[mdxstang]

I did it myself and used the owner's manual recommended genuine Acura/Honda brake fluid. I sucked out as much of the old fluid from the master cylinder as I could while making sure there's still some covering the bottom so as not to introduce air, then filled if with new fluid, then bled the brakes at all 4 corners until I could see the new fluid coming out, topping off the master cylinder as necessary.

I then logged what I did in the service log I keep for the vehicle.

You could have this done at an Acura dealership, independent mechanic, or yourself, but as Neoshi said - if you have an independent mechanic do it have them use the recommended fluid or better yet, buy it yourself at an Acura dealership and provide it to the mechanic.

 

[mdxstang]

It's really not difficult or time consuming to bleed the brakes the old fashioned way and brakes aren't normally bled all that frequently. It doesn't seem worth much effort in trying to rig up a pressure bleeder.

Old fashioned way -

• Plastic tubing on the bleeder screw at the wheel terminating into a container (I usually use a disposable plastic water bottle) with some clean brake fluid in the bottom so the tubing end can stay submerged in it.
• Suck out most of the fluid in the brake master cylinder with a turkey baster.
• Fill the master cylinder with fresh brake fluid. Put the cap back on.
• Open the bleeder screw at the wheel and slowly pump the brake pedal 5 or 6 times then check the fluid level in the master cylinder, topping it off, and the container to make sure it doesn't overflow. Do this two or three times until the fluid coming out the bleeder tube is the clear new fluid.
• Repeat at the other three wheels.
• At the end top off the brake master cylinder.

The whole process doesn't take long at all and can be combined with a self tire rotation for convenience.

 

[mdxstang]

I'm glad the steps were useful and you now have those jobs done with the satisfaction you did them yourself and did them right.

he has never done a brake fluid bleed on his 98 Toyota 4Runner with over 250K miles and is only on his second set of tires. And the brakes pad have only been replaced once. Said the 4 Runner brakes just fine.

I think a lot of people never think to replace the brake fluid but unless he replaced the pads himself it's possible that a service location that changed the pads also did a brake fluid replacement - at least they should have.

It's really unusual to get 125K miles on a set of tires. Does he really mean 'he' has replaced the tires twice, meaning it's on its third set of tires for about 85K miles per set? That sounds more possible but still likely he may have pushed the envelope on tread depth - i.e. ran them fairly bald.