It’s going to be a wash on the difference in getting it done at dealer vs local shop at those prices. Brake fluid flushes are super easy you could save a bundle by doing it yourself. Call it 45-1hr for labor and probably a litre of fluid roughly.

 

I recommend doing it at home, if possible. Cheaper.



I agree. Dealership costs are nothing much different than a local shop.

I believe at 30K miles, my G5 Odyssey tested bad for fluids.

 

How many miles on your Ridgeline? I don't remember ever doing this procedure on any of my vehicles.

 

Every 3 years per the manual...debatable if it needs to be done every 3 vs longer. Brake fluid will slowly absorb moisture from the atmosphere over time regardless of miles driven. Every manufacturer has different rec's. On my Yamaha is it every 2 years. On the Ridgeline it is every 3.

$125 isn't that expensive every 3 years if you don't want to just do it yourself. Main thing is to not get air in the lines. Lots of good youtube videos on it. I personally had the dealer do it, but did it myself on my Yamaha. I have more fun working on my bike myself vs the truck. Next time I may do it on the truck myself now that I have done it once on the bike.

 

With our Polaris SlingShot it takes special electronic equipment to properly bleed, (cycle), the brake system, just a typical flush job will not do the job completely. I am wondering if the Ridgeline has such a brake system?

Bill

 

In my experience with brake work on BOTH of my GenIs, it is very difficult to get every last bit of air out of the system after air has entered during component replacement. I have used manual and compressor assisted vacuum bleeders by themselves and or combined with the two person pedal method and have still found that a quality shop using a specialized machine (manufactured by BG in my case) was able to firm up the pedal even more. I am a die hard DIY type but I have been humbled by the brake bleeding difficulty on my GenI's. I have done major brake work on cars for years but the Ridge was my first ABS equipped vehicle so perhaps that may be part of the problem. Based on the numbers of GenII owners with less than satisfactory pedal feel, I would highly recommend finding a knowledgeable shop with a machine like the following BG one. Doing a thorough flush will rule out that air and or contaminants are adding to the mushy pedal feel.

BG PF7 Brake Service System – BG Products, Inc.

Removes oxidized and corrosive brake fluid, replacing it with new fluid.

www.bgprod.com

 

How much brake fluid should I have on hand to flush the system? After some research, I'll be using Valvoline DOT3 - DOT4 synthetic.

 

I just did our Cadillac SRX two weekends ago and used exactly 1 Quart. I bought two so now I can do the RL as well. But really unless you are seriously flushing and flushing a quart is enough.

Steve

 

The brake systems are ‘sealed,’ but the polymers used (master cylinder reservoir, to name one) have gas exchange rates. So does the ‘seal’ on the reservoir cap (and in the calipers). So, the systems will SLOWLY absorb moisture.

I’ve not yet encountered a run-of-the-mill street car that NEEDED the brakes bled within 2 or 3 years. I HAVE encountered (owned) vehicles much older that desperately needed brake fluid replaced. They very nearly wouldn’t stop.

I replace brake fluid, but if I don’t happen to get to it within the 3 years (or 2 for some marques), I don’t sweat it much. OTOH, I live in the Sonora desert. (-:

 

Amazon.com: Motive Products 1108 Master Cylinder Adapter: Automotive

Buy Motive Products 1108 Master Cylinder Adapter: Master Cylinders - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

I used this for the SRX recently. Set my air regulator (on my compressor) to 10 - 15lbs and had a filled reservoir and just loosed the bleeder and let it purge itself. I was careful to ensure i didn't let the fluid go below the low point in the master cylinder supply as well. Worked perfectly and for a final check I used the wife for two minutes to do my famous "pump pump pump" and then loosen the bleeder and repeat the exercise several times. But it was clear already anyway so wasn't really necessary.

They make a setup that is usable for a Universal method too. That's the one for Honda's it appears from this company. That's this one.

Amazon.com: Motive Products 101 Brake System Power Bleeder: Automotive

Buy Motive Products 101 Brake System Power Bleeder: Brake System Bleeding Tools - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

It uses a couple of chains and you have to clamp it on and pump it up yada yada. The easier way is with the cap method. And that could be done easily as well as you buy a cap and poke a hole in it and put the couple of fittings and hoses on it. I know the caps aren't expensive and it would be easier IMO.

