My dealer said I should change the brake fluid every 30k miles. This seems a little soon for me. Any thoughts on this?

 

Seems a little soon to me too. OTOH I did have it done on the 3 yr/36mo service on my '07. When the time comes for that service on my '10 I'll give it some thought.

 

That is the recommended schedule. I have heard that brake fluids are hygroscopic (absorb moisture),
so it is a better idea to change them every 2-3 years.

BTW, my lexus dealer charged me $120 for a brake system flush at the 30K mileage.

 

This is true, brake fluid should be changed every 2 years, very few people do it. It does absorb moisture over time, it turns brown as it gets contaminated. Left unchanged, the moisture starts to attack the inside of the master cylinder.

It's not hard to do, there's no way I'd pay $120 to have it done. But you do really need a pressure bleeder to do it properly.

 

As I recall, Mercedes and VW both recommend changing brake fluid at 2 years for the reasons stated by other posters.

 

I just checked the 2 yr (32000KM) schedule for my 08. Changing the brake fluid is not necessary. Unless the level is low or looks contaminated I would skip replacing the fluid. To me it sounds like the dealer is trying to get a few extra bucks from you.

BTW, When I had my 2 yr service done they did not replace the brake fluid or even recommend it.

 

Actually it would be easy if it could be done without using the Lexus scanner tool. Unfortunately with the braking sytem on the ES's you cannot simply pressure or vacuum bleed the brakes without having the factory diagnosic tool connected. You risk damaging the ABS system if you try that.

When I checked with the dealer and asked why the fluid needs to be changed so often he said it is recommended not mandatory so I'll wait a bit longer to have mine done.