The manual says nothing about replacing brake fluid on any interval but I have usually changed the fluid when changing pads and/or rotors on all my previous cars.
In theory, brake fluid absorbs water and over time and that could be bad.
1) Is this a waste of money?
My most recent brake flush felt like a ripoff; I got watch them do it and they used a little pump to suck the fluid out of the brake fluid reservoir (engine compartment) but did no brake line bleeding at each caliper.
The tech gave me some bull that the bleeding at each caliper is no longer necessary as the pump can "suck the fluid out of the lines from the reservoir." Further, the brake line bleeding method was "the old way."
I feel it is physically impossible to get the fluid out of the lines by "sucking" it out of a closed system, against gravity, with a small hand pump. Even if the pump and plastic brake fluid reservoir were capable of generating/sustaining a total vacuum, the fluid in the lines is below the reservoir.
2) Did I get ripped off by this mechanic?
