You can bleed your brakes at home as long as you have a car jack and jack stands, a lug wrench, socket wrench, a short length of narrow tubing, an empty container, the correct brake fluid, and a friend to pump the brakes for you.

If you’re looking to save yourself some cash by taking care of brake-related maintenance at home, but aren’t familiar with the process, don’t worry.

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What does it mean to bleed your brakes?

In the fundamental sense, “bleeding the brakes” simply refers to the process by which hydraulic brake systems—and specifically the brake lines—are manually purged of air bubbles.

Performing this procedure essentially ensures that your car’s brakes will work properly and reliably, as trapped air isn’t something you want in your vehicle’s braking system due to the fact that it reduces pressure in the brakes, making them less effective and giving them a spongy feel.

MORE:

7 common reasons your brakes are grinding

Bleeding brakes safety tips

Of course, you should know a few things before bleeding your brakes to avoid accidentally hurting yourself or damaging your vehicle—as long as you follow these tips, the procedure should go off without a hitch.

To safely bleed your brakes, keep the following in mind:

Always secure your vehicle firmly on jack stands before working underneath it

Wear gloves when handling brake fluid, as it contains carcinogenic substances

Fixing a brake fluid leak should only be entrusted to professional mechanics

Bleed your brakes in the correct order—if you don’t know it, consult your owner’s manual

Don’t allow brake fluid to come in contact with your brake rotors or brake pads

What you need to bleed your brakes

Before you can bleed your brakes, however, you need to ensure you have the right tools for the job—this makes the process easier and safer for all parties involved. So if you’re ready to get started, gather the following:

Car jack and jack stands

Lug wrench

Socket wrench

A length of narrow tubing

An empty container

Another person to press the brake pedal

How to tell if your brake pads and shoes are worn out

How to bleed your brakes at home

Once you have all of the necessary tools—and a friend or family member to help you out—follow the steps outlined below to bleed your own brakes at home.

Put your car on jack stands and remove the wheels

The first thing you’ll need to do is use a car jack, and jack stands to lift your vehicle off the ground, as you will need to climb underneath your car multiple times during this process. After successfully raising your vehicle onto the jacks and securing them, you can start removing the wheels.

In order to remove the wheels, you will need a lug wrench to loosen the lug nuts.

Find the bleeder screws on the brake caliper

With all four wheels removed, it’s time to find the brake bleeder screws—depending on your vehicle, these will be located either on the base of the brake calipers or drum brakes.

Once found, you’ll want to loosen each screw with a socket wrench. If you’re having difficulty loosening the screws, spray them with WD-40 or some other penetrating oil and wait 30 minutes before trying again. If they still won’t loosen, the screws strip, or snap off completely, you’ll need to have a mechanic finish the procedure for you.

After loosening the screws, tighten them back up again—just not too tightly. You’ll only be able to bleed one brake at a time and you don’t want air entering the brake system through a loose bleeder valve.

Check the brake fluid level

Open your hood and check the brake fluid level. If it is underneath the reservoir’s “fill” line, add fresh fluid until the reservoir is full. Leave the brake master cylinder cap unscrewed but still in place on top of the reservoir—this will help prevent further air bubbles should the fluid level drop too low.

MORE: How to check and add brake fluid

Put tubing over bleeder screw end

Check your owner’s manual for the correct order in which you’re supposed to bleed your brakes—most cars require you to bleed the brake furthest from the master cylinder reservoir first (or the rear brake on the passenger side), but some vehicles have a different order.

Once you’ve figured out the correct order, fit a clear tube (preferably 1/4 inch in diameter) tightly over the end of the first bleeder screw—place the other end of the tubing into an empty container and hang it somewhere above the height of the bleeder valve.

Have a friend press the brake pedal

Now it’s time for your friend to get involved—have them pump the brake pedal a few times until they feel solid resistance, at which point they should shout “Pressure!” and continue holding pressure on the pedal.

Open the bleeder screw

Once your assistant has yelled “Pressure!,” use your wrench to open the bleeder screw valve—the hydraulic pressure from the depressed brake pedal should force the old brake fluid and any air bubbles out of the brake line, through the tubing, and into the container.

As this happens, the brake pedal will slowly start to dropping—once it nears the floor, your assistant should shout “Down!” and you will need to close the bleeder valve immediately. At this point, your assistant can release the pedal and it will raise back up on its own.

Repeat this process as many times as needed until no more air bubbles come out in the spent brake fluid.

Repeat on each brake

After you bleed your first brake, check the fluid level in your master cylinder and add more fluid if necessary. Repeat the steps listed above on all three of your remaining brakes—once you’ve finished, secure each bleeder screw and fill up the brake fluid reservoir one last time.

MORE:

How to get air out of brake lines without bleeding

When to take your car to a mechanic

Of course, there are some instances where you might be better off having a mechanic bleed your brakes for you—these include:

You do not have the appropriate tools

You do not have another person to help you

The bleeder screws can’t be loosened, stripped, or snapped off completely

Furthermore, some brake-related issues can’t be solved via a simple brake-system flush, such as:

Noise upon braking—likely the result of worn brake pads or a faulty brake rotor

Brake lock-up—if your brakes start to lock up and the pedal does not return to the neutral position, you’ll need a mechanic’s assistance

ABS isn’t working—if the brake pedal feels firm but your ABS isn’t working, there might be an issue with the ABS module

Brake fluid leak—if your brake fluid starts leaking, call a mobile mechanic or a tow-truck company rather than driving to the nearest automotive service center

What to do if you hear a squealing noise from brakes

How to find affordable car insurance

As long as you have the right tools and know-how, bleeding your own brakes is fairly easy—almost as easy as finding affordable car insurance with the

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Does the car need to be running to bleed the brakes?

No, your car does not need to be running in order to bleed the brakes—in fact, bleeding your brakes with the engine on can be dangerous if you don’t have your wheels properly blocked off.

Is bleeding brakes more difficult in the winter?

Generally speaking, bleeding your brakes in the winter is no more difficult than bleeding your brakes in the summer, spring, or fall, as temperatures must reach into the -40s before brake fluid actually freezes.

If, however, you find that your brake fluid has become sluggish, it may be necessary to drive your vehicle for a little while to allow the brake fluid to heat up, before letting your vehicle sit for an hour and trying again.

Is it hard to bleed your own brakes?

As long as you have the correct tools and another person to help you out, bleeding your own brakes isn’t really that difficult of a process—you should, however, still consult your owner’s manual for any recommendations and follow the proper brake-bleeding sequence.

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