Brakes, What is best

Frequent inspection of the brakes is more important than just replacing anything on any particular schedule.

Depending on the climate, and with sufficiently regular inspection, many owners will still be on the original brake parts at double your mileage.

Have you inspected yours yet, or are you just assuming there is a problem?

 

It does naturally drop as the pads wear. It is also tricky to check the level, because the system has a pressurized accumulator that the fluid is pumped into, which makes the level in the reservoir look lower.

The lines marked on the reservoir are designed to be read when the pressure is zeroed down and all the fluid is back to the reservoir. If you're not checking it at consistent times when that's the case, it can look lower.

The only time you should expect to see it at the MAX line is when all the pads are brand new and the accumulator is zeroed down.

 

Are you saying that over the last two months, you have seen it lower, and also seen it higher, after it was lower, without adding any fluid?

If so, that's exactly what I was describing. The brake system includes a pressure accumulator and pump. When it has pressurized itself, the reservoir level will look lower. If the car has been parked for a while and the pressure is reduced, the reservoir level will be higher.

If you are not consistent about the conditions when you observe the level, you will not be able to conclude much from what you observe.

 

If the brakes are not worn they don’t need replacement. They may however need maintenance, lubrication of contact points, etc. They may be worn, but that will vary wildly based on your driving style. Ours has 135k miles on it now and had the brakes done once in the first 70k miles. The fronts were down to 3/32”. The rear drum linings were only moderately worn, but definitely not new. We went ahead and did both fronts/rears. That’s also when that car was doing daily commuting in heavy stop/go traffic in and out of DC for about five years. For the last three years it’s been doing five times as many miles as before but with less traffic on the commute and the brakes are in great condition.