Power Steering Question

Hey Tacoma family! I have a 18' SR5 V6 and when she starts up the power steering is quite loud when I turn the wheel (mainly below 60 degrees F outside).

It usually goes away after driving, but today I noticed the reservoir was quite low.

I see in my manual it states to use DEXRON ii/iii and I found this:
https://parts.fredhaastoyota.com/p/Toyota-Automatic-Transmission-Fluid-DII/69278804/00718ATF00.html

My question is, can I just use this fluid to top off the obviously low reservoir? With the state of the world I'd like to not take her in to the dealership if I can help it right now lol.

Any advice would be awesome!

 

Topping it off won't cause any damage that's not already been done.

The sound it makes is pump whine or belt/pulley noise?

 

Hey thanks for the reply.

It's a whine when I turn the wheel. Not high pitch like a belt squeal but like a moaning almost.

 

Power steering pumps, and positive displacement pumps in general, don't like to be run dry and damage can occur if the pump rotor elements are not sufficiently lubricated, but a low reservoir should still be plenty of fluid to keep that from happening. If it was completely empty, that could be different. It's also possible that the problem is unrelated to the fluid level and that is just a correlation you made because you looked at the fluid after noticing the noise. In any case, top it off and see if anything changes.

 

Siphon out the fluid from the reservoir, and refill with new fluid. Do it again after a hundred miles or so. You can repeat this process several times until it's completely pink. You didn't say how many miles you had on it, but over time the fluid will wear and some moisture can enter the system. I have done this on several vehicles with power steering noise and it always seemed to help. If nothing else you will have fresh clean fluid

 

I like Valvoline Maxlife dextron for PS fluid. I would flush the whole system by way of drain and fill of reservoir repeatedly. If the pump ran dry, it may be too late to save it. Flushing fluid will help get any metal shavings out of the system if it ran dry.

Pump fluid out of reservoir
Refill to max line
Start engine
Turn wheels lock to lock 5-10 times
Turn off engine
Drain then fill reservoir

Repeat this several times. Easier on the system if you put the front up on jack stands.

 

It currently has 47k miles on it, and the fluid did not look pink from the outside.

 

Factory fluid doesn't have dye. So it shouldnt be red or pink.

If its low its likely the rack that's leaking.

 

Alright, going to order that oem fluid and top it off and hope for the best.

Would topping the fluid off void a warranty?

 

No, as long as you put the correct fluid in.