My car has just had its 3 year service and I was expecting the brake fluid to be changed. However the dealer told me Skoda have changed their service schedules and the first change should be done at 4 years. Sounds a bit dubious to me - has anyone else heard this?

First 4 years, then every 3 years.

TeebsVRS, where does that info come from?

 

That must be a very recent change not yet published any where i can see,

Fabia MK2 Owners Manuals are 3 years then each 2 years.

Mine got done at 40k

You can get it done when you like, 3 years,  40,000 miles, 4 years, but there was a Service Schedule that changed in 2007 from 2 years to 3 years recommended, then each 2 years.

It is not part of a 2 year or 3 year service it needs paid for seperately, so some Service Plan Work may not include it at 

the Dealers Expense. Or they might say it does not.

 

Maybe they now know that it is OK too leave it to 4 years. (Costs nothing to test the Brake Fluid for H20)

 

As usual i doubt the Service Schedule has changed.

But happy if someone can find a change of Fabia MK2 Schedule.

 

http://volkswagen.co.uk/owners/servicing/what-we-check-and-why/brake-fluid-change

 

Nice sometimes how VW explain why they do things,

odd how Skoda use the same components and fluids etc and just treat customers like Mushrooms.

TeebsVRS, where does that info come from?

 

That must be a very recent change not yet published any where i can see,

Fabia MK2 Owners Manuals are 3 years then each 2 years.

 

My mistake, 3 years then every two years, sorry!

I was told every 2 years by the dealer.

 

Mine's only had one change since new. Shouldn't need changing if it's not leaking or anything. We've had cars 10 years never had a change.

Many people never have brake fluid changed, never have problems, many used to have Brake Pipe Corrosion and replacement required.

 

Now cars are used differently, used in different conditions and have different Brake Fluids,

Most Brake Fluids are not to hygroscopic these days,

but no harm in testing your Brake Fluid to check how the condition is of the Fluid.

Or just change it to stay on the safe side..

 

& if you are going to drive in a spirited way, get brakes hot or very hot on occasion, drive cars with ESP and XDS etc,

£39 or less for a Brake Fluid change seems small beer, well it does to me.

 

Some people do maintenance and try to reduce possible repair costs, and some just drive until cars break and pay to get them fixed,

or maybe they just run for ever.

We always hope they stop quickly when we most need them to.

 

george

I was told every 2 years by the dealer.

 

Mine's only had one change since new. Shouldn't need changing if it's not leaking or anything. We've had cars 10 years never had a change.[/quote

There are valid reasons why brake fluid doesn't last forever and so needs changing at certain points in a car's life...however there is certainly a suspicion in my mind that it has been introduced into modern servive schedules at frequent intervals mainly as an earner for the dealerships.

I was told every 2 years by the dealer.

 

Mine's only had one change since new. Shouldn't need changing if it's not leaking or anything. We've had cars 10 years never had a change.[/quote

There are valid reasons why brake fluid doesn't last forever and so needs changing at certain points in a car's life...however there is certainly a suspicion in my mind that it has been introduced into modern service schedules at frequent intervals mainly as an earner for the dealerships.

http://www.kwik-fit.com/brake-fluid.asp

 

I would never let them near my car,

but this is not just a money making scam.

 

Manufacturers have to work towards the safe side of things because they do not know how people will use the product,

or where they live, seaside, top of a mountain or in a Tropical Rain Forest.

 

So if someone knows about the Engineering & properties of a product then they can maybe make an informed decision them self.

If they just think, 'never had a problem, so lets just ignore all the advice from those that give it',

then fair enough.

I think most mechanics see cars that work and function OK, until they do not work and function,

Brakes being a common thing like that.

Luckily a Secondary System is usually built in to stop total failure of the primary system.

 

Google, 

brake fluid test strips    or    brake fluid test kit.

Brake fluid:

Brake fluids meeting either the SAE J1703 or 1704 specifications will meet one of the following US DOT classifications 3, 4 or 5.1

The base fluids for these are ethylene glycol or borate ester. There are silicone based fluids as well but these are classified as DOT 5 fluid and are not the same and have there own drawbacks.

All brake fluids will absorb moisture, it is a given and can not be disputed. These fluids are hydroscopic and there is little that can be done to avoid this. They will absorb moisture through seals and hoses by constantly being heated and cooled.

The effect of absorbing moisture is to reduce the temperature at which the fluid boils. A new fluid will be in excess of 240 deg C, however, when just 3% water is added the requirement of the fluid specifications is that the boiling point needs to be greater than 155 deg C. Typically in my experience this wet boiling point is going to be around 180 deg C. So you can see that just be adding a small percentage of moisture it drastically reduces the temperature at which the fluid will boil.

In someways though we want the moisture to be miscible with the fluid, otherwise any moisture adsorbed into the brake system would be liable to boil at 100 deg C and start to freeze at 4 deg C.

Boiling fluid gives rise to vapour lock and therefore loss of braking efficiency.

Why add 3% water to the brake fluid in testing? This figure was arrived at as it represented the average take up of moisture over a three year period within the braking system of a car.

So should you change your brake fluid regularly? Well it is a personal choice, but you will be surprised how quickly the temperature rises in a brakeing system, personally, I will change mine every two years, but in that time I will cover 50 to 60,000 miles.

The worst I ever encountered was a brake fluid with a boiling fluid of 104 deg C, it was not particularly pretty.

Hygroscopic.

 

The thing is, it can be not just about how many miles the Braking System is used over, 

it is how often the Brake system might get pretty hot in its useage and type of use.

 

Hot systems as they cool down can draw H20 in.

Vehicles used only for Track use or weekend cars can rather quickly end up with Moisture in the system.

Thanks guys, will probably compromise and get it done this summer when it has been in for three and a half years. Never really understood though why the factory fill is good for three years but subsequent fluid replacements are then only good for two years.

Because it leaves the factory with new components new seals, new rubber etc no wear and tear,

 and then after 3 years it is not new.

 

So they previously went with 2 years then each 2 years for Brake Fluid changes, 

experience and testing shows 3 years is OK. then 2 yearly.

 

Maybe they are saying 4 years now.

 

It does still show as Brake Fluid Change at 'Inspection Services', which are the second Service after Minor Services,

So 'Inspection Services' 2 years or 20,000 or 24,000 miles shows and a Service Desk person looks and says 2 years or 4 years.

 

Same with Engines, VW were over to Variable Servicing possible for some engines, 

Skoda fitted the same engines later,  and it was still showing as not suitable to be on Variable.

Then became Coded to be suitable.

 

Toyota Launch a new car like the iQ in 2009, and it is near 3 years later and the Warranty is then Automatically 5 years.

They knew how they behaved and actually they had 3 recalls on major safety issues in the first 2 years

and had updated parts fitted and ECU updates

 

You do not know what 4 year old Up!/Mii/Citigo is going to be like on warranty claims & breakages or reliability as used by the general public for 4 years.