theineffable

honda never specified any service interval for the power steering fluid so i never bothered to change it before. now my car has 115,000 km and the fluid was pretty dark and nasty colored. my car had no previous steering issues or pump whine but changing the fluid with new honda stuff made the steering wheel feel noticeably lighter. i suggest everyone do this! it's cheap and easy.

1) suck all the fluid out of the reservoir (turkey baster worked for me).
2) remove the return line (the upper hose) from the reservoir then put the line into a narrow neck bottle (coke bottle)
3) turn engine on then turn the steering wheel from side to side to get the remaining fluid out of the system (approx half of the fluid was in the reservoir, the rest was inside the system). note honda service manual said to do this.
4) refill reservoir, turn car on, top off reservoir.

some people say to remove the entire reservoir for cleaning but mine appeared to be clean and i wasn't having any power steering issues. in the future, i'll probably just replace the fluid in the reservoir once a year. i could get the rest of the fluid out but that would require running the power steering pump dry (not a huge fan of this).

It Wasn't Me

It doesn't specify "power steering fluid" but the Maintenance Schedule does say to "Check all fluid levels, condition of fluids, and check for leaks." every 20k.

Midori Bandit!

HA HA.

Now someone reply to my CHP INSPECTION THREAD!

theineffable

honda kept telling me mine was fine even though it's so old...

bin_dizzle

^^^

I just asked the same thing today and they told me the same thing.

Whatislove

I do a brake, steering and radiator flush every fall.

It Wasn't Me

Another reason I never take my car to the dealership. Shady.

It Wasn't Me

Thought I'd bump this up with a little update.

I went ahead and flushed my power steering today. I didn't use the turkey baster method, though. I had an oral syringe and some clear vinyl tubing laying around.


After I completely flushed the system once, I changed the fluid in the reservoir again. It was still a little dirty after the first flush.


Edit: For those of you who may be a bit worried about spilling fluid.... cut a couple feet off an old garden hose. It'll slip right over the end of the return line and it won't leak. Then you can put your catch-can on the ground and not worry about it potentially spilling on your car.

kc2keo

I did this except I didn't start engine. I turned it back and forth a bunch of times with engine off the hard way until fluid was trickling very slowly from the line. Took reservoir off car also.

I placed the line inside a jet dry container (http://www.thegreathardwarestore.com...942&click=2744) and filled it almost half way.

First thing I did was cover my belts with newspaper along with other hardware surrounding the steering equipment.

Then I filled it with one whole container of steering fluid for Honda (http://www.amazon.com/HONDA-POWER-ST.../dp/B000J15TBU). Had to use a little extra from a second bottle to bring it to appropriate level.

The old fluid was very darkened and looked like black coffee. Now it looks like coffee with milk in it. I hope nothing is wrong with my steering hardware. After taking the vehicle for a test drive I noticed that steering was easier so I deem this job a success. Maybe I should drain a little more from the system and use the rest of my fluid?

Hope this thread isn't too old to make people angry about bringing old posts back

jrm

my dealer, did actually say it was a great idea and told me how to remove the hose, turn the wheel and purge it all out with ease. Im glad I did, at 100k it was super dark as was the brake fluid. Im hopeing this car will be a 500k runner!

ken9

My civic 92 have 300 000 Km on it and evey fluid black as pitch. I would need to replace steering fluid. Good stuff..

honda.lioness

I am doubtful that the PS fluid being dark means a whole lot as far as integrity of the system. The only reports I see of PS fluid problems are where people replace the old fluid with non-Honda fluid. Dealers normally try to get people to over-maintain their car. The fact that they are not pushing changing out the PS fluid says to me that it is really not necessary, perhaps for the life of the car.

By contrast, the spec for brake fluid is very clear for 2001-2005 Civics (and probably other Hondas): Three years, regardless of mileage.

Two cents.

Papa Joe's

HONDA Power steering fluid is a lifetime fluid thats why its not under a schedule. Color means nothing about condition.

jrm

true, but what mileage does honda have in mind for lifetime? Kia thinks 100k is good and the goverment is buying back perfectly good 2002 cars with less than 50k on them under cash for clunkers.
I changed mine once- $5 well spent with full intentions to run this car past 500k as my fathers dodge diesel just turned one million miles without the valve cover being removed. the dodge auto trans is yet another story

HondaXtreme100

Hahah yeah, you're supposed to change your fluids. Thought that was common knowledge...

It Wasn't Me

Regardless of opinion regarding whether or not it has to be changed; my steering wheel turns with less effort after doing the flush. Had nothing been wrong with the condition of my power steering fluid (old, dark, etc) it stands to reason that there would have been no change in how much effort it takes to turn the steering wheel.

theineffable

I agree. My steering wheel was noticeably lighter after changing the fluid.

(. )( .)

bump, how much fluid do i need if i were to flush the whole system? I'm guessing around 3 qts?

It Wasn't Me

One quart should be enough. Buy two if you want plenty of extra fluid.

Also see: https://honda-tech.com/forums/showpo...5&postcount=13
(can be found in the FAQ's)

Brendon17370

i did that and it worked fine

PreClude

Sorry to bump it again, but what was everyone's experience on the fluid of choice.

For example, Honda OEM brand of fluid vs. X or Y brand. I have heard rumors that you should ONLY use Honda OEM power steering fluid. I changed mine a few months ago with some Prestone stuff or whatever, and now I think my power steering is going bye bye. Trying to figure out if that's the cause. Hard to believe just that fluid enough would kill the pump or whatever...

It Wasn't Me

Could just be coincidence. Was the fluid you used rated for use with Hondas? What makes you think the power steering pump is beginning to fail?


I've been using the same "MasterPro - Honda/Multi-Purpose" fluid since January 2010 without any issues.

anibis

Yeah I've used the Prestone Honda PS fluid without issue. If the bottle didn't say it was for Honda/Acura then it's not for Honda's and can cause pump problems.

Honda's are picky with most of their fluids, brake fluid and oil are the only fluids that don't have to be OEM.

PreClude

The bottle I used said it was "for Honda/Acura" but I have my doubts only because of my now apparent leak/failure (?) but it could just be coincidence. Still trying to figure this one out:

SirProject

iTrader: (1)

looks like its been there a while. did you just change the fluid because if so it couldnt look like that already it would had to have been leaking for some time