Brake Fluid Spec

[tdiblair]

2005 Passat... 31,000 miles...Checked the Front bads....(not the rear) and plenty of pad but the wife , about once a month, gets a check brake pads light on the dash. I'm thinking the brake fluid is a little low in and perhaps the low fluid is tripping a brake fluid level sensor. I'll add a little fluid. Have this VW Brake Fluid (still sealed in can) lying around from 2002 so 9 years old. Does anyone know the brake fluid spec for our 2005 Passat TDI's.

Bottle reads VW/Audi Premium Heavy Duty Super Dot -4 B-000-700 A1

is this the right brake fluid?

Blair

 

[dieseldorf]

Blair, can I suggest that you break down and spend the couple dollars to get yourself a fresh can of DOT4 fluid?

 

[BobZ]

To answer your question - yes. Dot 4 is the recommended fluid. The concern with older fluid is the absorption of moisture. Being that it was sealed... who knows. A fresh can is inexpensive at any auto parts store. With the age of the car, a flush is in order.
BTW - you will likely find the rear pads wearing faster than the front. I replaced my rear first at around 50k and then again at 150,000k (also the first time I did the front - still pad life left in front but not enough to not do all 4 corners with pads and rotors).

 

[VocalVirgo]

I also did the rear pads twice before doing the fronts. At first, I thought the balancing valve was installed backwards on my car because the rear brakes were around 3mm and the fronts were at 12mm and at the time the car had 56,000 miles on it. I called VW to get some info and they said that the braking is distributed up to 90% rear during gentle, non-panic stops (explained to me so the front end doesn't "dip" when stopping normally)..... so if you're just calmly slowing down, especially from a distance, you (almost) never use the front pads. When in a panic or hard stop it's 70/30, front/rear. I did the second set of rear pads at around 175,000 miles and since I had new pads ready for the front, I just swapped them out too. They had 3mm left.

I will say this though, VW calls for the Dot 4 replacement every 2 years, regardless of miles..... I've sort of ignored that after the first 2 years and have found that (in the 10 years since then) the brakes are more mushy, even with thick new pads at all 4 corners. I'm sure if I flush and replace, the mushy will be replaced with firm.

With that said, I wonder if I'm doing the clutch/shifting an injustice because I believe the brake fluid is also the clutch fluid...... am I correct?