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Thank you, FMTRVT. I agree that most Americans never have their brake fluid changed but I blame manufacturers for not including it as a maintenance procedure. I've never seen it listed in a schedule for any domestic vehicle I've owned. As you probably know, most European makers have specific/regular change intervals listed in the manual that comes w/ the car and it's part of the normal schedule if service is performed at the dealer. BMW is annual, if not mistaken, Porsche and MB are semi-annual, etc...
BMW's annual change is a little more than necessary, IMO, (and another revenue-enhancer for their dealer service network), but once every 2 or 3 years is very prudent. All brake fluid is hydroscopic and attracts dirt as well as moisture, there is nothing special about American brake systems to prevent this. According to the schedule printed w/ domestic vehicles, you never change the fluid. Ever.
It's one of the first things I do on any used vehicle I buy, as well as either change or clean-out the reservoir. (I boil them out w/ degreaser and rinse w/ distilled H2o, then dry in warm oven). I've bought otherwise well-maintained vehicles w/ 10 year-old fluid in the brake system that looks like dirty toilet water,all because no one ever told the owner that it needed to be changed!
How's your average driver going to know to do that if the book doesn't say so?? i know plenty of car guys in the U.S. who don't know about this. I blame the domestic auto-makers and it's something I've never understood. I'd think they'd specify it just to CYA from a liability standpoint if heaven forbid there was a terrible accident that could be blamed on brake fade/failure from filthy contaminated fluid.
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2005 F-250 4x4 SC SB 6.0 stock 
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