Year 2 service today

[Westyman]

My XC60 had its two,year service today at 15k - low mileage I know - with no problems. The brake fluid was changed, seems a bit excessive at 2 years, it was done under the 5-year pre-paid service plan. Only thing I paid for was a de-bug of the aircon. So £25 and walked away! They wanted to put new wiper blades on as they were smearing. But last Saturday a gob of oil landed on the screen in pouring rain, that takes a while to wear off, so declined that.
Picked up a new XC90 brochure, ordered a rear bumper infill panel to replace the silly painted one and will collect that tomorrow. Thanks to forum for the part number for that.

[Crockers]

Did they not charge you for the brake fluid change?? It's not part of the 5 year plan...

[CDJ]

Originally Posted by Crockers

Did they not charge you for the brake fluid change?? It's not part of the 5 year plan...

I was told the brake fluid is included if it is in the recommended service items...

[Crockers]

Mine's booked in for July 12th and I was told brake fluid change isn't included. Hmm think this needs looking into.

[cheshired5]

Originally Posted by Westyman

The brake fluid was changed, seems a bit excessive at 2 years

Not at all excessive. I do mine yearly which may be a touch OTT.
The idea isn't really to wait for it to need changing. You want it out whilst it's still doing its job and sitting around in your pipework and calipers for 2 years is plenty.
Hopefully you didn't notice any improvement either which means your safety hasn't been compromised.

[Westyman]

There was something said about Volvo had agreed to pay for fluid change, TBH I wasn't aware that it was outside the pre-paid service deal. I think the dealer said it was a recommended change rather than mandatory in the service plan.

[MikeIOW]

I wondered about that on a previous car. I am sure it would be fine to be left much longer.....
...but the logic is that brake fluid is said to be hygroscopic in nature, which means it absorbs moisture from the air, which over time can result in a high percentage of water in your brake fluid. This is then supposed to damage the components of the braking system (eg;rot brake pipes) and reduce the vehicles braking ability.
(& yes, I did cut'n'paste that line!!)
Which is why manufacturers, who are of course uber-careful on safety features, will ask for a 2 yearly change.
There are testers that can be used to check for the content, but rather than use that, they apply a "lowest common denominator' logic and make them all change....

[Westyman]

I thought the other issue with moisture in brake fluid is that if it's near the caliber it can boil from the heat of the disc and make the pedal spongey

[cheshired5]

Yes, increased water % lowers the boiling point and boiling water=bubbles which can be compressed easier and create the spongy feel.
Testing the reservoir fluid is probably the most pointless piece of car maintenance ever so just have a 2 year change routine and reduce that interval if the car is regularly used in hilly or mountainous areas.

[Crockers]

Just been told by both MRG and Johnsonsnthat brake fluid change is recommended every two years and falls outside the 5 year service plan and is chargeable. So those who got it included uber result