sarah

when I had my GS in for brake fluid service, I assumed that it meant the brake lines would be cleared of most old fluid.

like all dealer service departments, this one didn't let customers inside the service bay, but there's a small window that customers can see in.

I noticed that the tech opening the brake fluid cap and extracted the old fluid by a small powered device. I was expecting him to remove the wheels and bleed the brake lines. But no, he closed the hood and drove the car out. My service advisor came looking for me and told me it was done. I told him that I didn't see the tech do the job, but he said that's how they did it. I asked to speak with the service manager who told me the same thing. Not knowing what to do next, I paid the $105 bill and left.

When I got home, I started calling the other two Lexus dealerships near me. Both told me the same thing.. they don't bleed the brake lines, only replace the brake fluid in my GS.

Is this some new Lexus technique? I was always told that the brake lines had to be rid of all old fluid..

UpstateLex

thats what I thought too?

lxgs4

you should bleed the brake line too. when i perform a brake flush all four lines are bled.

BCP43002

That's like changing your oil without changing the filter. Half-aed. And for $100 too

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

If they power vacuumed the fluid out, there is probably very little old fluid left in the lines, and it lessens the possibility of getting air in the lines, too. Given that it's a closed system and how minimal the amount of fluid actually is in the lines, I don't really see anything wrong with it.

And I disagree with the idea that it's the same as changing the oil and not changing the filter. There shouldn't be a whole lot of contaminants in the brake fluid, unlike the oil. Also, since the fluid never actually comes into contact with the pads and does not get burned, you would be highly unlikely to be able to tell the difference between old fluid and new fluid other than the viscosity.

I think the car will be fine, Sarah. If you notice something out of the ordinary with your braking, though, you'll definitely want to take it back - but I doubt you'll need to.

Big Mack

sarah

Big Mack, that was almost the exact same thing the service manager told me, almost word for word!

I wonder if they're only taking out the brake fluid in the reservoir because they think my GS is a leased vehicle? I originally leased it, but purchased it at lease end because I liked it better than the newer generation of GS... but I think the Lexus dealer service dept's computer still has my GS tagged as "leased"???

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

I've often wondered if Lexus brake fluid change was even worth the trouble. I never changed brake fluid on any car until I got a Lexus. Brake fluid lasts 100 times longer than motor oil. Now to hear that they don't bleed the brake lines, it seems unlikely all the contaminated fluid could be eliminated. That means the contamnated fluid will still be in the lines which will affect and more quickly degrade the new fluid. Sounds even more like a wasted maintenance cost.

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

To clarify - I do not work for the company. I'm just speaking from a practical/mechanical standpoint.

Did you tell the other dealers what your VIN was? If not, then they gave you their SOP for the service. It's the same for a lease or a buy (or it better be).

I gotta agree. I drove my old car over 80K miles (108K total vehicle miles), never changed the brake fluid. Even the mechanic who looked at it for the guy who bought it said the car was maintained very well - so well, he offered to buy it if the other gent didn't! That was a pretty good feeling.

Big Mack

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

I have most of the previous owner service records for my '98GS4 and it doesn't appear to have ever had a brake fluid flush. It's at about 192000km (~120K miles). I find the brakes a bit softer than most cars I have driven including my other two ('05 Sienna and '92 Cressida). I flushed out the brake fluid in my '92 Cressida three years ago at about 400Kkm(250K miles). I noticed that the brakes became firmer. The fluid was also much clearer after flushing. I may try flushing out the Lex this summer and see if it makes a difference also.

BCP43002

I would think to do it right they would hook up a container of fluid to the bleader screw and suck up the fluid from the master cylinder until the new fluid comes out. This way the air, that wants to rise anyway, is not forced down into the lines.

sarah

I know how that feels... a few years ago, a Mercedes dealership mechanic bought my previous Mercedes E-class for $1000 on top of what I was advertising. It turns out that he "knew" my car because he had seen in a few times when it was in the dealer for service. Not very many E-class(W210) wagon owners were crazy enough to put on 19" wheels, which was how he remembered my car...

capnfred

Gotta put my shoe in here, having turned wrenches professionally, and as an avocation for close to 50 years, I have to disagree with most of the posters, brake fluid is highly hygroscopic (absorbs moisture), this moisture degrades the brake fluid over time, and the only way to get rid of it is to exchange it. I have only been a lexus owner for a short time, but I have read post after post describing what in most other situations would be considered to be customer abuse, I have only gone to the dealer one time, and that was just to ask about parts, as the car I bought was butchered by the last person that worked on it and had many parts missing. I will say that I was treated very well, but almost fainted when they gave a quote for the parts....... wow what a difference between Lexus, Toyota, and autoparts stores........ but then I am preaching to the choir here. But to pay someone a c-note to evacuate the master cylinder reservoir borders on criminal. No matter how much vacuum is applied to the reservoir little or none of the fluid remaining in the system will be removed. Another reason why it is important is that these cars all have pretty sophisticated systems on them (ABS), that by the way may one day save your skin.....so as I step down from my stool, I think it is negligent of Lexus or any other mechanic to just change the fluid in the reservoir, If your going to change the fluid, then you should change the fliuid, the system does not hold a significant volume so the cost to the dealer for the fluid is minimal, the time is not significant with a power bleeder, so why jeopardize the customer by this policy.

FrankT

... I also disagree with LEXUS as stated in the above post.

Old fluid is the dirtiest at the end of the lines, near the calipers.
I run clean brake fluid from the reserve to all the bleeder valves.
The fluid in the lines would never get replaced by just replacing fluid the reservoir.

The motors in our cars will last us a very long time, the challenge for us is to make sure all other components of our cars last us just as long.

If you go through cars every couple of years or so, this fancy brake fluid flush thing may just seem like a waste of money...but I think LEXUS is taking this thing a little too far with the $105 brake fluid service...

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I also agree with the two posters above me. I'm not a professional mechanic nor even that great of a shade tree mechanic, but it has always been known that brake fluid is highly hygroscopic and starts absorbing moisture from the minute you open the new brake fluid bottle. That is also why it is not a good idea to store used brake fluid either. Anyway, maybe that is why Lexus brakes never had that rock solid pedal feel like other cars. It seems like many of these dealerships are not changing out the entire fluid in the system. Brake fluid is so cheap and bleeding brakes is so easy that one should probably do it once a year.

GS4_Fiend

iTrader: (22)

Which way is the right way, to bleed out the brakes on these cars? Since these cars use the same reservoirs for the brake and the ABS. What is the bleeding sequence for it?