the story:
i let the dealer take care of all the maintenance... and i just had the 30k done
the battery died three times within two months, leaving me stranded at late night looking for a jump start.
so i decided to lift up the hood to see what's going on and saw these...

i assume these are not normal at all right?

sorry about the crappy phone cam pics, left the camera at friend's place...

 

Looks like the brake fluid from the container is leaking. Is the cap even on right? Is the fluid level above the MAX level?

 

^^Agreed. The cap isn't even on. Looks like when they did that maintenance, someone was trying to be nice and fill that up for you, however, the numbnut forgot to put it back on tight. Guess what, you have a free brake flush in your future from the dealer. That fluid attracts moisture and it is ruined, so the whole system needs to be flushed.

 

nope, doesn't look right. take it back and complain. i don't think that would affect your battery dying tho

 

The cap looks OK to me.

What service was done at 30k? Any brake work?

I am guessing that they changed the brake pads and when they were resetting the calipers they didn't siphon the extra fluid out of the reservoir. That is a mess and you should take your car back to to dealer to and have them clean it us. Brake fluid is messy stuff.

 

at 30k .. brake flush is done .. its on your owner's manual. since dealer handles all maint. work. i say they for got to close the cap.

 

Really? Did you check the owner's manual? In fact there's no mileage interval for the brake fluid. It should be changed at 3years for severe service/6years normal service.

Back to topic.....From the picture the cap looks tight. Poss the dealer changed or topped off the fluid and was sloppy. All it looks like is needed is a little clean up. Either do it yourself or take it back to them. Water is the best thing to clean up spilled brake fluid. Just be sure the cap is on tight before you spray water near the master cylinder.

 

After cleaning it up, get reservoir covers . It will soak up future spilled fluids.

 

FWIW, the owner's manual for your 2004 TSX may be a little different from the one for the 2007 model (and other years?). "Replace the brake fluid every 3 years, independent of mileage." p. 296.

The Maintenance Journal includes something similar. "Note: Independent of the maintenance message the multi-information display: (included in a list of 3 items) Replace brake fluid every 3 years."

So you are correct regarding no mileage interval. However, neither of the two 2007 model documents include any mention of 3 years for severe service and 6 years for normal service. Three years for everyone.

 

well i was thinking since its 2004 and 30k .. its already been 3 years

and since its 30k, mostlikely brake pad is wearing down and so they'll fill up the fluid because its gonna be low due to brake pad being used and worn

 

Interesting that the ('04 at least) Owner's manual and the Service manual do not agree on this. My '04 Service manual shows a 6yr normal/3yr severe interval for brake fluid change. The '04 Owner's manual has only the "3yrs regardless of mileage" wording.

O.P.'s car appears to be an '06 so per the maintenance schedule, it doesn't yet need the brake fluid replaced (doesn't mean it wasn't done).

 

I think it would be prudent to ALWAYS check under the hood for any obvious signs of incompetence (ie. caps not tightened or even not put back in place, which happened to me in another vehicle and another Car company for which I will never mention here as they don't deserve any advertisement - good or bad!) after each servicing!

I live by this mantra nowadays. Here is my protocol whenever I bring my car in for servicing and get my car back:

1) Check for any dents/scratches with the service advisor before I hand him/her my keys for work done. Show her/him that I am giving them my keys with NO physical flaws

2) Explain what I need done and made sure that is conveyed in his/her work order (sometimes they can even screw that part up. They note what is needed to be done, but write or check-mark the wrong thing(s)!

When I get my car back:
1) Give my car a once-over for any physical imperfections (ie. scratches/dents), made sure that my air caps on my tires are still there
2) Open my hood up and do a sweep-look to see if all the caps are where they're supposed to be and screwed on tight
3) Make sure all the fluids (brakes, transmission, oil, windshield, etc) are at max level
4) Check my odometer reading to make sure nobody has taken it for an extra long "test drive" (if the work doesn't warrant it)