Yesterday I went to my local Honda dealer and brought 2 - 12 oz. cans of brake fluid, the guy in the service dept. said that should be enough to flush the brakes. Honda won't work on my TL, so I've been having maintenance done at STS Tire, where they rotate my tires for free.

I gave the 2 cans of fluid to the mechanic at STS, and when he finished flushing the brakes he gave me back a can and said he was able to do it with 1 can of fluid. I saw him jack the car up so I don't think he just topped it off, and the receipt said flush, not fill. Can he have actually flushed the brake fluid with just a 12 oz. can of fluid?

 

I use just under a quart doing my TL with a full flush to clean plus a few extra to make sure the calipers are flushed well
Some people need 1.5 qts- guess its all about system condition
If your fluid is in decent condition it makes the job simple and fast

 

receipts and what occured cannot be counted on-
a desk person punches a button, that does not guarantee what work was really done!

 

I know - that's why I'm asking you guys.

 

like I said, I can do a TL brake fluid full flush- with just under 1 qt of fluid
Other members here say it takes them 1.5 qts.

The tech was nice and returned the extra bottle instead of pocketing it
Once a can is open- its only good for 6 months and then has to be disposed of.
If foil seal intact- its fine to keep for next years change- yes thats right- every year from now on!
Moisture gets into the opened bottle- the enemy of fluid.. and why we changed it in the first place!

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Another great reason of living in a desert. Very little moisture in the air. I've had brake fluid containers sealed by just the cap for many months. Although, I wouldn't suggest leaving it sit for over a year.

 

I flushed mine with a full 1 quart of Castrol GT LMA.. I sucked out all the fluid in the reservoir and drained each line until it was clear.

I think that is an equivalent to 32 oz. so.. you said he used only 12 oz.. He probably just sucked out the reservoir portion and re-filled it rather than flush all 4 lines. You should be very skeptical of those type of shops.. believe me.. I have acquaintances who work at similar shops and I wouldn't let them put air in my tire (seriously).

At minimum it should take you 20-24 fluid ounces to do a full job.. my fluid had water sediment so i had to use a little more than usual to do a complete flush.

 

haha... I just finished doing mine and will take it for a test drive after I write this ... so wish me luck!

Anywho, I did a complete flush, draining the reservoir (baster) and bleeding all four brakes (2 valves on the MT brembos) and it took me a 32oz can and a 12 oz can. I watched until most of the brownish Honda fluid was replaced with the clear syn Valvoline (DOT3 & DOT4) fluid. The front right outside valve gave me nasty rust and air, so I bled that one extra, as it kept giving me tiny air bubbles.

So to answer your question, there is no way in hell he flushed the system on one 12oz can. You need about 32oz, unless you just open the valve and give her one or two shots. That would be "bleeding" and not a "complete flush."

Good luck, this kind of stuff you can really do yourself, it is so easy bro. Call a friend over to pump your brakes (I used the wifey) and 30 minutes later you are done cracking a cold one.

 

I doubt that he could have done a very thorough job of flushing with only 12oz of fluid. I think he should have used both containers.

 

Can't do it myself, I have no place to work. My car is parked in a dungeon - and I pay $250 a month for the privilege. That's a column on the driver's side!



And fyi I'm not a bro, Anthracite Queen = female, not gay.

Well I guess I have to find someone new to work on my car. How do you find an independent Acura mechanic?

 

NYC sucks for car owners! Glad I don't live there.

 

are you sure you bought 12 ounce containers? very small bottles, the size of your hand??

sucking the old fluid from the master and refilling it does ZERO for protecting the brake system, but has been used by more than one tech to make it appear they did the job
I dont know why techs dislike this job so much- its easy,,,if your not the person pumping the pedal a hundred times or more

All moisture gets pushed down into the calipers, as it compresses- and hydraulic fluid doesnt
Brake fluid does NOT circulate- it only moves back and forth a very limited amount in the line

Go back and speak with the Service MANAGER-Explain whats hapopened and that you belong to acurazine- the acura tech forum

Have them put the car on a lift and helper tech pumps brake pedal-
tech opens bleeder valve (signs of recent wrench on bleeder and fluid spillage SHOULD be present if you look)
If its been flushed it will be a clear to light yellow color and no bubble should come out, that would be really bad!!!
If it comes out dirty- tech tightens bleeder valve, manager gives you a full refund with apology and you look in the phone book under automobile service and repair, there will be small ads for places with a honda/acura shown or named specifically
Those are specailty shops
Honda dealer should be able to do it too
Make sure whoever does it can tell you the correct order is LF left front then clockwise
LF RF RR LR
If they cant tell you that- no touching my car thank you~
the tech should know, not the service writer, and a good tech will not be offended if yo usay the last guy was really bad so you just want top make sure this is the place for all your work--what is the order???

for the posater who had bubbles- did you expose the holes in the master cylinder at any time- that starts a fresh batch of air bubbles thru the line
Have to be careful of getting low on fluid during any flush or bleed

btw-fyi- bleed is when a line has been opened and air is known/suspected.
bubbles are air
Flush is remove most of the old fluid from master-refill with new and start at LF wheel, do it till clean then a few more times...
If you go to flush and you get bubbles- find the source of the leak, another valve left open? rust on the one you are at preventing seal?

These are your brakes we are talking about- IMO-the most important part of the car,,,
unless you have Fred Flinstone feet

 

Brembos hold a lot of fluid hense why it takes so much fluid to flush. I think the OP has an auto so he has regular brakes which means he would need less fluid. Not sure if 12 oz. would be enough fror an auto but I would say no more than 24.

 

Yes I have the unused container here, it's 12 oz. When I bought the fluid at Honda, the guy in the service dept. said I'd need 2 or 3 to flush (but they won't work on Acuras there).

I'll just go somewhere else next time and chalk this up as a bad experience, it's not worth going back to STS. If they don't do good work I don't want them touching my car.

And thanks for the tip about looking in the phone book for an ad with an Acura icon.

 

You need 1 qt to flush the system well.

Sears does brake fluid flushes for $35. I would bring your own fluid though as they use bulk brake fluid and I wouldn't trust that system.

Our local Sears here let's me watch them. They do a good job. But this often varies by location, so YMMV.

Also, there's no need to use the Genuine Honda brake fluid. Any DOT3/DOT4 fluid from a sealed container will do the job. I like the DOT3/DOT4 fluid from Valvoline. It comes in 1 qt containers (white colored container with blue label) for $7 and it's readily available.