Recommended brake fluid

[Maverick2022XL]

This is a quick primer for DIY types who want to flush or bleed their own brakes and have questions about what fluid to use. The easy answer is the shut up and eat your peas response to use what Ford recommends. The longer more important question is why and the next question after that is if so what alternatives meet the why criteria.

First off Ford recommends Dot 4 LV fluid for the Maverick so what is the difference between regular Dot 4 and Dot 4 LV? The viscosity of course since LV stands for low viscosity.

Can you get away with using regular Dot 4 fluid? Probably, you may not run into any issues with regular braking but the LV portion plays a big role in ABS / ESC systems. LV fluids allow the ABS and traction control systems for example to respond much faster and if you have one with an electronic brake booster response difference will probably be much more noticeable especially when using ACC.

So what if I don't want to use Ford Motorcraft fluid are there alternatives? Yes there are as long as they are at least iso 4925 class 6 rated they will meet the viscosity requirements.
https://fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/products/brakes/productdetails?id=86

Sponsored

 

[Maverick2022XL]

My personal choice for brake fluid is Bosch ES16 32N low viscosity fluid. This is rated for Dot 3, 4 and 5.1 fluid systems. It meets iso 4925 class 7 which has a higher boiling point than class 6 LV fluids but meets the viscosity requirements hence it being called LV fluid. They spec this fluid at 520 F boiling point and viscosity of 685 mm^2/S @ -40 F/C. Unlike some other alternatives this one is easily accessible on amazon. For perspective Ford's recommended fluid has a max viscosity of 750 mm^2/S @ -40 F/C which can be seen in the data sheet link in the first post.


As an aside for the detail oriented people here is an interesting study the US Army did on brake fluid to determine which standard meets their requirements for newer ground vehicles with ABS braking systems.

This is the list of the companies and fluid specs they tested
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1070186.pdf

Here is the actual testing results
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD1091780.pdf

Based on all the information including Bosch's own description of their fluids the dot 5.1A candidate is most likely the Bosch ES16 brake fluid.

Also in typical military fashion the acronyms they use are oblivious of the double meanings.
US Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC).