break fluid change
 

Honda shop keeps on recommending break fluid change every time i go for oil change. Is it necessary to change break fluid. They have coded it for every 30k miles. When i took it to reliable mechanic shop to do beak fluid, he refused it. He told me not to worry about it. I guess i will take it to his shop again instead of following honda shop recommendations. Any thoughts on this?

Every 3 years is what's recommended. If someone is suggesting you do it every oil change they're trying to rip you off.

I keep on refusing it. It is 5 year old car. I will take it to outside shop. He is a good person. Honda shop also recommended to replace front break pads and resurface rotors. Suppose to be down to 2mm. It will be cheaper to do at outside shop anyway. I have Smart Entry System warning light on. But nothing showed up in Honda shop inspection report.

If it's been five years and you've never done it then it's reasonable for them to keep reminding you.

You can buy a brake fluid tester fairly cheaply from an automotive store or from Amazon. They measure the moisture content of your brake fluid. 1% to 2% water content is OK, 3% means time to change the fluid. That small amount of moisture in the brake fluid can cause a lot of damage. Brake fluid pulls water out of the air over time so the moisture content will just keep slowly going up. Honda has arbitrarily set 3 years as the time to change your fluid. Mileage is irrelevant. So, you can either just change it every three years as Honda recommends or you can measure and monitor the actual moisture content and change it when it starts approaching the 3% level.

I'm guessing that if you live in a dry area such as California or Arizona it will take longer for your brake fluid to become contaminated whereas if you live in a high humidity area like Florida this would happen much more quickly.

I frequent exachage ther reservoir fluid and never really had very long term issues with brakes on my old cars.

I have been replacing my brake fluid now on a once-per-year basis in the fluid reservoir on my 1992 Acura Integra (1 owner & sold in 2017) and 2002 CR-V (1 owner sold in 2019). Brake fluid exchange (whole system) happened every ~ 3 years. Only on my CR-V did I have the rear/passenger-side caliper seize up - hey it lived its life bathed in salt in Minnesota and Northern states.

Brake fluid is right up there with power steering fluid as a fluid that is neglected

Brake fluid is clear but turns darker over time.

Look at the brake fluid reservoir, if you can readily see the level it needs to be changed.

Surprise! Surprise! :D

Need help please, I'm doing rear shoes on a 2015 fit , got the passenger side after some self confusion got cleared up, went to do the drivers side and I can get the wheel cylinders to collapse, however not enough to get the drum back on it appears the adjuster is keeping it from closing enough to get the drum on. HELP

I'm not familiar with the adjuster, but can you see how to loosen the adjuster? The hand brake is off?

Here's some text from chilton's./ I'll see if I can post the drawings.

1. Remove the tension pins (A) by pushing respective shoe clamp springs (B) and turning the pin.
2. Remove brake spring B, and remove the brake shoe assembly over the hub.
3. Remove the forward brake shoe (C) by removing brake spring A, and disassemble the brake shoe
assembly.
4. Remove the rearward brake shoe (D) by disconnecting the parking brake cable from the parking
brake lever (E).
5. Parking Brake Lever - Remove
1. Remove the U-clip (A), wave washer (B), and parking lever pin (C), and separate the parking
brake lever (D) from the brake shoe (E).
Installation
CAUTION
Frequent inhalation of brake pad dust, regardless of material composition, could be hazardous to your health.
Avoid breathing dust particles.
Never use an air hose or brush to clean brake assemblies. Use an OSHA-approved vacuum cleaner.
NOTE:
Keep grease away from the brake drum and the brake shoes.
Refer to the Exploded View as needed during this procedure.

1. Install the parking brake lever (A) and the wave washer (B) on the parking lever pin (C), and
secure with a new U-clip (D).
NOTE: Pinch the U-clip securely to prevent the parking brake lever from coming out of the brake
shoe (E).
2. Connect the parking brake cable to the parking brake lever.
2. Brake Shoe - Install
1. Apply a thin coat of Molykote 44 MA grease to the edge of the shoe surfaces (A) that contact the
backing plate as shown. Wipe off any excess.
NOTE: Keep grease off the brake linings.
2. Install connecting rod A and B on the adjuster bolt (C).
NOTE:
Clean the threaded portions of connecting rod A and the sliding surface of connecting rod B,
then coat them with Molykote 44MA grease.
Shorten connecting rod A by fully turning in the adjuster bolt.

