Brake Service / Brake Fluide Change

racer

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When I did a search for the MM codes the "Brake check and service" is relatively vague.. It could mean as little as remove wheel and check brake pad thickness. It could be remove all pins and lubricate.. It could mean adjust parking brake.. it could mean replace/flush all fluid and pads.. it could mean new rotors.

I have read on this board that civic brake "maintenance" seems more involved than most previous cars owned. I also know the dealer is just running through the MM codes and confirming your desire to have a particular service performed. An informed customer makes the decision they want to make.
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tacthecat

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Unpopular opinion: You can probably get away with changing the brake fluid in the master cylinder only. ...
Just doing the MC is a waste of time - the moisture and resulting corrosion accumulates at the bottom end of the loop - the brake cylinders. Get (or do) the service and avoid binding and sticky brakes and save bigger bucks (rotor damage).
 

civicdabest-foo

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Cycling the ABS is probably easier than you think.

As I speak, there are patches of hard packed ice where the ABS is forced to cycle for seconds as the car moves a couple of feet.

I wonder if braking over some cardboard sheets at slow speed will itself get the ABS to cycle. :D
 

CivicXI

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Um... The brake fluid doesn't circulate... It doesn't work like that.

Unpopular opinion: You can probably get away with changing the brake fluid in the master cylinder only. Most of the brake fluid is in the master cylinder, and if you change that, most of your fluid will be clean/new. If any of you watch Eric the Car Guy on youtube, he says that this is what some mechanics do (not him, but he knew some who do this) when you take your care in for a brake fluid change. Eric used to be a Honda/Acura mechanic before becoming a youtube mechanic, and I trust most of the stuff he recommends.

Obviously, a flush would be ideal, but if you're like me and don't want to bleed the brake lines, this is better than nothing.
 

baldheadracing

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You make it sound like this is brain surgery. There is nothing special about the Civic brakes. Brake flushing is pretty simple and straightforward. And they most likely have a machine that automates most of it.
Yes there is.

Anytime you break system integrity on the rear side (change master cylinder, replace rear caliper, etc.,), then the system has to be bled; the electric parking brake cycled 5x; and then the rears bled again.

There is also an unusual flush order for CivicX, including the Type R: Driver front; Pass front; Pass rear; Driver rear.
(Additionally, for the Type R: on the front calipers, outside nipple, then inside nipple)

The ABS system does not have to be cycled.

The recommended procedure in the service manual is the manual method with two people.
 


wokeupgrumpy

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The primary reason you flush brake fluid out of the wheel cylinders is that brake fluid gets really hot when the brakes are applied. . It practically boils which, is why hi-performance applications use DOT4 fluid which has a significantly higher boiling point than DOT3. If you aren't racing, you probably don't need DOT4. M/C and ABS modulator see some heat from the engine but no where near what the wheel cylinders see This has always been true. Back in the day almost no one flushed their brake lines until brake pads/shoes were replaced. Brake fluid, like every other automotive fluid exposed to high heat looses the chemical properties that make it work over time which, can cause component failure. I am about to bleed the brakes on my 2016 LX. I just did it it on my 1998 Blazer which has 4 wheel ABS after replacing the rear calipers using a home made catch bottle (Sprite) and since I had to keep adding fluid to the reservoir I'm assuming it went through the ABS unit as well but I could be wrong. If not well, it lasted 20 years that way and in 20 years I'm betting I won't care if the Civic's ABS is still working or not.
 

civicls

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The second car in the family, a 2007 Toyota Corolla with 214,000kms / 134,000 miles, car work better than when is was new.
So why we what to buy another Civic in 2018 ???

Never change brake fluid* neither MT fluid *or power steering fluid *or engine coolant.

* My car mechanic say don't touch to that.
Yes if you havent changed it in 200k miles then maybe do not touch but as for periodic maintenance, of course change the listed fluids! Especially coolant, changing it has no harm even if it is 200k miles old!
 

razz

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Unpopular opinion: You can probably get away with changing the brake fluid in the master cylinder only. Most of the brake fluid is in the master cylinder, and if you change that, most of your fluid will be clean/new. If any of you watch Eric the Car Guy on youtube, he says that this is what some mechanics do (not him, but he knew some who do this) when you take your care in for a brake fluid change. Eric used to be a Honda/Acura mechanic before becoming a youtube mechanic, and I trust most of the stuff he recommends.

Obviously, a flush would be ideal, but if you're like me and don't want to bleed the brake lines, this is better than nothing.
Is this what you do? i have a 2017 EX civic, and wondering if flushing the fluid is worth while? Or simply removing some of the old and topping off with fresh dot 3 in the resevoir be enough? Had the car for 4 years now, and not changed the brake fluid.

Whats the consensus on brake fluid flush? Does the manual say the sequence?
 

casper

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Is this what you do? i have a 2017 EX civic, and wondering if flushing the fluid is worth while? Or simply removing some of the old and topping off with fresh dot 3 in the resevoir be enough? Had the car for 4 years now, and not changed the brake fluid.

Whats the consensus on brake fluid flush? Does the manual say the sequence?
the service manual does.

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