Stock brake fluid?

[r6speed]

So my e brake light will not go off and I know its because I am low on brake fluid. I don't know why I am low because it sits in a garage and there is no leaks, but anyways I read on here not to mix DOT 3 with DOT 4. So my question is what is the stock brake fluid? My guess is the obvious one DOT 3, but I want to be sure before adding any and then find out later I was wrong. Also the car has about 50K on it, should I be worrying about changing the brake fluid right now? I plan on doing the brakes next month so I would rather do it then, but if it is a must I will do it now.

Any advice would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks in advance

 

[bboyalan]

Silly question, but have you checked your brake pads recently? That's usually a common cause if they're low I believe.

Also, if you don't want to worry about mixing the two fluids you could always flush it out, add the new, and bleed the system... If you have the time for it anyway .

 

[MrBoxx]

Your E-brake doesn't use fluid at all. Make sure the e-brake handle is pushed fully down.

 

[r6speed]

I know the e brake does not use fluid it is a cable you tighten below the cup holder, although there are many threads on here that explain when your brake fluid is low your e brake light never goes off. My e brake is all the way down. I beleave the pads are worn and I am going to change them soon so I would like to do the fluid then. I just am needing to add fluid right now untill I do the brakes so that my e brake light will go off and I'm not low.

Does anyone know what the stock brake fluid is they used in the 2G? DOT 3?

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/420a-bolt-tech/238437-e-brake-light-stays.html

 

[914g63gsx]

If your fluid is low check your brakes like said above. If their is not any leaks were would it go right, into the calipers. If the light is on get some dot 3 fill it up, if the light goes out their you go, but that could mean your brakes are low. And it should say on the cap what kinda fluid it takes, or look in the owners manual. good luck

 

[MrBoxx]

DOT 3 will be fine.

 

[daren_p]

It would be a good idea to flush the fluid, as the car is 12 years old but it will be fine just to top it off till your doing the brakes in a month or so. I believe our cars are DOT 3 from the factory but DOT 3, DOT 4 & DOT 5.1 are all compatable, it's DOT 5 that isn't compatable with the other fluids. When I did my brakes I used DOT 4 as it has higher dry & wet boiling points vs DOT 3. As for why its low, make sure to go over the hole system when your doing the brakes (including following all the lines) & verify there are no leaks anywhere.

 

[turboglenn]

Dot 3 is OEM, but honestly, flush all that crap out and put is some good brake fluid, DOT 4 brembo fluid is what i use.(don't go DOT 5 for many reasons searh about it if you really want, but it's not good for a lot of car's braking systems) So many people switch to SS brake lines and think that the lines alone gave them such a great brake feel, but honestly, you can just go to a better fluid and you'd be amazed at how much better the braking performace gets. SS lines are more important when you're road racing and repeatedly heating the fluid and braking system to near it's fluid boiling point

And yes, the brake light that the e-brake turns on is the same one that is triggered by the fluid level sensor in your brake master cylinder, so that light comes on and stays on when the fluid is low. And most of the time the fluid "seems low" is because the pistons are all the way out making up for shot pads, leaving more room in the calipers for your brake fluid to sit in, this will make the fluid seem "low" in the master.

 

[Bud92gsx]

Yeah dot-3 will do just fine. When I did my brakes I went to dot-4. And unless you ride real hard on the brakes there are no needs to use anything higher. But if you do not want to make your brake fluid boil when under alot of heavy braking, use dot-4. It's not a big deal but the safer you can be, on the road the better right?


brAkes
brAking

 

[r6speed]

ok thank you guys I really appriciate it. I do a lot of autocross and road racing so I think the SS lines are probably a good idea when I do the brakes next month. For now I will throw some DOT 3 in there just to get that annoying light off.

Thanks again!

 

[Defiant]

Make sure you pull the lid of the master reservoir and actually look at the fluid level. There's a rubber diaphragm that floats on top of the fluid, and through the translucent body of the reservoir can make an almost-empty container look full.
Also, the cheesy bit of tin the parking brake light switch is mounted on can bend so that the switch isn't fully opening when the handle is down.