Read through this thread and make your decision.

 

Unnecessary. You only have to replace when water content is at or near 3%. Takes like 10 secs to measure.

 

It is impossible to prevent brake fluid from absorbing moisture unless you never open the bottle.

 

I may get grief from this. I disagree with the 30k or 3 years change of brake fluid. Yes, maybe in high humidity areas. My car is garage kept. If I start changing parts at 50% of part life, I will be spending a chunk of money. At 30k, why not also change out a good battery, spark plugs, all belts & filters, ignition coil etc?????

 

Are there any downsides from doing it other than the price?

 

Nope. For my cars I see a colour change after 3 years.

 

Yes. Potential damage to bleed screws or introducing air into the brake line if not bleed well.

If you have a hybrid RX, the brakes are so lightly used that the fluid are good for many years

 

I decided to do a brake fluid bleed and replace today.

My RX is at 5 1/2 years and 78,000 miles.

I use the electronic tester as well as the paper strips that CCN now recommends. Both tested OK but with some water in the fluid near borderline. I decided to do it today also since I wanted to be sure that the bleeder valves were not seized after 5.5 years.
As discussed above and elsewhere brake fluid is really not a time or mileage thing or even a color thing, but depends upon how much water has been absorbed into the fluid. The tester or strips will tell you when to do the change.

I used the exact procedure and pump as CCN and the job was super easy.

 

Me personally I do it every 2-3 years. It does feels more sensitive after the brake fluid exchange.

 

FYI - Another data point for what it's worth - Audi recommends every 2 years regardless of mileage on my A6. During warranty, this is what I did. Always seemed overly conservative to me - but it's not that expensive to do.