I was wrong about brake fluid being brake fluid for 20 years

Last Tuesday I had a customer bring in a 2010 Chevy Impala with a mushy pedal. I flushed the system with standard DOT 3 like I always do. Next day he came back complaining the pedal felt worse. Turns out his manual called for DOT 4 and mixing them can lower the boiling point by a lot. I checked the service manual on a 2018 Ford Transit after that and saw it specified DOT 4 Low Viscosity. Has anyone else run into this where manufacturers started getting picky about fluid types in the last decade?

2 comments

2 Comments

cora5623d ago

Wait, is that why my old Ford Focus pedal went to crap after a fluid flush?

grant.margaret2d ago

Wait, DOT 4 Low Viscosity is a separate thing? I thought all DOT 4 was basically the same. That's wild they'd make that a specific spec.