Time for my Mot. On booking an appointment with my local Ford garage the service department asked if I would like my brake fluid changed . Is it really necessary for brake fluid to be changed every two years ?Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you

I got asked the same this afternoon, I said no!

to be honest, they check it, and if they see its in desperate need of it, they will advise you to get it done, however, I dont see why it should need to be done every two years. At a cost of £50 though, and given that its part of the service, I dont understand why the likes of my service plan dont count this in and I have to pay out for it!

I heard a while back that this is going to be added to the Mot, the reason been that brake fluid absorbs moisture into itself, then if you excessively brake say down a steep long hill the heat dissipates from the brakes into your fluid and the moisture turns to steam and next ting you know your peddle is on the floor and brakes dont work one jot. It happened to me once but was young stupid and racing around a old disused factory estate that had being pulled down but the road network was still in place, I was in a 1500cc alfa and racing my mate in his drag strip prepared 3500cc v8 mk1 escort estate we called "king ell" when I lost brakes it took about an hour for them to come back firm, saying that the brake fluid was that old it looked more like whats in your toilet when you have the first wee of the day.

Ps for the record I won cos I couldn't slow down :P

I vote yes, anything that helps the brakes perform to their best ability/helps keep them in good condition is important I would say. At the end of the day your tyres and brakes are the only two things that help you stay on the road.

thankfully I had kwik fit change it earlier in the year, but £50 seems too much...

I ll probably have a brake fluid change this time and maybe look to do it myself in the future. At least then, I can keep the cost down. Following on to where you took your car; I can remember taking my xr2i to Kwik Fit over ten years ago for brake discs and pads all round, cost £400,what a !Removed!.

I needed a basic service, so they did a kwik fit kwik oil service. Oil, filter and a brake fluid change. wasnt bad for the price I paid. They can on ocassion do a good deal, but more often than not - take their feedback with a tonne of salt!

although changing the fluid is a vital job, think every 2 years is a bit excessive.

i use a fluid tester to determine when the fluid needs changing, to me it makes more sense to do it that way.

but if you havent got a tester/cant get one, change it every 4 years is perfectly adequate

Just been on You Tube to see a brake fluid tester in action.Useful little tool. Thanks for that.

and you seem to be able to pick them up relatively cheaply too!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/POCKET-BRAKE-FLUID-TESTER-SUITABLE-FOR-CARS-VANS-BIKES-MOISTURE-CONTENT-/161128018213

I noticed how cheap they can be. Thanks for the link.