Had my Octy 3 for nearly 3 years and have always had my services done at a main dealer. I am now on 40k miles and I don't think they have ever changed the brake fluid. Is it something I should have asked them to do myself? I certainly don't remember having to pay the extra £50 on top of the services I have had. 

I think next service..

Just now, toni8b said:

I think next service..

Thanks. I won't have the car by then so will be ok then :-)

Should be done at 3 years old

Edited 17 March, 20179 yr by themanwithnoaim

Mine's up for 3 year service and been told brake fluid change by dealer .

3 minutes ago, washdog said:

Mine's up for 3 year service and been told brake fluid change by dealer .

Well I've had my third service and they told me nothing. 

Not very 'Simply Clever' of them to not only not advice you of the Service Schedule Guidelines but an Upselling opportunity.

 

So in the UK the first Brake Fluid change is at 3 years which is also when the Original Manufacturers Warranty is expiring, and it is the time for the first MOT.

Ask the Service Manager if it was an Oversight that the Service Desk employee failed to inform you of this additional cost 'Brake Fluid change' being due, or did the Technician check the H2o in the Brake Fluid.

 

First Service Schedule / Guideline change at 3 years and then every 2.

(Variable servicing messes that up, as it does with DSG Oil changes at 40,000 miles.)

Annual Fixed servicing used to have most vehicles in for there 3rd service about the time of the MOT unless they were doing more than 10,000 miles a year.

Edited 17 March, 20179 yr by Awayoffski

4 minutes ago, Awayoffski said:

Not very 'Simply Clever' of them to not only not advice you of the Service Schedule Guidelines but an Upselling opportunity.

 

So in the UK the first Brake Fluid change is at 3 years which is also when the Original Manufacturers Warranty is expiring, and it is the time for the first MOT.

Ask the Service Manager if it was an Oversight that the Service Desk employee failed to inform you of this additional cost 'Brake Fluid change' being due, or did the Technician check the H2o in the Brake Fluid.

 

First Service Schedule / Guideline change at 3 years and then every 2.

(Variable servicing messes that up, as it does with DSG Oil changes at 40,000 miles.)

Maybe its because my 3 years isnt up until June. I am handing the car back to them next month and getting a new one so I will ask them about the fluid change when I next speak to them. I would have it done with the MOT i guess if I was keeping it.

Edited 17 March, 20179 yr by tigermad

This is the kind of issue anyone buying a Skoda Approved Used car, or any used car need to be aware of.

 

Your car will have 'Full Main Dealer Service History',  because the service is just done.

So a Skoda Dealership might sell it with 'Workshop Safety Checks' carried out and FDSH, 

but not a Brake Fluid Change done at 3 years, so the new owner needs to pay to have that done, or has no idea it was not done before they purchased the car.

1 hour ago, tigermad said:

Maybe its because my 3 years isnt up until June. I am handing the car back to them next month and getting a new one so I will ask them about the fluid change when I next speak to them. I would have it done with the MOT i guess if I was keeping it.

It's due at 3 yrs not at the third service... so if due to your mileage your third service took place before the car reached three years then the brake fluid didn't need changing...after the first fluid change at three years the time interval is every two years from then on...

Yep, as above if your third service was well before three years then Škoda may not have approved the fluid change. Or your dealer didn't ask in the first space. My car went in for its third service (30k miles) in Sept last year and the fluid was authorised by Škoda despite the car not being three years old unit March this year (tomorrow in fact). 

?

What do you mean 'It was authorised by Skoda',   Is there a Service Plan or a leased car and they paid the cost of the Brake Fluid change and not you?

 

Anyone can pay to have the Brake Fluid changed anytime, 

it is not usually included in a 3 Year Minor Servicing cost, or a Major Variable Service, it is an additional cost item, 

but if the 'Service Plan' includes it then good.

9 minutes ago, Awayoffski said:

?

What do you mean 'It was authorised by Skoda',   Is there a Service Plan or a leased car and they paid the cost of the Brake Fluid change and not you?

 

Anyone can pay to have the Brake Fluid changed anytime, 

it is not usually included in a 3 Year Minor Servicing cost, or a Major Variable Service, it is an additional cost item, 

but if the 'Service Plan' includes it then good.

 

I have (had) the three free services plan at fixed 10k intervals (which should work out at roughly one evey year). I however cover more than 10k miles a year so my third service was well in advance of the three year point. When my car was in for its third service the service advisor said Škoda won't always allow them to change the brake fluid as part of the service pack if you're before the three years. Mine was allowed though. Maybe it was just a bit of schpiel to make me feel good of course. 

Is that 3 free services because you bought a Service Plan at the time you bought a vehicle or it was some offer, 

or is it a leased car?

ie, Is it your car or being handed back?

My car is on PCP. Three free services was part of the offer when I bought the car back in 2013. 

Good.

That why the T&C's of a 'Servicing & Maintenance Plan' are important and it shows Manufacturers Service Schedule on all items including Brake Fluid, 

DSG / Haldex changes if vehicles are going to be getting 'Main Dealer Servicing for other 3 years or 40,000 miles.

Just rang my local Skoda dealer who the car came from to get a price for the 30k service on my Superb Estate. They then said likely the brake fluid needs to be changed also and quoted me an additional cost. Why therefore is it not part of the Skoda service schedule at 30k or 3 yrs  I asked ? Sounds like another Skoda dealer rip off to me so I rang my local garage who is a VW, Seat, Skoda specialist (not a dealer) and he (a) quoted me a cheaper price for the 30k service, not much maybe £25 cheaper but on the brake fluid matter he says it only needs changing if there is more than 3% water in the fluid which he will check otherwise it does not need changing. Also said the fuel filter may need changing but again he will check before replacing it. Am getting tired of the Skoda dealer. Everytime they try to convince you there is something extra that needs attention.

