Originally Posted by 3hundred
Originally Posted by Hrtbkr
I'm curious about copper in the brake fluid myself.


It was news to me as well. I thought brake fluid contamination was a concern primarily because of ABS modules, figured it was because of moisture. Apparently that's not as much a concern anymore. The copper comes from the brake lines indicating a breakdown of the brake fluid additive package. Didn't even know it had a additive package.

Diagnostic fees wasn't even a term when I was a mechanic in the 1970's. Never heard of it until the 1980's. The quoted fee sounds high to me to put it on a lift, pull the wheels and drums if any. 20 minutes work? I think my record for 4 tires and balance was ~ 45 minutes back in the day.

The shops attitude when the work was declined was the only thing that bothered me. That's not how you treat a customer. It's not like the pads were gone and riding on metal or tires down to the cord. Nothing imminently dangerous here.


Yep...brake fluid changes are recommended service by most manufactures

You can certainly pull wheels in 20 minutes or so....but what if work is required....another 20-30 min. writing an estimate. Now you're at an hour...$100 at a lot of places. Then the customer declines the work. You doing all that for free? Doubtful

We have no idea of pad/rotor/drum/caliper/hose condition...nobody ever looked...the inspection was declined.

Here's a thought...customer brings the car in with a brake concern, road test verifies the concern. Shop says "oh it'll likely go away" Sends the customer on his way and the brakes fail......who do you think will be on the hook? In this case the shop's recommendation was a complete brake inspection. The customer declined to have his brakes looked at...now he goes down the road and something happens.... the shop has something to stand on....remember this is all on the repair order. It's called CYA.