Hello all,

I had the chance to bleed the brakes on a '06 Ridgeline the other day so I thought that I'd share the procedure with you guys Here's how you'd perform this rudimentary maintenance job:

--A few precautionary notes--
**Do not reuse the drained fluid. Use only clean Honda DOT 3 Brake Fluid from an unopened container. Using a non-Honda brake fluid can cause corrosion and shorten the life of the system. Do not mix different brands of brake fluid; they may not be compatible.

**Make sure no dirt or other foreign matter is allowed to contaminate the brake fluid.

**Do not spill brake fluid on the vehicle, it may damage the paint; if brake fluid does contact the paint, wash it off immediately with water.


1) The reservoir on the master cylinder must be at the MAX (upper) level mark at the start of the bleeding procedure and checked after bleeding each brake caliper. Add fluid as required.

2) Make sure the brake fluid level in the reservoir is at the MAX (upper) level line.

3) Slide a piece of clear plastic hose over the bleed screw, and submerge the other end in a container of new brake fluid.

4) Have someone slowly pump the brake pedal several times, then apply steady pressure.

5) Loosen the left-front brake bleed screw (ref #3 in this diagram) to allow air to escape from the system.

6) Then tighten the bleed screw securely.

7) Repeat the procedure for each caliper until no air bubbles are in the fluid.

8) Bleed the calipers in the sequence shown.



9) Refill the master cylinder reservoir to the MAX (upper) level line.

 

This method has been around for many many years and us old timers use it often,thanks for posting for the new kids.I recently purchased a one man system from Harbour freight that uses a compressor,love it.