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Needed to top up my clutch fluid. Is it ok to mix different clutch fluid color? One I currently have on the reservoir is blue. I will try to look for blue but what if I cannot find one. I really need to top it up to avoid problems, then get it flushed and replaced with fresh fluid soon.

Clutch and brake reservoir are separate and do not share.

Car is a 96 Honda Civic EK4

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  • What DOT grade is the fluid you have in your car and what DOT grade were you planning to buy?
    – juhist
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 19:13
  • Information about the car would be very helpful to getting you an accurate answer. What year, make and model is it?
    – CharlieRB
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 19:34
  • Sorry, it is a 96 Honda Civic EK4. I'm not sure about the DOT grade unfortunately as I haven't changed the brake/clutch fluids when I got the car, only the transmission oil, coolant and engine oil.
    – 110100100
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 19:57
  • Within the US, you can no longer get blue brake fluid (much to the chagrin of ATE Super Blue fans). It seems the clutch fluid was, at one point, filled with this fluid. DOT grades are compatible, so you can use either DOT 3 or 4, as @Zshoulders said in his answer. I'd also recommend taking a look at why the clutch fluid level is dropping. Your clutch might be pretty worn, or the system could be leaking. EDIT: DOT 5 is special. Don't use it unless it says specifically to use it.
    – Hari
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 21:38

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EDIT EDIT of my not being able to read:

From the 96 Civic owners manual: "use Genuine Honda Brake Fluid or an equivalent from a sealed container that is marked DOT3 or DOT4 only. Brake fluid marked DOT5 is not compatible with your car's braking system...

Use the same DOT3 or DUT4 brake fluid specified for the brake system [for the clutch]." 96 civic owners manual

Brake fluid here being a general term for Hydraulic fluid. Various manufacturers add various dyes to their fluids, so based on color alone we can't really tell a lot about it. Would be a slightly different story if this was fresh out of the showroom.

If this is some sort of aftermarket system, or you have reason to believe that it isn't DOT3 or 4, you need to get the whole thing flushed anyway. Unless you have some sort of performance trans/clutch/hydraulic assembly, VERY good bet it is DOT3 or 4.

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  • They are in a separate reservoir. Brake fluid is fresh and gold, clutch fluid is dark blue. So I can put a non blue fluid in the clutch reservoir? These are non aftermarket. So I assume these are either DOT4 or DOT3
    – 110100100
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 20:36
  • You should probably be fine, but its impossible to be 100% sure. Color of hydraulic fluid doesn't tell us much about what it is. Blue could be bargain brand, it could be expensive DOT3, it could be 4, it could be ATE super blue, it could be DOT5, it could be BMW hydraulic fluid if the car was ever serviced at a BMW dealer for some unknown reason...
    – Zshoulders
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 20:49
  • I'd suggest since "Genuine Honda Antifreeze" is blue, it might make some sense that "Genuine Honda Brake Fluid" might also be blue ... just thinking out loud.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2 ♦
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 21:27
  • Yea i was trying to find what color Genuine honda fluid is but i couldnt find a recent source... seems to me that since ATE super blue got made illegal in the States, they probably don't mess with colors a whole lot anymore (at least over here)
    – Zshoulders
    Commented Mar 16, 2017 at 21:37
  • I got a DOT4 fluid. It's ok to mix, but it's not the ideal solution as I was recently told by my mechanic. Still better to flush the whole system and put a fresh brake fluid in.
    – 110100100
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 20:36

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