Brake Fluid Change - Realistic Interval?
#1
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Brake Fluid Change - Realistic Interval?
Hi,
I'm wondering what you guys think is the realistic interval for a brake fluid change on the E60. I have a 2004 525i with my last brake fluid change done 20,000 miles ago, which was over four years ago. It was done at the BMW dealer.
This car drives less than 5,000 per year and is never "hard driven" (with the 525i, there is really not too much performance anyway...)
What do you guys/gals think, what is the realistic brake fluid change interval? I have reset the iDrive brake fluid interval manually, but I got no messages about any issues.
Please share your thoughts. Thank you.
I'm wondering what you guys think is the realistic interval for a brake fluid change on the E60. I have a 2004 525i with my last brake fluid change done 20,000 miles ago, which was over four years ago. It was done at the BMW dealer.
This car drives less than 5,000 per year and is never "hard driven" (with the 525i, there is really not too much performance anyway...)
What do you guys/gals think, what is the realistic brake fluid change interval? I have reset the iDrive brake fluid interval manually, but I got no messages about any issues.
Please share your thoughts. Thank you.
#2
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My Ride: '06 530i, '07 C280 4matic, '98 ML320
I have seen recommendations of brake fluid change interval of 2 years. And some people say they never change brake fluid. Somewhere in between those two is probably right interval :-)
Given that your car's brake fluid was last changed over 4 years ago / 20K miles ago, I recommend you plan to change at your earliest convenience. It's not something you have to run out and do it immediately.
Given that your car's brake fluid was last changed over 4 years ago / 20K miles ago, I recommend you plan to change at your earliest convenience. It's not something you have to run out and do it immediately.
#3
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My Ride: 535i M Sport
Model Year: 2010
Brake fluid is hygroscopic -- it absorbs moisture over time (which is why the change interval is schedule-based, not mileage-based) and if not changed regularly, can cause internal brake components (ABS, caliper pistons, etc) to rust and fail. Replacing the fluid is cheap and easy insurance.
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My Ride: 2004 E60 520i SE 2.2 Auto
I have always changed it every 2 years
My 520i is almost 10 years old and from the very first service, I have always changed it.
The computerised display always had it as one of the items to change during service interval which were normally every two years, as I do very little mileage (2-3k pa).
I always wondered why it would need changing every 2 years when on some other cars it is less frequent than that. Some of the answers above were very useful to explain.
Not so sure about it being cheap. The oil itself is cheap but the labour required doubles the servicing cost normally as it is time consuming, every wheel needs to be taken off in order to bleed the old oil out.
The computerised display always had it as one of the items to change during service interval which were normally every two years, as I do very little mileage (2-3k pa).
I always wondered why it would need changing every 2 years when on some other cars it is less frequent than that. Some of the answers above were very useful to explain.
Not so sure about it being cheap. The oil itself is cheap but the labour required doubles the servicing cost normally as it is time consuming, every wheel needs to be taken off in order to bleed the old oil out.
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My Ride: I have a 2007 Black Sapphire BMW 530i with SMG. It has the auburn interior, has PDC, Sports Package, Premium Package, rear automatic sunshades with manual side sunshades, 35% black tint, Upgraded angeleyes from Angelibrights, and Logic 7 Sound System
Model Year: 2007
Here is what happens when you don't change your brake fluid for 40,000 miles due to being under factory maintance (leason learned the hard way): https://5series.net/forums/e60-discu...-issue-123042/
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My Ride: 2008 BMW 550i Sport
Model Year: 2008
Engine: N62
I just changed the fluid on my car today, and it was pretty dark and nasty looking after just 2 years. The dealer supposedly changed it in Dec 2011 at 41k miles...I say supposedly because I currently have 57k miles on the car and I'm surprised at the way the fluid looked after just15k miles.