need some quick advice

Dealer calls me that I need to do some airbag test (done every two years)... have you heard about this? Also, tells me I need a Brake Flush (supposed to be dome very two years as well)... isn't that done as part of 30K miles Car is 2003 with 39K miles on it. should I do these?

BS on airbag - should be inspected/replaced every 10 years. Brake flush sounds excessive, but I can't put my hands on the schedule.... should be in the manual.

looked on renntech... believe they mention brake flush every two years

I checked my manual - every 2 years is what it states. Seems excessive if you're not putting too many miles on the car.

BS on airbag Brake flush every two years is a good idea (if you don't track). With track use flushes should be more frequent.

BS on the air bag test. Tell them they are air bags! < hee hee> I agree with Ray. Brake flush every 2 years especially if you DON't track the car. Water has a tendancy to get in the brake fluid, so this is good preventative maintenance. I had Hendrick do a Brake Flush about 4 - 5 months ago.

Just flush the fluid at every other pad change. BS on the airbag !

Okay, so if I do 5K per year and don't take my car out in the rain, then why should I be changing the fluid every 10K? Doens't make a lot of sense to me.

drop your dealer! They sound money hungry!

I tend to agree. If they pull a stunt like this, then you don't know when they're telling you the truth and when they're trying to up-sell on a service. The first time a dealer does something like this to me I get annoyed. The second time they do it I find another placed to take my car.

Wayne - brake fluid absorbs moisture, which in turn will lower the boiling point of the brake fluid by as much as 30%. The excess water moisture can cause valves to corrode and stick. The moisture can create a rusty sludge that can clog the valves and pistons in the brake system. http://www.brakefluidtester.com/downloads/clean.PDF http://www.type2.com/library/brakes/brakef.htm

Thanks for the links Tim. The second one is particularly useful. I was hoping for an indicator of when the fluid needed changing and I liked the dark and cloudy indicator - simple and effective. I'll have to inspect my fluid. I know about the hygroscopic nature of the fluid and the ability to corrode when saturated, but the sad thing is that often it is recommended to chaange fluids out long before it is actually needed (think engine oil!) - hence my sceptisism. The brake system is sealed, so the ability to get water into a sealed system on a car that does not go out in the rain is low. If we're talking about Phil's car which doesn't leave the garage, then it's virtually nil. I'm a big fan of preventative maintenance, but not a big fan of changing things that might not need to be changed.

Actually, the possability of anything getting into Phil's car is nil, because it is hermetically sealed!

I agree with you that they are money hungry, but it's the only P car dealer in Charlotte. Tim (or anybody else in Charlotte), what are your overall thoughts re Hendrick Porsche? I feel they always seem to be pushing extra 'service'

By the way, told them 'no way' on the airbag test. Did the brake flush... mine was done 2 years ago.

I have not been impressed with Hendrick's service. Their biggest problem is lack of communication. They communicate poorly with their clients and they seem to have an internal communication problem. About a week after they diagnosed that I had a bad CAT, I called to see when the part would come in. They said it was in the shop. I asked why no one had called me so I could get this replaced. Parts didn't tell the service guy that the part came in. Remember, they dented my car and didn't tell me about it, replaced the RMS without telling me about it...... poor communication! Pretty pathetic customer service. I would rate them a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Totally agree... unfortunately, they are the only game in town

Actually, no, the brake system is not sealed. The reservoir cap allows the system to breathe, to allow for fluid level changes, such as when you push the pedal down or the brake pads wear or are replaced. So that allows the atmosphere, which is full of water vapor, to meet with the fluid. I thought that brake fluid changes were part of the annual service, but two years is probably adequate. I wouldn't base it on how the fluid looks either. It's cheap insurance for a very expensive system that you have on a very expensive car. And best of all, it's really quite simple and you can do it yourself with no special tools. If you can do an oil change, you can bleed the brakes. Michael