replacing the brake fluid is unlikely to do any mechanical damage to the the brake system, so would not be likely to come up as a warranty claim. The fact that VW recommend a fluid change at a set interval would put the responsibility for any failure or reduced efficiency of the brakes back to the driver/owner.
I queried this with VW because I have a prepaid 4 x 2 yearly service plan and extended 5 year warranty but the dealer wanted to charge for a brake and aircon service in year 3 which I thought may be overkill. I will have the fluid replaced on the year 4 major service in June 2020 or before then if the pads need replacing but very unlikely to be any safety or any loss of efficiency issues with regular visual inspection, less than half worn pads and less than 5k miles of leisure use per year.
 
I guess if you’d rather save £70 than your brakes failing...then fair enough
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Strange that the condition of the brake fluid apart from obvious contamination is not even mentioned in the MOT test, it could be ancient and the inspector would be completely happy, yet on here it is a death sentence not to change at 3 year intervals, does not compute.
 
I guess if you’d rather save £70 than your brakes failing...then fair enough
Strange that the condition of the brake fluid apart from obvious contamination is not even mentioned in the MOT test, it could be ancient and the inspector would be completely happy, yet on here it is a death sentence not to change at 3 year intervals, does not compute.
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Strange also that in the USA (land of litigation), manufacturers have actually removed the requirement to replace brake fluid on service schedules.
 
I asked this question direct to VW customer service last year and they confirmed by email that the 3year brake fluid and air conditioning service is advisory but not compulsory so isn't included in prepaid service plans and doesn't affect the VW extended warranty if not done.
Let's hope you are right.
 
The MOT (keuring?) just looks at the safety of the car. Not the maintenance.
I know ABS units failing due to lack of brake fluid changing. Obviously over 15 years old, when the brake "glue" is not fluid anymore, and as black as engine oil after 30 000 km.

Apart from that, you get the risk of braking malfunction in "extreme" conditions, let's say going downhill at 12% for a couple of miles, where your engine braking does not work.
If too much water gets in to the brake fluid (that actually attracts water), the water can start to boil because of the high temperature, causing the brake system to fail.

The manufacturer makes sure with the changing intervals no responsibility must be taken for people not wanting to change the brake fluid.
This is something I will never economize for tyres and brake systems. This is the only part that is between life and death.
Don't forget you are driving a fortune of 2500 - 3000 kg.

But, everyone decides what he wants to do.
 
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