Steve old time wife assisted brake bleeding method (oh say 40 years now ! lol)

Steve

 

I'll be using a pump-up pressure bleed system. I couldn't find a master cylinder cap that was an option for the pump system, so I headed over to our local Pick-n-pull for one that I can just add a fitting to attach to the pump hose. The girl at check-out asked, "Is that all? No charge."

 

Please let us know how it goes! I'm curious about this as well.

 

I've used this bleeder from Harbor Freight on several vehicles with no issue. You do need an air compressor. When i crack open the bleeder screw, I apply a little bit of petroleum jelly around the perimeter of the bleeder screw to keep from sucking air via the threads.

Pneumatic Brake Fluid Bleeder with Auto-Refill Kit

Amazing deals on this Pneumatic Brake Fluid Bleeder at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

Petroleum jelly... nice tip. I have that HF device and found it to be like my Mity-vac... too much air leakage around the threads. Maybe the PJelly will stop that. I may try that HF device again next time I do my BF.

 

A simple gravity bleed with a bleed bottle is enough fo the G2. I’ve done this twice now, when I first got the vehicle and the fluid looked bad, and again 3 years later.

 

I've done the gravity bleed too. Slow process though.

 

I did the baster thing with Honda fluid a month or two ago but the pedal has been tolerable for many months now so I guess I'll wait until it starts feeling low again before breaking the bleeders open. The truck is certainly not new anymore so I tend to be more forgiving with it's flaws.

 

Just had brake fluid flushed and replaced at 39,000 miles on my 2018, just over 3 years old. The one thing I hate the most about the Ridgeline is the mushy brakes. It's really about the only thing I really dislike immensely. The flush and replacement improved the "bite" and fell of the brakes some....not a ton, but enough to notice. IMHO, the brakes on Ridgelines, at least mine, are subpar.

 

In my experience, the mushy brakes are rather prevalent. I had mushy brakes on the following brand new vehicles

'08 Accord
'10 Ridgeline
'19 Odyssey

The only ones I had no problem with were
'05 Acura TL
'09 Fit
'16 Civic

The only way I was able to combat the 'mushy' brakes were by opting to a fixed caliper with opposed pistons in my Ridgeline.

 

Moisture will enter a "closed" brake system through all sorts of places including the hoses, seals and reservoir. There is a reason why many manufactures spec for a time (or mileage) based brake fluid change out.

 

Absolutely true. Now imagine how much faster that water would ingress the brake fluid if the system were actually open to the air. Going thru the reservoir seal is much more difficult than going thru an open hole, eh?

 

Also wanted to throw this out there... on my G1, I never flushed the brake fluid. Sold it after driving it for 11 years. Just asked the current owner, and he said he has not touched it either. So it's been going on the OEM fluid for 16 years now.

 

Zroger says "Mazda has no recommendation regarding brake fluid flushes. Toyota says only to "inspect" the fluid. Nissan says to change as frequently as every 2/24 (normal) or 1/12 (severe)! Ford says to change the brake fluid according to the maintenance schedule, but the maintenance schedule doesn't specify an interval for brake fluid. "

I say "There is a reason why many manufactures spec for a time (or mileage) based brake fluid change out."

 

I'm not trying to be argumentative - I'm just trying to wrap my head around why some manufacturers say to replace the brake fluid as often as every year or two while others have NO maintenance interval for brake fluid. 99% of braking systems are the same regardless of brand.

 

It is odd. Mazda specifies 2-year (or 4-year) brake fluid replacement intervals in my manual for markets other than the USA & Canada markets. Perhaps Mazda USA and Mazda Canada think American and Canadian brake fluid are massively superior to everyone else's (unlikely they think that, and anyway the products aren't superior). Perhaps they think Canadians and Americans are too stupid to deal with brake fluid (they aren't, but might be thought so by some). It's difficult to tell and they're not saying.
<shrug>

 

Yep - no less than five different maintenance schedules in my '19 MX-5's owner's manual and three different settings for the maintenance monitor - flexible (condition-based), fixed (mileage-based), and off. I much prefer Honda's Maintenance Minder.