Amphibulus

Hi,

Do someone know why we have to change the brake fluid each 32,000km in Canada. According to my manual. I never had a car who needed that maintenance.

Also do you know how much they charge and do they do a full change (with brake bleed?)

Thanks

lesz

Over time, brake fluid can become contaminated with moisture.

I had it done with my GX about 6 months ago. My recollection is that the cost was about $100, but I had the work done at Toyota dealer. I'm guessing (with confidence) that the price at a Lexus dealer would be higher.

I should add, though, that 32,000 km, which should be a little under 20,000 miles, seems like a very short interval. In the US ES manual, the recommended interval is 30,000 miles or 3 years.

gfr1

U.S. 2013 ES300h brake fluid change is: 36 months or 30,000 miles, per Scheduled Maintenance Log.

bc6152

I was under the impression that the Lexus cars sold in Canada were identical to the cars sold in the USA with the exception of model names. If so, why the difference in brake fluid and engine oil intervals. Aren't the engines the same? The brake fluid interval difference is substantial.

bootman

I think someone messed up converting miles to kilometers when writing the manual.

lesz

I don't dismiss that as a possibility.

The only logical explanation that I can think of is that maintenance intervals might be altered depending on how harsh the climate is where the vehicle might be likely to be driven. Otherwise, the differences in many of the maintenance intervals between the US and Canada seem to be almost arbitrary.

In any case, 20,000 miles for a brake fluid flush seems to be very conservative. Even vehicles that I have owned that were built 15 or 20 years ago had 30,000 or 36,000 miles as the interval for a brake fluid flush, and, if anything, those intervals should have increased over the years because of improvements in lubricants and production tolerances in vehicle manufacturing.

With replacing brake fluid, doing so is largely precautionary. It may well be the case that, at 30,000 miles (or longer), the brake fluid is still fine, but I don't believe that just visually inspecting the fluid can lead to a determination as to whether it has taken on moisture. So, replacing the fluid is recommended "just in case".

Amphibulus

Well, even on their website when you check they say you need to change the brake fluid each 32,000km. Even for the oil we have to do it twice as much (every 8000km).

I think their car are too reliable and they are looking for some way to make money. Even my MB was not that strict on oil (each 20,000km) and brake fluid (40,000km or 2 yrs).

bc6152

Maybe Les is on to something regarding the weather. I'm sure that Quebec City gets pretty cold...

don1

I agree with Amphibulus in that I think the maintenance intervals are geared to income for the dealers. Our weather generally doesn't get any colder than the northern states and the greatest population of Canada is in close proximity to the U.S. border. In fact parts of Ontario are farther south than Northern California.

Amphibulus

Well, even if we have a winter here, I don't know how it affect the brake oil, the air is dryer during winter... And others cars don't need that to be change that often, so maybe if Lexus use lower quality brake oil it could explain it, but I doubt it.

On the other end of the spectrum no where they say you need to change your transmission oil, which is odd.

bc6152

All good points made herein by our members. There probably is no good explanation as to the substantial differences in maintenance schedules. Could be just a matter of $$$.

lesz

The reason why the air is dryer during the winter is because moisture condenses more quickly in cold temperatures. That said, I have no idea whether that has any effect on brake fluid.

After doing a little bit of reading, I learned that, just like there are different types of motor oil with regards to things like viscosity and composition, there are also different types of brake fluid with regard to factors like viscosity and boiling point, which makes me wonder whether Canadian vehicles are using the same type/grade of brake fluid. My US manual says that the brake fluid that should be used is either SAE J1703 or FMVSS No.116 DOT3. Is that the same brake fluid that is specified in the Canada manual?

Arty101

Bob I think you're right. Lexus must think those north of the border have deeper pockets.

Shmee

iTrader: (3)

I have always told customers 3 years in a dry climate like SoCal,NV,AZ otherwise every 2 years for brake fluid change intervals. Be damned what the dealer says for mileage, fluid is going to absorb moisture only marginally faster when driven than sitting.

32k km in Canada is about what the average person drives in 2-3years, so it doesn't sound all that out of whack to me, Canadians typically do not commute as far as Americans do due to less urban sprawl.

gemigniani

For those who think brake fluid changes are unnecessary and just a profit center for the dealer, consider that Hyundai had a recall on the Genesis because the factory installed brake fluid did not provide sufficient corrosion protection: http://blog.caranddriver.com/hyundai...-fluid-recall/