The fluid should be replaced at 3 years then every 2 years thereafter as recommended by the entire VW group as of about 5 years ago. 

 

Why would they include it in the service? It's another £50(or there abouts) and customers already don't want to fork out the cost for a service these days. 

 

If if skoda did (like other manufacturers do) then you'd be paying more for your services AND have no choice in the matter. 

 

PSA and Mazda have the change included and their prices are significantly higher.

 

the same goes for having the air con regassed every 2 years. It's £50 and people don't want to pay for it, then when all the gas has depleated and the A/C doesn't work or stinks or the compressor fails all people do is complain about the brand, when in reality - them dodging the equivalent a cost of 10 pence per week over the 2 year period has been the cause of the issue. 

Edited 25 May, 20179 yr by James@Pentagon_Seat

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. I bet there are cars running around with 10 year old brake fluid in it. As above, most people would rather save the £50 and lets be realistic. You never hear of any issues that have been caused by brake fluid that's overdue a change.

On 25/05/2017 at 22:40, SuperbTWM said:

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. I bet there are cars running around with 10 year old brake fluid in it. As above, most people would rather save the £50 and lets be realistic. You never hear of any issues that have been caused by brake fluid that's overdue a change.

 

Lol, until you try and do an emergency stop on a fast road, the fluid boils up, you get brake fade and smack into something solid! Do you know about brake fluid? Do you know about its hygroscopic properties? It absorbs moisture and so it's imperitive to replace it regularly. Once it gets old and is full of moisture, yeah it's probably fine for normal driving, but if you REALLY need the brakes one day, when the calipers get really hot, the moisture in the fluid starts to boil, expand and give off steam, causing basically a catastrophic brake failure.

 

I'm quite shocked actually at some of the penny-pinching and complaining about the £50 cost of replacement. It's a basic safety issue people! A bit like buying cheap tyres. The savings are all brilliant until the car ends up embedded in the back of an HGV or in a hedge - was it really worth saving a few hundred quid? Umm no!

 

I might warrant that if you're THAT bothered, then learn yourself some basic mechanical skills? A new bottle of brake fluid is 7 quid and it takes about 20 minutes to flush it through yourself.

10 hours ago, Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

 

Lol, until you try and do an emergency stop on a fast road, the fluid boils up, you get brake fade and smack into something solid! Do you know about brake fluid? Do you know about its hygroscopic properties? It absorbs moisture and so it's imperitive to replace it regularly. Once it gets old and is full of moisture, yeah it's probably fine for normal driving, but if you REALLY need the brakes one day, when the calipers get really hot, the moisture in the fluid starts to boil, expand and give off steam, causing basically a catastrophic brake failure.

 

I'm quite shocked actually at some of the penny-pinching and complaining about the £50 cost of replacement. It's a basic safety issue people! A bit like buying cheap tyres. The savings are all brilliant until the car ends up embedded in the back of an HGV or in a hedge - was it really worth saving a few hundred quid? Umm no!

 

I might warrant that if you're THAT bothered, then learn yourself some basic mechanical skills? A new bottle of brake fluid is 7 quid and it takes about 20 minutes to flush it through yourself.

I'm perfectly aware about moisture in brake fluid, and totally agree it should be maintained just like any other aspect of a car but you can't change the fact that to 90% of people arnt aware or just don't care. 

 

Also, brake pad material is a very good insulator. You take a car to 70mph with flat cold brakes and do an emergency stop once I bet the actual piston doesn't get hot enough to boil wet brake fluid which will still be well over the boiling point of water anyway, it just doesn't conduct heat fast enough. 

 

Maybe true, but then ignorance to servicing and maintenance does not count for much when there is a fatal or life changing accident.

Maybe with years of the same brake fluid unchanged it will not boil, but come winter the h20 will be freezing in winter.

Internal corrosion of the brake system leading to total failure was relevant back decades ago and as much now.

 

The brake fluid change with modern Skoda / VW Group cars was at 2 years and then at each 2 years then was increased to 3 years and each 2 years.

Dealership Service Desk Employees having no technical knowledge often are guilty of not making drivers without knowledge aware of Brake Fluid Changes and why important.

But then the testing of Brake Fluid to see the H20 content is sensible and then there is not always the need to replace at 3 years then every 2 years, 

but that means less income to establishments where Service Desk Employees are telling customers about Brake Fluid changes, niot for Safety but because of Upselling.

It is a shame the Manufacturers & Countries Franchised Dealerships do not consider Servicing & Maintenance Advice by Location Location Location and the countries environmental conditions.

This applies not only with Brakes / Discs / Pads but Brake Fluid changes, and then A/C servicing etc.

If Dealership Technicians stopped reporting 80% worn brakes when they are not even 20% worn, but did tell the Service Desk staff that the Brake Fluid H20 content was checked and it required the Brake Fluid change then that might be more to do with safety rather than profits made through 'Upselling'.

how much brake fluid do we need for a complete change ?

22 hours ago, lab4games said:

how much brake fluid do we need for a complete change ?

1 litre should be sufficient

On 2017-3-17 at 10:01, SC03OTT said:

 

I have (had) the three free services plan at fixed 10k intervals (which should work out at roughly one evey year). I however cover more than 10k miles a year so my third service was well in advance of the three year point. When my car was in for its third service the service advisor said Škoda won't always allow them to change the brake fluid as part of the service pack if you're before the three years. Mine was allowed though. Maybe it was just a bit of schpiel to make me feel good of course. 

Mine got refused as the car was only 18 months old ......

 

Same as you, 3 free 10K services with the PCP which included brake fluid change.