My 2006 RL has over 50k miles and i know that the brake fluid was never replaced. It is pretty dark and i would like to flush it by bleeding all four corners.

Last time i did brake bleeding it was on an old Ford truck with no ABS. Here are some questions i have for the RL:

1. On the RL, (or any other car with ABS) ...during the bleeding process, do i need to keep the engine running so brake booster and ABS are activated??

2. Should i be concerned that the RL has 4-piston calipers on the front or it is still a simple standard procedure?

3. Recommended brake fluid or i can go with any brand name DOT4/DOT5 fluid (Valvoline, STP, etc)?

Thanks!

 

1) No you do not need the engine running to bleed the brakes. In fact, I actually believe it maybe dangerous to do so. On the RL, when you bleed the brakes it will also take care of any fluid within the ABS so you don't have to do anything special for the ABS. I only mention this cause on some early 90's Honda/Acura's the ABS had a secondary resivoir that needed special bleeding. The current units can be bled like any non-ABS vehicle.

2) No additional concern due to the 4piston setup. Bleed like normal.

3) I would stick with Honda/Acura fluid. Definitely DO NOT use DOT 5!! It is incompatible with our cars. My reason for the Honda/Acura fluid is that it doesn't cost that much more than the stuff at walmart and I believe it is formulated to not react with the seals & gaskets in the braking system. Thus, by using the OEM stuff you can potentially prevent a costly component failure at a later date. Now I don't know this for certain, but some folks that I respect mentioned it to me and since it doesn't cost that much more than off-brands, it really isn't a big deal.

Hope that helps.