3. Assemble the brake shoes, the brake spring A (D), and the connecting rods with the adjuster bolt
against the backing plate, then install the adjuster lever (E) and the adjuster spring (F) on the
forward brake shoe (G).
4. Install the brake spring B (H).
NOTE: Make sure the brake shoe positioning on the brake shoe bosses of the backing plate, and
fitting the top of the brake shoes onto the wheel cylinder pistons.
5. Install the tension pins (A) and the shoe clamp springs (B) by pushing in respective spring and
turning each pin.
3. Brake Drum - Install
4. Rear Wheels - Install
5. Parking Brake - Adjust
1. Press the brake pedal several times to make sure the brakes work and to set the self-adjusting
brake.
NOTE: Engagement of the brakes may require a greater pedal stroke immediately after the brake
shoes have been replaced as a set. Several applications of the brake pedal will restore the normal
pedal stroke.
2. Adjust the parking brake.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...d0054cf593.jpg
ID DIAGRAM
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...0ba248d93c.jpg
BRAKE SHOE INSTALL 1
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...7244a69e7f.jpg
BRAKE SHOE INSTALL 2
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...9e5895fb59.jpg
BRAKE SPRING INSTALL
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...e19f4d3210.jpg
PARKING BRAKE LEVER INSTALL
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...d91bf9bb02.jpg
PARKING BRAKE LEVER REMOVE
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...3414fad7e5.jpg
TENSION PINS 1
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...81721d8a30.jpg
TENSION PINS 2

Brake fluid absorb water. In Australian, Europe Mexico says t change it every 3 years. regarding milage. I did it myself. When I went to the dealer to ask about the size of the screw they told me they never ever bleed the fluid they just change it. Manual easy use dot 3, but honda only sells dot 4. So it is backwards compatible. You can youse dot 5.1 it is better but like 5 dollar more expsenvie.
So yes, change the brake fluid, even tho it has not water fluid get contaminated (dark) so with all the psi you can destroy in the long run the hoses thus the abs system.
If you are not going to change it every 3 years what you can do is with a syringe suck up all the old brake fluid and put new one. Without bleeding. Erick the car guy has done this procedure in honda veichle and says honda do it at the dealer. So you might be safe .

exchange just the fluid in the reservoir does help some but wouldn’t get all the moisture out from the tubing and calipers where the corrosion takes place and cause stuck calipers. You should bleed through the system at all the wheels.

That's good that you do the reservoir, but the fluid goes bad starting at the caliper from the brakes heat.

I change my fluid every 2-3 years based on if just time or if I need the brakes done. When I autocross, I would do them every season in the spring. There would be a noticeable feel in the brake pedal before and after the fluid change.

Run as fast as your two feet will take you.

I agree - ABS and brake system need fresh fluid replenishment ~ 2 years once they're at the 30000 mile mark. I take out the fluid in the reservoir and replace it every year with fresh and every 2 years bleed the brakes. 17+ years on my CRV and many more on my Integra GS-R and never had to replace a caliper.

I had SpeedBleeders on a couple of cars. Each one had a check-ball inside, so bleeding was simpler - no opening and closing the bleeder as the brake pedal was lowered and raised. Maybe I'll get them for the Fit.

Speed Bleeder Main Page

As others have said, 3 years is a good rule of thumb, but if your fluid is brown or contaminated, do it sooner. New brake fluid is the color is olive oil or lighter. As it ages, it gets brown. Your big concern is water (moisture). Brake fluid is hygroscopic.

Maybe he's honest. Maybe he's incompetent. Maybe he's lazy. I took a car to an independent shop once and specifically told them to flush the brake system. When I went to pick up the car, it had not been done. The shop owner said it "didn't need it." My brake fluid was dark brown, and it had been more than 3 years. I don't go to shops that don't do what I tell them to do, so that was the last time for me.

Leave a shop that doesn't do what you ask. Prime Honda (Boston) said they rotated my tires when I picked up the car - I showed them in the Bay that my RED CLAY pen marks for FL (front left)...RR were unchanged. I made a big stink and had both the site Manager and Service Manager come out an apologize in front of everyone. I'll never return there. I've since purchased a Low Profile lift and learned to rotate my own tires AND did both my neighbors and now have cases of bubbly refreshment as a reward.

Car dealers are awful. I've been buying cars since 1965, and I've known only one good dealer - Irwin Motors in NH. I could never understand why that have to - and get away with - lying and stealing. Although, our local Toyota dealer got in big trouble maybe twenty years ago. I forget the details, but I think they were adding hundreds of dollars to the price of each car. Buying used from an individual is the way to go. I think salesmen who are too unscrupulous even for new car dealerships wind up as used car salesmen.

This.

Put the b*st*rds out of business by doing it yourself (or, at least, having a fellow Fitfreaker do it for/with you).

It troubles me that Honda has stopped selling Service Manuals. But I guess lots of things trouble me about the Honda of the last 10+ years.