First time poster and car owner! 2010 Yaris Sedan. Maintenance tips?

[komichal]

Brake liquid needs changing. Liquid manufacturers recommend chaning it every year, in reality it is perfectly safe to do it once in two years, some people do it once in 5 years and some do not even know that brake fluid exists...

But brake fluid absorbs water (the more water it absorbs, the easier it is to start boiling and you certainly do not want to have boiling water in your brakes after heavy braking).

It is actually quite easy to do it on your own but you may wish to let the authorized service center do it for the first time - sometimes it is tought to crack-open the bleeders so let them handle that. You can then do the next change yourself.

And do not forget to bleed the clutch as well!

Apart from brakes you may also wish to clean the MAF sensor and throttle body. Usually it is not critical but your engine will love you afterwards. :)

[sh0rtlife]

Originally Posted by komichal

Brake liquid needs changing. Liquid manufacturers recommend chaning it every year, in reality it is perfectly safe to do it once in two years, some people do it once in 5 years and some do not even know that brake fluid exists...

But brake fluid absorbs water (the more water it absorbs, the easier it is to start boiling and you certainly do not want to have boiling water in your brakes after heavy braking).

It is actually quite easy to do it on your own but you may wish to let the authorized service center do it for the first time - sometimes it is tought to crack-open the bleeders so let them handle that. You can then do the next change yourself.

And do not forget to bleed the clutch as well!

Apart from brakes you may also wish to clean the MAF sensor and throttle body. Usually it is not critical but your engine will love you afterwards. :)

as someone who has race cars and some heavy street performance rigs, and even collector cars i can tell you a few things about brake fluid

#1 if the fluid is still clean and clear its typicaly good for about for 10+ years after that its still good till you feel brake pedal fade
#2 if the fluids dark change it PERIOD, age doesnt matter if its spent
#3 milage cant be taken into account either again clean and clear is good dark is bad, this could be 10,000 miles it could easily be 200,000 miles its about how its used
#4 heat...heat cycling of the fluid is what breaks it down and causes it to typicaly get moisture in it, the harder you brake the shorter the life of the fluid PERIOD

all said if you run a GOOD quality fluid and theres no issues with your system and you dont drive on the edge fluid can easily last decades without issue..personaly i run ATE in everything, the 07 yaris is going to get its first fluid change here end of the week as the brakes are showing fade, while the fluids been clean and clear its just starting to change..just gotta pickup my braided lines