Brake fluid change

[Jamie_88]

Hi all.

I've been in the process of getting some items fixed on the car before VT'ing it. A wheel bearing was replaced under warranty and Audi informed me that the brake fluid needs changing (I'm not sure why they wouldn't have just changed it and when queried they said it would cost £65 WOW I'll do it myself).

Is there any specific brake fluid needed? I'll probably just top it up myself. The car is a 2015 1.4 TFSI COD S-Line.

Thanks all.

 

[davc]

My local dealer charged me £25 for the fluid change last week when it was in for its 38k service.

VAG Dot4 is the stuff you want, you can pick it up for less than a tenner if you shop around.

It is considered an optional service item so will not be done without your approval, a bit like the Aircon service.

 

[Rob2k68]

£25 that’s a bargain !!!

I always use Castrol React Performance dot 4 or Millers Oils High Performance Racing Brake Fluid dot 4 for 3 x the price !!


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[AJB]

Audi informed me that the brake fluid needs changing (I'm not sure why they wouldn't have just changed it and when queried they said it would cost £65 WOW I'll do it myself).

Is there any specific brake fluid needed? I'll probably just top it up myself. The car is a 2015 1.4 TFSI COD S-Line.

It's not about topping it up - the level should be between min and max anyway unless something's leaking. Changing the brake fluid means flushing it all through to replace all the fluid in the system. The fluid itself is pretty cheap, but it's a somewhat hateful job - I don't enjoy doing it. £65 sounds about right to me - a bit of fluid and half an hour's labour.

I'm pretty sure on the A3 at least it's meant to be changed once the car is 3 years old, and then every 2 years after that.

 

[MrFlibble]

The factory brake fluid is a TL 776 Z spec brake fluid. This is different to DOT4 with higher performance, and many DOT 4 fluids do not meet this specification.

You can get "class 6" brake fluid, and this is an identical specification to the TL 776 Z stuff. I would recommend this over DOT4, as there is a reason why VW changed from DOT4 to class 6 specification fluid at the factory.

Class 6 fluid may also be called "super DOT4", "DOT4+", "DOT4 LV" or "ESP fluid".

 

[Gazwould]

How does this compare with DOT 5.1 ?

 

[MrFlibble]

Dot 5.1 is a lower viscosity and higher temperature version of DOT4. ISO 4925 - Class 6 is a specification indicating very low viscosity fluid optimised for high performance ABS/ESP systems. In practice, DOT5.1 is sufficiently close to class 6 as makes no real difference.

DOT4 dynamic viscosity is specified as < 1800 mm2/s @ - 40C
DOT 5.1 is < 900 mm2/s
Class 6 is < 750 mm2/s