Quoted brake fluid change at 30K miles

No and yes.


Brake fluid does absorb moisture from the air. Moisture laden brake fluid can flash to vapor under the heat of emergency braking (it happened to a friend), your brake pedal goes to the floor, and you crash. Higher performance DOT4 brake fluid absorbs moisture more readily than the usual DOT3 fluid due to the chemicals that give the DOT4 fluid the higher wet boiling point.

So, follow the owner's manual. If you want to do more, especially in a high humidity region, get the brake fluid changed every two years. Mileage means nothing. Do not assume that the brake fluid is good for life. It isn't. When you have brake work done, require them to renew the fluid as well.

Synthetic brake fluid is required. Required, because all brake fluid is synthetic. There is nothing natural about polyglycol ether. Don't be swayed by marketing hype on the label.

 

I've heard of changing it every two years. Which would be about 30k miles for the average car in the US.
But the moisture build up is more a factor of time, not driven miles. So it is likely unnecessary at this time.

Some of my past owner's manuals didn't mention brake fluid at all.

 

It's still not in the US maintenance shedule, but Canadian schedule calls for tri-yearly or 30K miles (48K kms). Honda Canada's ALWAYS said tri-yearly, regardless of miles.

For DIY watch @NutzAboutBolts video on the brake fluid change, it's not that hard. The video is 3rd gen, but Prime I'd suspect is very similar. You can get a day's Techstream subscription, download the brake fluid change and a batch of the more common maintenance items while you're at it, to make sure. You likely will need to put the car in "invalid" mode, if it's per 3rd gen.

You need some kind of catch container, big Kirkland Mayo jar with a hole in the lid worked for me. Also some tubing, 8 and 10 mm box wrenches, a bleed bolt fitting is handy (automotive specialty stores should have), a big syringe with tube extension and as skinny a tip as possible. Also, a couple of pints of Toyota DOT3 fluid should do, that's around $15 in total.

Is it worthwhile? I think so. How much is the dealership asking for this. It shouldn't be much more than $100, it's not that hard.

 

Call me stupid. I have been driving for I hate to admit it 55 years and have never changed my brake fluid. Me Bad. And have never had a problem.

 

I've gone some time between changes.

An issue with cars with ABS systems and DIYing the change is that you won't be able to flush out the cross lines that are operated by solenoids without some way of accessing their control. I personally don't worry about it, but it is something to consider.

 

Not necessary & overpriced.

 

i haven't done mine yet.

 

A friend was towing his horse trailer down Mt. Adams (one of Washington State's volcanoes) with his pickup. His brake pedal went to the floor. He was able to get stopped by downshifting, using his parking brake, and a lucky pull-off in a good location. He was freaked out. He didn't know what to do. He calmed down, and checked things out. No apparent problem. The horse was OK. After a time he got back in, and the brakes felt fine. Needless to say, he continued down very slowly, and this time downshifted a lot on the descents. Took the truck to his mechanic. Nothing wrong except the old, moisture laden brake fluid.

This shows one way to test brake fluid. I've never heard of anyone actually doing the test. One other thing to consider is the humidity of the region where the car is operated. SF Bay Area, the original poster's location, isn't humid like many other regions. The dryer the air, the less moisture the brake fluid will pick up.
https://www.bendix.com.au/sites/default/files/news-uploads/bendix-brake-fluid-testing-technical-bulletin-prj-05385-2015.pdf

There is no need for a 100% flush of the ABS system and all parts unless there is contamination from foreign material--somebody put motor oil or antifreeze or something else into the brake system. Renewal of the vast proportion of the brake fluid will be a big help. Just renewing the fluid in the reservoir is little help, because there is no circulation in the system.

Also damaging to brake fluid is extreme overheating. Any vehicle with smoking brakes needs new brake fluid as well as rotors/drums and pads/shoes. And all the elastomer parts that got cooked as well--piston seals, etc.

 

Follow the manual! It never mentions that.

 

With regen the Prius is extremely easy on the brake fluid. On going on my 12th year with original fluid. Not proud waiting for a complete brake rebuild someday when the brakes don't work great like they do now.

 

RTFM

(1) Unless you use your car for driver's ed training, you have 5 teenage kids, or you're just a really REALLY bad driver you should have virtually no wear on your brakes.

(B) There is a non-zero percent chance that this dealer would perform this non-scheduled maintenance incorrectly....or even not perform it at all, which may be the better of the two outcomes if your dealer is desperate (or greedy) enough to try to shake their customers down for extra maintenance on a car that is supposed to be leading the pack in dependability!!

(III) What else have they tried to sell you?
Throttle body or injector service?
ATF flush?

 

Ok, lessee..., from Toyota Canada:

 

Two years is the time frame between brake fluid changes, the prii don’t heat up brake fluid like every other car, so let’s gap up to three years, one year......might check other dealers, some have gold in their eyes, none are regulated.

 

US manual does not mentioned to change brake fluid at all.

 

Yes I understand that.

 

Dealership = Stealership...enough said

 

Different climates. Canada's weather and seasons could lead to more moisture getting to the brake fluid.

 

Sell that one to the folks in North Dakota and Alaska? More like an intellectual border: more showbiz than engineering involved in a lot of the difference policies, around the world. FWIW, 90% of the Canadian population lives within 100 miles of the US border.

For $15 worth of DOT3 and an hour's easy work, I'll stick to 3 year interval.

 

Opinions regarding brake fluid test strips ?