[smithrmark]

just got back from the steelership and the mech said that my power steering fluid is dirty and that it would cost 120 cad to replace it.

now heres the story i went into that same dealership for my oil change 3 months prior to this and the mech did not say anything about changing the power steering fluid at that time. advance to now and all os a sudden my power steering fluid is dirty and i need to change it.

what gives i never had to chage the power steering fluid on any of my cars now at 80 000km on my sienna i need to chage it. something does not add up right.

However i do get power steering pump noise when the fluid is cold up here in canada let say from anywere from 5c and below i can hear my pump pushing the fluid until it get warmed up.

 

[2006SiennaLE]

I would recommend getting a second opinion from another dealer.

 

[brian_bp]

I would recommend getting a second opinion from someone competent. That could be at a Toyota dealership, but it could also be somewhere else that there is a trusted mechanic. Assessing fluid condition doesn't sound very specific to Toyota to me.

An interesting approach - which I might take but I'm not recommending for anyone else - is to challenge the service department to explain what is wrong which happened entirely since the last service, since of course they checked it then. I would even go for "it was fine until you guys did that last service; what did you mess up?" I don't seriously think they caused a problem, but I'm losing patience with incompetent service departments...

I've never changed power steering fluid, either, but then, our first few vehicles didn't have power steering.

 

[smithrmark]

my brother said and he was a toyota service tech.

you never should have to change the power steering fluid unless you have a less in your system.

he also said if you want peace of mind buy some power steering fluid and add it to you system right now.

but take out the old stuff with a turkey baster and do this till the bottle is gone that should get most of a the crap out of the system if there was any to begin with.

 

[robo5]

There is nothing in the Toyota "maintence" schedule that say's to change the fluid that I am aware of. Small lub shops are now doing it so I think some dealerships are jumping on the band-wagon and trying to turn more profit.

My understanding is that they use a machine and drain the reservoir than add a flush. Run the flush in the system for a couple minuits then this machine exchanges the fluid by removing the old fluid and adding new fluid at the same time.

Myself I don't like adding a flush to old fluids. I have had very bad experiances in the past. I did an engine flush on one of my old vehicles (it was recommended) Basically the next day I had so much blow-by that I could not keep the PCV valve in and valve cover started leaking bad due to pressure. Next bad experiance was I added a flush to my cooling system. Replaced the coolant and 1 week later my waterpump let go. Found other people using a flush in there coolant before changing it had the same problem.

In NO way am I going to but a flush in my power steering and "may" take out my rack or pump. I can see that the fluid gets dirty and using a turkey baster would be my route.

 

[tonystewart]

my brother said and he was a toyota service tech.

you never should have to change the power steering fluid unless you have a less in your system.

he also said if you want peace of mind buy some power steering fluid and add it to you system right now.

but take out the old stuff with a turkey baster and do this till the bottle is gone that should get most of a the crap out of the system if there was any to begin with.

Great idea and one I have followed annually since 06.

 

[lawrence co]

You live close by ill change for you for free. Just bring me some replacement fluid.

 

[wiswind]

Your power steering system uses Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF).
Do NOT use power steering fluid....(I had some Redline Power Steering fluid that IS ATF).
Use the same ATF as you put in your tranny (no need to stock 2 different fluids).

I changed the fluid in my 2003........
Get a shallow pan for the fluid.....and some ATF (synthetic would be best).
Release the metal clip that holds the power steering resevoir to the inner fender.
Remove the cap from the resevoir.
Tilt the resevoir and drain the fluid into the shallow pan.
Refill the resevoir with ATF.
Replace the cap and slide resevoir into the clip on the inner fender.
Start engine.......turn steering wheel back and forth.
If you want to be thorough.......do the drain and fill again.

No need to disconnect any hoses........fast and easy.


<a href="http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2195635090011220610pcLqYl"><img src="http://inlinethumb32.webshots.com/27551/2195635090011220610S600x600Q85.jpg" alt="Power Steering Fluid Change 2"></a>

 

[2006SiennaLE]

I was just going to say that I've used Mobil1 Synthetic ATF in my Contour and it has worked great.
To drain the fluid on the Contour, I pulled the power steering fluid lines that go to the cooler but I don't know if that's an option on the Sienna.

 

[robo5]

To drain the fluid on the Contour, I pulled the power steering fluid lines that go to the cooler but I don't know if that's an option on the Sienna.

Yes there is a couple of flexable lines on the 2004-2010. It will be messy but a payoff of more fluid that will be replaced.

Found a pdf on bleeding.

 

[wag]

Your power steering system uses Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF).
Do NOT use power steering fluid....(I had some Redline Power Steering fluid that IS ATF).
Use the same ATF as you put in your tranny (no need to stock 2 different fluids).

In the case of the early gen2 3.3L Siennas, the power steering does NOT use the same fluid as the automatic transmission. The transmission uses ATF Type T-IV while the power steering uses ATF DEXRON II or ATF DEXRON III so you WILL have to stock two different fluids.
Toyota does not recommend changing the power steering fluid but the fluid does get quite hot and I guess it can oxidize and degrade to a certain extent over time just like ATF does in a transmission so it might make sense to change it since it is so cheap and easy to do.

