Feb. 10, 2021

This video is sponsored by ADVICS. With over 30 years of OE expertise, ADVICS engineers and manufactures the aftermarket most advanced ultra-premium brake products.

When your customers think about vehicle maintenance, the first things that probably come to mind are oil and filter changes, tire rotations and maybe topping off the engine coolant but the lifeblood of the braking system, the brake fluid is often overlooked. The reality is brake fluid is one of the most important functional fluids in any vehicle system. To understand why it’s so important, let’s step back and review the basics of a properly operating brake friction system.

When the driver pushes the brake pedal, the force creates hydraulic pressure in the master cylinder, which is transferred through the brake fluid. This pressure flows through the hydraulic lines and hoses to the wheel cylinders and calipers in vehicles with drum brakes, this pressure forces the shoes against the drums. In vehicles with disc brakes, it forces the pads against the rotors. Brake fluid is essentially hydraulic fluid, and its primary role is to transfer force applied at the pedal to the caliper or cylinder at the wheel. If there’s insufficient brake fluid, or if it’s contaminated or diluted, it can limit the vehicles’ ability to slow down or stop when the brakes are applied. So, brake fluid is a critical element in the vehicle’s most important safety system, commonly known by its DOT number, the most common brake fluids are DOT 3 and DOT 4. Each DOT category has specific properties, but the main differences are the brake fluid boiling points and their tendency to absorb water, which we’ll discuss more in-depth later in this video series. Brake fluid replacement is more critical than ever before.

Since 2008, almost every vehicle has come with some form of ABS and a hydraulic control module mounted under the hood or on a frame rail. Since 2012, every light vehicle sold has been equipped with stability control and has added valves and complexity to the hydraulic control unit. The hydraulic control unit needs fresh brake fluid to operate and protect valves and passages from corrosion. The bottom line for your customers is that brake fluid is essential to the operation of the braking system, and it protects some of the most important components on a vehicle. That’s why it’s a good idea to recommend a high-quality brake fluid such as DOT 3 and DOT 4 LV from ADVICS. These ultra-premium synthetic brake fluids are designed for and tested by OEMs to deliver industry-leading performance for wet and dry boiling points in both DOT 3 and DOT 4 formulations for disc drum and ABS systems.

If you want to know more about boiling points, visit the “Brake Fluid Boiling Points: What are They and Why Do They Matter?” ADVICS tech tip. In the next video, we’ll take a closer look at the DOT ratings for brake fluid and how they play into the process of recommending the right brake fluid for your customers.