JJB82

I may need to add brake fluid. The manual says not to simply add brake fluid. It's is take it to the dealer and have the brake linings checked and check tour a leak as well. My check brake fluid light is on. The level is barely below the middle mark on the reservoir. Can I simply add brake fluid or should I take it to the dealer?

Don-Vette

Level should be at max. or slightly below. And should never change unless its leaking.Take your wheels off and look for signs of leaks around brake calipers and brake hoses. I have no problem adding fluid to proper level on vehicles. It also may be electrical. If you see no signs of leakage.

fred D

In reply to your post. As your brake pads ware, it will cause your master cylinder level to go down. The pucks go in closer to the disks and fluid takes up the space in the lines. You should have your brake pads and/or shoes checked for ware..

JJB82

Thanks. Can I simply add brake fluid without bleeding it out? Just want to see if that takes care of the brake light and message on theDIC

61X

Yes you can.

ruxvette

Correct! Except it is "wear"...

edcologne

exactly, it should always be between the min and max marks which is perfectly fine.

there is a big difference between "you can" (and I agree, you "can") and "you should".

the ONLY time the brake fluid should be at max is w new rotors and new pads.
after that it will never be below min unless something major is wrong!

my opinion: NEVER EVER "top off" brake fluid (on any vehicle), period.

as I said, it only will get below min if you have a leak, the pads are gone totally, or something else that should trigger a more major repair.
if you "top it off" it may even overflow once you replace pads.

.

duckvett

Yes you can, but.... You didn't tell us what year and how many miles your Corvette has. IF the brake pads are worn enough to cause low brake fluid warnings, then you are due for new pads, probably new rotors and a complete brake fluid flush.

96GS#007

Sorry, but the fact you're even asking this question suggests you'd be better off taking it to a shop.

cmonkey713

Just make sure you add the proper brake fluid as listed in the owners manual. That being said, all brake fluid will pick up moisture over the amount of time the fluid has been in use. Depending on how many miles the car has it may not be a bad idea to at least think about replacing the fluid and at the same time looking at the pads and rotors sometime in the near future. For this procedure you could take it to the dealer but any good shop can do it.

C6 Snowboarder

be shure to chec ware the ware are. Cuz if it wears where you think it might be then it may be wareing wong.

Bruze

Wut if you don't know ware the ware is?

C6 Snowboarder

if you know ware your local dealer is -- he might be able to help you find ware the ware is..

fred D

Wear, thanks..

Gearhead Jim

As mentioned, you can add fluid to see if the low fluid indication is really caused by low fluid, or a malfunctioning indicator.
Either way, it should be fixed promptly.

As mentioned, you may simply need to have the brakes renewed.

But...
If you do add fluid to diagnose the warning light; be sure to tell whoever works on your brakes, whether it's tomorrow or years from now.

When doing a brake job, the tech will squeeze the brake pistons back into their calipers. That will cause the fluid level in the master cylinder to rise back up to about where it was when the brakes were new.
But if you've also added fluid, you'll have too much after the squeeze job, and brake fluid can overflow the master cylinder and make an ugly mess under your hood. It also eats paint instantly.

cclive

To be fair, GM would rather have you take the car to the dealer before and instead of your doing anything to the car, so lets keep that in mind. Leaks are easy to see...check for them and if it is not leaking then add a bit of brake fluid...not all the way to the top, but get the level up a bit.

windyC6

Keeping in mind the number of pistons in the entire Corvette braking system, how many ounces of fluid do you think actually "Re-locate", for lack of a better/proper term, from the reservoir to the pistons as they pads wear...or is it "Ware"....lOL. ?

fred D

Azz hatt..

Gearhead Jim

Trying to remember how much our fluid had dropped in the reservoir by the time of our last brake job, I'd say it's enough to easily notice if you are looking, but not smack-you-in-the-face obvious. We did the brakes earlier than necessary.

If OP's fluid is actually down enough to trip a warning, I think topping off and then pushing the pistons back in would indeed cause an overflow.

Any volunteers?

jovette

Sure, probably would cause an overflow situation, but standard operating procedures for brake pad replacement should call for removal / reduction of brake fluid from reservoir before brake pad replacement. Some folks recommend opening the bleed valve @ each caliper and then pushing the caliper pistons back into full 'in'
position....this allows the old fluid to exit the brake hydraulic system, rather than pushing it backwards into the reservoir, which I've heard sometimes causes problems with the anti-lock brake valves on some cars.....not sure about this being true, or whether applicable to our corvettes, but just saying...

Me, I suck the old black fluid out of my brake reservoir ever year and add new fluid at the same time as I change / ranger method, my clutch fluid....probably not necessary at all, but makes me feel better and I like to see that new / clear fluid in the reservoir.