You raise a valid point. I've also had a Hyundai dealer give me the side eye for not doing a coolant flush at 30k. Overall brake fluid is hydraulic fluid and unless it has tons of contamination/use/time on it, it'll last a good long time. I think the 20k brake flush is probably more of a CYA from the manufacturer. I mean, nothing wrong with it. I've done a brake bleed at 65k on cars (caliper replacement) and the fluid looked new. Our volvo says do brake fluid at like, 30 or 40k. My main concern with doing brake bleed, especially on rovers, is you have to also bleed the ABS module...and you need the plug in tool for that. So if GAP tool will start to support the newer rovers better, then it might be a moot point for the DIY crowd.

I mean, you do you. Like I said, no one ever complained about having good brakes.

 

for normal driving on my cars i do a Motive power bleeder flush every 30k, for track cars - I did it once a year (Motul 660 absorbs a lot of water). I expect I'll stick to 30k with the defender.

I've heard about bleeding the ABS module, but I haven't run into any issues with just bleeding at the caliper level...even for my range rover sport.

 

Your comment on absorbing water is interesting.

https://www.autozone.com/diy/brakes/...-4-brake-fluid

Purportedly, Dot 3 fluid absorbs 2% of its volume in water per year in normal humidity conditions -- news to me.

I just had to change all the brake lines on my 2011 LR4, because they corroded out completely. I did not drive in salty / snowy conditions excessively.

I did not regularly flush the fluid. I will do so on all JLR vehicles, going forward.

 

Yeah, most brake fluids are hygroscopic and though decades ago maybe BMW was one of the only manufacturers who were regularly suggesting brake fluid flushes/changes, that has started to change in the industry as brake systems have become more and more complicated with the use of expensive modulators (that as you note, can often not be fully bled unless the servos are run).

Harley even came out a few years back and suggested 2 year max brake fluid life across the board for ABS equipped models when they started seeing internal modulator failures from corrosion.

I'm not that conservative on any of my vehicles, but again it struck me as a disconnect in your thoughts on fluid changes to be so conservative on one fluid and so opposite on the other.

Me, I'm not particularly conservative on any of them.

 

I've had 2 uncomfortable experiences with brakes with no prior warning at around 40k to 50k miles. I went to stop and they just didn't apply. I kept pushing harder and pumping them and they finally clamped down hard.

Had I been riding someone's ***, I would have hit them for sure.

The first time, I brought it to the dealer and they covered it under warranty without saying what it was.

WIth the second truck, I brought it in and the advisor immediately said "that's water in the fluid... Florida humidity". A flush fixed it and completely changed the way the brakes feel.

I'm a believer now.

 

Allegedly:

Thanks so much for sharing this experience. It's exactly what the documents decscribed. I am wondering how I made it to this point in life and never understood this clearly?

Of course, I never lived in a heavily humid area for long ..... really interesting.

 

i bought the package also and was promised a service ever year. wasn’t till i brought the car in for something else the device dept told me it’s every 2 years. the package is no longer a deal. i told the dealer i will be getting atleast my fluids changed yearly as your service package offered

it seemed that only part of my package was sponsored by LR and the other some third party company. so if 3rd party they need to honor the paperwork