Brake Fluid Replacement

[Odyssey USA]

That's a better question for the dealer, and it may vary by dealer. For my purposes, I don't see any need to use anything other than the recommended DOT 3 fluid, given that I'm flushing every few years. Keeps the boiling point of the fluid nice and high and moisture to an acceptable minimum.

That’s what I was going for with the synthetic. Less moisture, higher boiling point.

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[azjl#3]

In my experience, it costs about $200 at a dealer and it's worth every penny given the fairly long change interval (2-5 years).

At home, there are easy ways to do it, and slow/annoying ways to do it. The one problem is you also need to flush the ABS module which, I've encountered, cannot be done without a Star Scan tool or similar. See note about dealer above...lol. Without flushing the ABS module (pump) your flush is incomplete.

That said, flushing at home isn't NOT worth doing. I recommend this product as I use it on my older vehicles. They have general instructions and videos on their website. I can't recommend a specific video on JL's but a quick search on Youtube should plug you right in.

https://www.motiveproducts.com/collections/brake-bleeder-kits

this, use the oem stuff, unless you know how to bleed and reset the abs, let a dealer, but whichever, use something and change it at 3 years or so. dot5 is not going to get you anything you will notice.

 

[OBD]

Yeah, not even sure why DOT 5.0 is still on the market given its incompatibility with all other variations.

Certain motorcycles require DOT 5, and it is not that easy to completely flush a system. Mix dot 3 or 4 with dot 5,and you have something similar to pudding after a few months.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Certain motorcycles require DOT 5, and it is not that easy to completely flush a system. Mix dot 3 or 4 with dot 5,and you have something similar to pudding after a few months.

Yeah, motorcycle brake systems are subjected to more water than automobiles so using DOT 3, 4, or 5.1 would mean you would have to change the fluid more often in a motorcycle because those fluids are hygroscopic (pulls water from the air) versus DOT 5.0 which is silicone based and repels water.

However, the ability to repel water is a trade-off because DOT 5.0 is more compressible than DOT 3, 4, or 5.1 so it has less braking "performance" due to some of the braking power being lost in the compression of the fluid.

In the end, DOT 5.1 is highest performance fluid for most automobiles, but that typically comes at a higher cost as well as more frequent fluid changes particularly in high humid environments, which even further increases the cost versus DOT 3 or DOT 4.

Fluid Type​	Dry Boiling Point °C​	Wet Boiling Point °C​
DOT 3	257​	157​
DOT 4	263​	162​
DOT 5.1	270​	183​

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