How to Check Brake Fluid Level 2008-13 Mazda 3

Hey, friends. It's Len here at 1A Auto. Today we're working on our 2011 Mazda3 and I want to show you something basic: checking the brake fluid. Super simple. I can do it. You can do it too. First we're going to get underneath the hood and we're going to come right over here. I'm going to grab my safety glasses of course. This is your master cylinder or reservoir for your master cylinder right here. The master cylinder is actually located down below it. That's the metal-y part. So the reservoir right here, the cap on it's right here, says a DOT3. So you want to make sure that you use DOT3 brake fluid. It's very specific on what it wants you to use. You definitely do not want to use DOT5. They are not compatible. So before we open it up, I just like to take a rag, try to see if I can get off the majority of the debris that's going around the cap here just because if any of it gets lodged in there or drops into the a reservoir, it's going to become an issue trying to get it out of there.

So I'll just clean it up the best I can in a reasonable amount of time. Turn it counterclockwise to open it up. You can take a peek inside. You can't really see too much of anything in there, right? Just leads you right down there. But you can't tell from the side. It has a word right there. It says max and it has a little triangle. That says where the max level is supposed to be. If you can't see where the level is, just give it a little shake. Generally speaking, you'll be able to see brake fluid. It's kind of a yellowish tinge inside there. This one looks like it needs to be topped off. So I'm going to use my DOT3 brake fluid and bring it up to the maximum line. Like I said, it's kind of hard to see the exact level. Looks like it needs to come up some more. It's easier to add than it is to take some out. So I'm not really trying to win a race here so much is just get it done the right way. So there we are. Brake fluid's full.

We'll take our cap, nice and snug.

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