When I was parking my car outside in the snow and preparing to enter my home, I started to wonder what could possibly happen to the inner components of my car overnight. After refilling the brake fluid not too long before this, I rushed to the internet to find out if brake fluid can freeze.
Can brake fluid freeze? Brake fluid itself is an oil material, meaning that there is no water content inside of it. When brake fluid comes in contact with extremely low temperatures, it will not freeze completely for this reason.
However, brake fluid can get to a point where the material thickens and it is no longer functional within the braking system, due to the cold weather conditions it is subjected to.
If you own a car, you are probably quite familiar with the concept of adding brake fluid to the inside of your vehicle. Brake fluid serves a variety of purposes within an automobile, and is a very durable substance that can hold up in many conditions.
In this article, we will be covering everything that you need to know about brake fluid freezing, so that you will not have to worry about your car next winter like I did.
Can Brake Fluid Freeze?
For all car owners who live in cold climates, the winter time can be a headache when it comes to maintaining your vehicle. With tons of moisture and low temperatures all around, it can be a hassle to think about all fo the things that could potentially go wrong.
One of these potential issues that might have crossed your mind is the possibility of your brake fluid freezing.
Brake fluid is an essential component within any braking system that initiates most of the functions that lead up to your car actually stopping, but we will get into that process later on.
For now, we will be answering the main question of whether or not brake fluid can freeze. The short answer to this question is no, but the outline down below will provide you with a further explanation.
Why Brake Fluid Won’t Freeze:
- Oil material (not water)
- Will never freeze solid like water
- Can reach a point where it no longer works properly due to cold temperatures
First and foremost, brake fluid is created in the form of an oil substance, meaning that there is no water content inside of it.
This directly means that the fluid will never freeze into a solid formation like another liquid substance would, such as water, due to the fact that it is purely oil.
While it is true that the brake fluid itself will never freeze within the braking system and that is not something that you will have to worry about, there are some other problems that can occur with your brake fluid due to cold temperatures, which will be discussed in the next section.
What Happens To Brake Fluid When It Gets Cold?
Now that we have established that brake fluid will not freeze when it reaches extremely low temperatures, you might be wondering what the other effects are that were alluded to in the previous section.
When brake fluid reaches a certain temperature threshold, there are certain reactions and negative effects that can take place as a result, which will be described in the list down below.
What Happens To Brake Fluid When It Gets Cold:
- Can become thicker than usual
- Turn into a gel material (no longer functional)
- Can activate ABS system unintentionally
- Can create air bubbles in brake fluid
The first thing that happens to brake fluid when it is exposed to freezing temperatures is a change in texture. The brake fluid will become much thicker than usual, beginning to slow down within your braking system.
After a certain amount of time, the brake fluid will turn into a gel material that will no longer be functional. This form, however, is as solid as the substance will be able to get when it comes to the freezing point.
Along with the brake fluid itself slowing down and losing function, it can also cause the ABS emergency braking system to activate unintentionally. This can happen when the inside of your car detects that you are slamming on the brakes harder than usual, which could be a difficulty that is really caused by the thickening fluid.
Additionally, cold and thickening brake fluid can begin to collect bubbles of air throughout the braking system. When something like this occurs, it becomes necessary to extract them through a process called brake bleeding in order to avoid any further or permanent damage to the vehicle.
All in all, you will not necessarily have to worry about your actual brake fluid freezing when the temperature gets cold, but rather what other components within your engine and braking system will malfunction due to the low temperatures.
- Can Brakes Freeze?
If you have ever left your car outside in the snow or the freezing cold, you might have been reluctant to do so. With all of the misconstrued driving conditions and the brittle weather conditions that are associated with the winter, you were probably worried about your braking system, or something else, freezing over inside your car.
While it is true that other similar damages could possibly arise due to this reasoning, you can rest assured that your braking system will not just become frozen if you are driving in the cold or if you leave it outside for the night.
Freezing Brakes:
- Braking system itself will not freeze
- There are no liquids present in the braking system to freeze, unless they are added
This is mostly due to the fact that there are no liquids present in the braking system that will freeze, unless they are added, which we will get into next.
Now that we have established that the actual braking system of your car will not become frozen due to the low temperatures, you might be wondering what actually happens to your brakes in the cold.
While it is true that they will not necessarily freeze, they can suffer changes and damages due to the freezing weather. Take a look at the list down below to get an idea of what happens to brakes in the cold.
Can Brake Lines Freeze?
When the topic of cold weather comes up in relation to cars, there are a lot of misconceptions about what can happen to the inner components of the vehicle.
Since the braking system is one of the most important pieces of any automobile, it is very common for drivers to worry about this area in particular. When the brake lines of a car come in contact with freezing temperatures, can they freeze as well? Will they become covered in ice until they can no longer be used?
In this section, we will be clearing up the answer to the question of whether or not brake lines can freeze. Take a look at the list down below for a general overview, and keep reading to join a deeper conversation on the topic.
Freezing Brake Lines:
- Brake lines will not freeze all on their own
- There is no water or other liquid present inside of the brake lines
- Brake line freezing is due to external causes
- Other materials must get into the lines and become frozen inside
To make this very clear before beginning this explanation, the actual brake lines themselves will not freeze on their own. To answer the previous question, the brake lines in your car will never turn into ice when low temperatures surround them.
This is due to the fact that there is no water or other liquid present inside of the brake lines, or liquids that can actually be frozen, at least.
Instead, brake line freezing is due to external causes. In other words, there is nothing that can happen within the brake lines themselves that will lead them to become frozen, it can only happen when other materials get into the lines.
Keep reading to the next section for an explanation on how brake lines become frozen and what must happen in order for this to occur.