Congealed Brake Fluid, Brakes Still Work Fine

[Daskuppler]

Hello Everyone,

I had to drop our 2014  Forester off at the dealership for the brake lamp recall and to do an oil consumption test. I got a call this morning saying that the brake fluid had turned to jelly.

My research says that this typically only occurs when a petroleum based product is introduced to the system. About a year ago, I did a flush with Amsoil DOT 3 and 4 fluid (the car had about 40,000 miles on it then). The fluid was fine, a little dark but not too bad. The fluid was checked about a month later and it was still fine. 

The dealership only wanted to flush the system which tells me there was no introduction of a petroleum product otherwise they would have wanted to replace all the rubber as well. 

The car drives fine, ABS works, brakes are smooth and working as usual. 

What could have happened? And how do I flush the system with the jellied fluid? I have a pneumatic bleeder that hooks up to a compressor, but it sucks fluid from the caliper end. I have not picked the car up yet so I have not seen it with my own eyes. I'll be grabbing it tonight.

Edited October 5, 2019 by Daskuppler
Typo

[1 Lucky Texan]

strange, never read of this before.

are you the only person with access to the car? could a daughter's boyfriend or some other person have been trying to do some maintenance on the car?

(I raised 3 daughters.  boyfriends are idiots. One left her car's emergency jack and tools at the side of the road.)

[el_freddo]

Sounds like a money grab to me. 

I’ve never heard of this happening. But then again, I’ve only ever heard of brake lines being flushed with fresh brake fluid until it comes out the other end clean. 

I’d also look up symptoms of gelled brake fluid and compare that info to what you’re experiencing.

All the best with it. 

Cheers 

Bennie

[Daskuppler]

1 hour ago, 1 Lucky Texan said:

strange, never read of this before.

are you the only person with access to the car? could a daughter's boyfriend or some other person have been trying to do some maintenance on the car?

(I raised 3 daughters.  boyfriends are idiots. One left her car's emergency jack and tools at the side of the road.)

I'm the only one that touches it. We just got home with it.

Only the screen was congealed. The rest of the reservoir is still fluid. A little dark but fine otherwise. There was also a clear fluid spilled on the fuse box which is odd... They pulled out the knn air filter and fumoto drain plug and charged us $50 then blamed the pcv valve and oil fill gasket for the 1.5 quarts of oil consumption in 5000 miles lol

[Daskuppler]

16 minutes ago, el_freddo said:

Sounds like a money grab to me. 

I’ve never heard of this happening. But then again, I’ve only ever heard of brake lines being flushed with fresh brake fluid until it comes out the other end clean. 

I’d also look up symptoms of gelled brake fluid and compare that info to what you’re experiencing.

All the best with it. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Bennie,

Thanks for the input. All symptoms I was able to find are brakes locking up, especially when ABS is activated. The fluid will congeal if it's missed with a petroleum product, but all the rubber will swell at the same time and the whole system needs to be rebuilt. Based on the fluid I found, I suspect they dumped a cap full of power steering fluid in the reservoir and then said it needs to be fixed. They were obviously told no, I can do it myself. I hate dealerships.

[el_freddo]

That should be on them if they put the PS fluid in... but then again, I wouldn’t want them to be touching my vehicle if they’re pulling stunts like that. 

Cheers 

Bennie

[idosubaru]

sounds like the beginning of a Seinfeld episode. Address what you can see or measure immediately, that’s all you can do if you don’t know any facts.