I have 54K miles on my car now and for the last couple weeks, my SLIP, VDC off, and BRAKE lights have come on during my morning commute. I did a quick search on here and found its most likely due to low brake fluid levels. I checked my fluid levels and they are quite a bit low but not below the minimum.

But my main question is why would the fluid level in the reservoir be going down? Does that mean there might be a hole somewhere in the brake system or brake lines?

I've tried looking for how to install new brake lines but I'm still not completely sure about the process. I don't want to get brake fluid all over the place. So do you just disconnect one end of the brake line and allow some of the fluid in part of the system drain out or is there a detailed process on how to do this? And if you have to keep the fluid level in the brake reservoir from being empty, wouldn't you need to keep refilling the reservoir which would cause the fluid to keep coming out of the open end of the brake line?

Thanks for the help!

 

your pads are getting worn out, no need for new lines but do inspect them

 

+1^

 

Pads are wearing, and you can lose very tiny amounts of fluid over time. It's a closed system, but there's no such thing as a perfectly closed system. And you don't have to be below the minimum to have the lights come on like you did. I had the exact same scenario, and adding fluid made the lights go off, but I still had a ticking noise from the ABS unit under the hood. ECU reset fixed that.

 

It is about a two hour job to replace all four corners.
This would be a good time to think about new slotted and cross drilled rotors...
Well, only if your car shakes when applying the brakes.


Get a MightyVac bleeder from Harbor Freight to pull new fluid through your system.

 

Or see if you can rent one. My local Advanced Auto Parts has a very nice bleeding kit they rent for, and I'm not kidding, $0. You just give them a $50 deposit which they return when you bring it back.

And OP, please do some research before you replace a brake line. In the most basic sense, it is just replacing the line and adding fluid. But that misses several very important things to watch out for, like never letting the fluid in the reservoir drop below a certain point because it could introduce air into the master cylinder. And being VERY careful about where any brake fluid goes, because it's extremely corrosive and will ruin your paint in a few seconds. You also don't want any air in your lines or you may not have enough pressure to stop your car. At a minimum, do some reading and have a friend help you if you're replacing your lines. Otherwise pay a professional to do it.

 

I personally would not even bother with the lines. You should be able to get twenty years out of them.

Definately think about new pads. New Fluid.

I forgot to post that in my first reply.