Life of braided steel brake lines

[yair]

I had a front brake line break on me once, in a 1995 850.
Car was 20 years old at the time, luckily for me, I was not driving. I parked the car for 20 minutes, and when I started it and pressed on the break to put it in drive - I felt a small poof, and the brake pedal went down to the floor.

I should have replaced it before it failed, but I was still in the process of assessing what it needed for a stage 0. I guess I got part of my answer

[erikv11]

The rubber brake lines crack and need to be replaced every few years, you just have to keep an eye on them. The surface cracks are not leaks in the jacket underneath, but take it as a sign to replace them.

[matthew1]

... parked the car for 20 minutes, and when I started it and pressed on the break to put it in drive - I felt a small poof, and the brake pedal went down to the floor.