If your car shows unusual signs, it may be time to check if brake fluid needs changing. Over time your vehicle’s brake fluid gets terrible and causes many problems. These problems are unavoidable and require fresh brake fluid.
How To Check If Brake Fluid Needs Changing In The Car? Inspect the fluid level in the reservoir, or use brake strips to check the health of your car’s brake fluid.
Your car’s brake system is a closed hydraulic fluid system like power steering. Moisture is the biggest threat to any closed hydraulic brake system. So, to make you more related to the car, this content provides enough details about your car’s brake fluid.
How To Check If Brake Fluid Needs Changing In The Car?
How to check if the Brake Fluid of your Car requires changing? Wearing components in your brake system leave copper. It is the actual measurement of how dirty or broken down the brake fluid is. Scan the fluid status in the reservoir and confirm the tank includes healthy Brake fluid.
Anyways, if you want to test the corrosion or the quantity of copper in your brake fluid, BrakeStrip will support you. A BrakeStrip works as a wear indicator that lets you check the health of your car’s brake fluid.
Here’s how to test the brake fluid with BrakeStrip:
- Navigate to the Brake Fluid Reservoir and remove the cover.
- Hold the test strip for 1-second.
- Hold it up to the package and compare the colors. The darker the color purple matches, the more copper is present.
- It indicates the service you may require against your car’s Brake Fluid.
Effortless practice: you can check how terrible your brake fluid has got by comparing the new fluid with the existing one. If you notice that the color is almost near to dark purple, change the Brake Fluid as soon as possible.
Read More: Why 1998 Toyota Camry Brake Lights Not Working
Symptoms Of Low Brake Fluid In Your Car
- Low Brake Fluid will often make your brake pedals tough to push. Besides, you may encounter problems with the brake-pads function.
- Another symptom is that the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS light) will brighten up.
- Unusual sounds will occur while pressing the brakes.
- You may hear Abnormal noises similar to grinding when braking.
- A burning smell may come from the brakes.
- Brakes that won’t stop your car instantly.
How Often Need To Replace Brake Fluid?
Most brake fluid requires a change every 30,000 to 50,000 miles, as specified by your vehicle’s manufacturer maintenance schedule. However, if the color of the liquid seems close to water, it indicates that it is still fresh.
Depending on the color of the Brake fluid, you can decide for yourself when to change it or not. However, experts recommend changing your car’s brake fluid within 18 months or before becoming deep and dark in color.
5 Brake Fluids That Last Longer
Brake Fluid that resists high temperature and has a high DOT number in boiling point lasts longer. DOT numbers range from 1 to 5.1. The higher the number, the higher the boiling point is set.
Here are the five best Brake Fluids that last longer:
- Motul Brake Fluid – DOT 5.1
- EBC Brake Fluid – DOT 4
- Hawk Street Brake Fluid – DOT 4
- ATE Original Brake Fluid – DOT 4
- Prestone Brake Fluid (Synthetic) – DOT 3
Notice: You cannot use DOT 5 brake fluid in most cars because they are not suitable for regular vehicles.
Conclusion
Some people, especially new car owners, need to learn how to check if a car needs a brake fluid change. It includes learning about the symptoms of lousy brake fluid and the deadlines.
Anyways, Brake fluids are essential for security and safety measures. You may not want your car’s brake to stop working when required. So ensure you’re constantly checking the brake fluid’s condition and changing it.