so my car breaks are pretty much in need of some new break fluid. my car keeps yelling at me every day i don‘t change it, and honestly I‘m a little scared to drive it before i get this problem fixed. i would look in the manual but i don‘t have one, so can you just tell me where the brake fluid goes, cus that would be just fantastic :)
Well, cars aren't designed to turn a light on, or tell you that you need to change the fluid. The light may be on for LOW fluid, but never change brake fluid Google your car's make and modle, say, Ford Taurus brake fluid reservoir make sure to use Brake fluid reservoir after the make and modle. Also there is a cap on it, or a silver/grey lid with a metal strap arm over it. that's it. Or take it to autozone. or some place like that, they can do it for you probably for nothing. You'd have to buy the fluid though
Leah, your car doesn't squeal because you need to change brake fluid. In fact the brake fluid was meant to last forever as long as it isn't contaminated with oil or other foreign substances. As long as you use DOT-3 brake fluid you should never have to change it. The squeal is caused by one of two things. Either the front or back brake pads are worn out or they are contaminated with dust. Three or four good hard stops from 50 miles an hour out on the highway will heat and burn the dust off and stop the squeal. If it doesn't, then you probably need new pads.
If your brakes are squealing, then you need to get the brakes themselves checked out. Same if it has a brake light on or is giving a check brakes message. Some vehicles do have a low brake fluid warning, but when brake fluid is low, it's normally due to either worn out pads, or a leak in the system, which means you need to have the brakes checked out. While there's no easy way to simply change brake fluid, a brake fluid flush is a good idea if the fluid has absorbed too much water. Brake fluid absorbs water and other contaminants over time, and can become less effective, or even cause corrosion inside the brake system. I don't believe in too many of the flush services sold on cars these days, but coolant flushes and brake fluid flushes are both a good idea to do when they're needed. A shop trying to sell you the brake fluid (or coolant) flush should have test strips (or other tester) to show you against a chart that shows when the fluid is too dirty or not effective enough and needs flushing. The brake fluid reservoir is under the hood, near the driver's side of the firewall, but it's a good idea to let someone who knows what they're doing to check it and top it off if necessary, they should do this when checking the brakes.
