My mechanic recently observed on my 1999 Honda Civic EX (120,000 miles) that the brake lines were quite rusty. Is this something that I can monitor such as if a leak does develop the pressure on the brake would be different. Or does this require immediate attention since the brakes could fail suddenly.

I ask since this is not a repair that I will have done due to the age and condition of the car. It was my hope to get some additional miles out of the car, but not at the expense of safety. I am planning on buying a Honda Fit, but had hoped to wait until the end of the year to buy the car.

thx

 

....Rusty?
Well if you haven't changed your brake fluid in a few years then I would think the brake fluid would get rusty from the inside of the brake lines. You can flush the brake lines to get rid of much of the rust.
There's really no way to monitor it but to look at the fluid & seeing how much rust is in there..but if rust is in there..then you can flush it & change it....I don't believe brake failure will happen tho.
But if you're real worried about your brakes...Just test them out in your drive way or around your block before you go where you have to go.

 

The fluid has been changed, but apparently the lines that go from the master cylinder and travel to the various brakes are rusty...if you start to rub them the rust starts to flake off..

 

Shouldn't be anything to really worry about if it's external rusting with no wet spots on the lines.
Only worry if there's seepage or saturation on the lines..but even that there wouldn't be any "failure" for a long while(months at least)....Just check them every 2-3 weeks..you'll be fine.