 

[tcp]

Not to hijack this thread, but my PS fluid doesn't look anything like ATF. It's a clear color. In the 5 years we've had the van I've added a bit of ATF to top up the reservoir once. Can I mix them? Is this bad? What is the original fluid? Certainly not Dexron or type T-IV.

 

[wag]

Not to hijack this thread, but my PS fluid doesn't look anything like ATF. It's a clear color. In the 5 years we've had the van I've added a bit of ATF to top up the reservoir once. Can I mix them? Is this bad? What is the original fluid? Certainly not Dexron or type T-IV.

If you have an early gen2 3.3L Sienna, the owner's manual specifically states that the power steering fluid to use is DEXRON II or DEXRON III.

 

[samilcar]

Oftentimes, the ATF fluid that the factory installs in the power steering reservoir (not just from Toyota) does not have the red dye that is added to the ATF fluid that goes in the transmission. I'm not sure why this is, other than that the factory might get a price break on buying bulk amounts of ATF fluid without the dye added.

Regardless, if your owners manual calls for ATF in the power steering reservoir, it doesn't matter if you add red dyed ATF to the clear ATF that was originally in there.

 

[JeffG]

I think the stealerships are trying new ways to drum up additional service…

I have a early 2004 model that was effected by a power steering hose / clamp recall. So I took the van to the stealership and they performed the recall fix which involved replacing the PS fluid. They replaced the factory ps fluid with the red colored Dexron III ATF. Fast forward a few months later when I took the van in for an oil change, the service advisor comes out and says your ps fluid is dirty and we recommend a flush for some high $$$ … I reminded them of the recall and replacing of ps fluid and they quickly changed their position that it doesn’t need it… Now I know they have a record of everything done to the van by their shop right in front of them, so I think to myself what a joke… Fast forward a few oil changes later and they star in again with the whole flush the ps flud give us money routine…

At this point I decided my 3 year 36k mile warranty had past and I started doing my own oil changes ( I do every other vehicle I was just being lazy with the van).

I also decided to go the turkey baster route and pulled as much fluid out replacing it with Dexron III ATF. I then ran the rack back and forth a few times and repeated the process until I felt I had some of the fluid changed out…


Now in theory you can pull the return hose off and shoot the fluid into a container while pouring new fluid into the reservoir however this is tricky as the return pressure will be high and fluid will go everywhere if you don’t hold or tape the hose. Then you have to make sure you don’t let the reservoir run dry and introduce air into the system or run the rack dry and risk damaging it…

 

[robo5]

Not to hijack this thread, but my PS fluid doesn't look anything like ATF. It's a clear color. In the 5 years we've had the van I've added a bit of ATF to top up the reservoir once. Can I mix them? Is this bad? What is the original fluid? Certainly not Dexron or type T-IV.

You can mix them no problem. Good point you have brought up.

 

[Old Crows]

Your power steering system uses Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF).
Do NOT use power steering fluid....(I had some Redline Power Steering fluid that IS ATF).
Use the same ATF as you put in your tranny (no need to stock 2 different fluids).

In the case of the early gen2 3.3L Siennas, the power steering does NOT use the same fluid as the automatic transmission. The transmission uses ATF Type T-IV while the power steering uses ATF DEXRON II or ATF DEXRON III so you WILL have to stock two different fluids.
Toyota does not recommend changing the power steering fluid but the fluid does get quite hot and I guess it can oxidize and degrade to a certain extent over time just like ATF does in a transmission so it might make sense to change it since it is so cheap and easy to do.

Thoughts Gentlemen? Castrol Import Multi-Vehicle ATF product information says it is compatible with a lot of vehicle requirements (specifically Toyota T-IV and Dexron III H, but not Dexron VI). I'm going to change the P/S fluid and have some Castrol M-I left over from transmission fluid change. The P/S cap calls for DEXRON, no suffix. Anyone see issues in using the Castrol M-I in the P/S of my '04 Sienna?

Also, there's the Castrol "High Mileage" http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/b...ING/local_assets/downloads/p,q/pds_HM_ATF.pdf

 

[wiswind]

I use Redline D4 ATF in my tranny, which (on my 2003) calls for a fluid that is "recommended for" the Dexron III specification.
This same fluid also lists the Toyota T-IV specification.
I have read posts on forums of people being very happy with this fluid in both the Dexron III application and T-IV application with our vehicles.

My personal opinion (and I am not a mechanic) is that a fluid that is a Dexron III or T-IV is fine for the power steering.
The power steering is not a fussy as the transmission, and I would have used the Redline D4 in a Gen II Sienna that calls for the T-IV fluid, and thus the same fluid in the power steering.
But, that is only my unqualified opinion.

 

[steelcity]

I like a clear p/s fluid so you can tell when she's getting dirty,same concept with the brake fluid .

 

[Old Crows]

I like a clear p/s fluid so you can tell when she's getting dirty,same concept with the brake fluid .

Well, that's a point. Mine is black right now.... time for a change. Heading out to do it now....