I have a 2002 Honda Accord with just 30K miles on it. The manual says to have trans and brake fluid flushes every 3 years at least. I haven’t done either once. Am I asking for trouble? Thanks
It is a good maintenance practice to do them. For the auto trans, a pan drop, filter change and new fluid is good. For the brake fluid, it can accumulate moisture over time, so getting the brake fluid changed out and replaced with new. Since you have hit 30K miles, also go toyour owner’s manual and see what other services are required, like new spark plugs, coolant drain & fill; air filter replacement. You may have already done these on a different schedule, due to low mileage, but it is a good time to check.
First, I want to congratulate you on reading the manual, even if it is a bit late. And, yes, as the manual advises, you should have both procedures done in order to prevent problems from occurring. For example, brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning that it absorbs moisture from the air, and this results in water dilution of the brake fluid. In addition to causing corrosion in the brake’s hydraulic system, this can lead to loss of braking ability when descending long downgrades when you are using the brakes a lot.
As jayhawkroy stated, you should review the manual for other maintenance procedures that are also due by now, as a result of elapsed time. If you don’t have the spark plugs replaced, they could wind up being “frozen” in place when you finally get to them at the specified mileage interval for changing them.
Also, I believe that you will be due for a timing belt change in a year or so, but I could be wrong, and you could be due for this procedure now. It is worthwhile to verify the elapsed time interval for this procedure, as a snapped timing belt will cause extensive damage to the valves and pistons. Because they contain a lot of rubber, timing belts do deteriorate with age. Visual inspection cannot predict the effective life of the belt, and the timing belt gives no warning sounds or symptoms before it snaps. I strongly suggest that you do this maintenance procedure on the basis of elapsed time, in order to avoid a HUGE repair bill later.
All good advice, just do them at the next service, it’s not an emergency situation. Just to be sure, this is the factory owner’s manual, correct? Not a ‘manual’ supplied by the dealership? I ask because a friend with a Honda had a dealer service ‘manual’ that recommended services not called for in the legitimate factory manual.