Maintenance minder question (brake fluid)

gtman

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A little background. My work commute is only 9 miles so I don't rack up the mileage. I only have 12,000 miles on my car in a little over two years. After getting my second oil change in February, the MM reset to A1... just an oil change basically.

Today, I checked the MM to see where my oil life was (80%) and was shocked to see the MM now showing A7... oil change and brake fluid change. Clearly, my brake fluid is fine with only 12,000 on the clock so is this a time thing? Does the A7 reminder pop up at the two year mark no matter what mileage?
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PowerPerLiter

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I definitely would go ahead and do it. Brake fluid is "hygroscopic" and pulls moisture into itself out of the humidity in the air (if your driving the car or not this is always occurring to some degree). Plus our clutch hydraulics are built into this system and shares the same fluid with the brake system. All the more reason to stay up on it. Plus its easy to do/cheap to do. Even At my dealerships the range is anywhere from 129-149 to get it done by a tech. If you go this route just ask for it to go to a mainline tech and not an express tech.

Ninja edit: dont know how I spaced on the fact that you have a cvt. So disregard the clutch hydraulics portion of the above.

I still would if your going to love car long time.
 
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gtman

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Interesting point on the humidity. I live in a fairly humid area. Thanks for the info. Since my oil is still at 80%, it'll be a while until my next dealer visit. I guess I'll go ahead and do the brake fluid change as well. I can request a "mainline" tech? I didn't realize that.
 

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Interesting point on the humidity. I live in a fairly humid area. Thanks for the info. Since my oil is still at 80%, it'll be a while until my next dealer visit. I guess I'll go ahead and do the brake fluid change as well. So, I can request a "mainline" tech?
The absolute best thing you can do is find a back way to walk in the shop and talk to a couple technicians (you can take this advise as far as you want....hold interviews for a technician you could request every time after trust is gained with any particular person)...they will want your business and should give a few minutes of their time....or usually there are a few out back smoking occasionally. You can request anything be done any certain way you want. Matter of fact being the nice guy that has some demands of specifics gets you far. Be real with the advisor and be nice as you can and your dealer interaction will be exponentially better...trust me...

You could even look on the website and find the names of the service techs that are "seasoned"...look for master certified....have more than one option ready in case so and so is off the day you go in. Its as simple as "so and so is the only tech I want to work on the car" and be prepared to work with them to allow this to happen.
 
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PowerPerLiter

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Usually when you get anything over an oil change/tire rotate/mpi it goes over to a true technician anyway....just some suggestions
 


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incorrect its not a perfect seal. Even with auto crossing the car since brand new the ricer brake master cylinder sock I have had on it would get wet on the sides a small amount.

The honda and toyota caps in particular are not solid lockup lids like a screw on type reservoir.
 

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there is no way for humidity to get into the brake system,

unless you are opening and closing your master cylinder every day
In a theoretical, perfect, ideal world, this would be true. Unfortunately, we live in the real world, where seals are not perfect.
 

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_dc_

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The prevailing theory is that A7 is a time-based code that's set when the fluid is added at the factory. If you were to look at your VIN's build date, I imagine it was sometime around 3 (ish) years ago.

Like oil, brake fluid has a shelf life. I explain a little more in this thread:
https://www.civicx.com/threads/brak...ly-33k-highway-miles.20247/page-5#post-542348
My '17 was built in October 2016. I got the 7 code on my last service, May 2019, so about 2.5 years. However, I also have driven 75000km.
 
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gtman

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With my low mileage driving, my MM comes up at about 10 months or 5,000 miles between oil changes. So, based on that, my next oil change will probably be around December. That would be almost exactly 3 years from my build date so that 3 year theory seems accurate. Apparently it's based on time mostly, not mileage.

Design, thanks for the link to the other thread. It's seems Honda is erring on the side of caution like you mentioned there.
 
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latole

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there is no way for humidity to get into the brake system,

unless you are opening and closing your master cylinder every day
Brake fluid may come hot and when it coming cold you may (?) get some humidity.
Same with engine oil

Our last cars in the family with 12 to 15 years old and more than 120,000 miles on each. I never change brake fluid and never have issue with brake systems.
They where not Honda. Is 10 gen Civics are more "fragile " ? I don't think so.

I did not say don't change your brake oil, follow what you think is the better for you.
I don't use MM. I don't need it.
 

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Got my A17 code last week. I've only driven 10k miles but the car left the factory about 2.8 years ago.
 

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We have to keep in mind that new cars nowadays don't need as much maintenance as it used to, compared to the old days for a tune-up we had to replace spark plugs, cable,points,rotor, distributor cap...etc.
Car makers/dealership want to suck you in for a few dollars sometimes, some maintenance could be extended. I'm sure you could go 4-5 years with your brake fluid, but if you want to feel safe you can get it done.
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