Hi guys so today I was on the road for about and hour everything was going fine. I pulled into the starbucks drive-thru to grab some coffee, then parked my car to answer a phone call. About 5 minutes after sitting still I tried to pull my car out of the spot and noticed I had no power steering at all then white smoke proceeded to come from under the hood. I popped the hood and noticed white smoke still coming from the motor somewhere so I shut the car off. I gave it about 20-25 minutes before turning it on, the power steering came back but was stiff. Turned it back off because I started to see smoke again. The third time i turned it back on power steering was back like normal. I sat waiting for the smoke to come back but it didnt so I made the 5 minute drive back home with no problems. When I got home I tried to see if it would smoke again but it would not and everything is running fine. Im still concerned that in the future the problem will come back and would like to get it fixed ASAP. Does anyone have any idea what it could be?

 

Have you checked your power steering fluid levels? I just changed out my power steering pump on my 06 TSX because it was leaking; but, not enough to drip on the ground. The area around the pump was covered in fluid. I think I caught it in time before it started to burn on the engine block or damage the pump and rack. The power steering reservoir was way below the min level and might of ran out if I waited another week. I purchased a used power steering pump, O-rings, and fluid on eBay for around $120 and took to a local shop to replace for another $150. Acura wanted +$600 to do the same work. Hopefully, it is just a leaky pump and the rack is A-OK.

Another possibility is there was a recall on a defective power steering hose that might might break open and spray fluid on the engine causing a possible fire. Your 04 might have the defective PS hose still on the car?

 

Maybe your drive belt is slipping.

Or maybe your PS fluid is leaking.

 

I have checked and no obvious leaks or whining from the pump. I can do the labor myself Im just wondering what parts I should buy before I purchase something I dont need. The fluid needs to be changed so I think ill do a flush and replace the O rings and have a look at the pump when I have it all out. Thanks for the insight ill come back with an update on the situation. I just find it weird that there was smoke coming out but no fluid coming from the high pressure line onto the manifold. I also checked if the pump was seized up to cause friction smoke from the belt but that was not the issue. The problem has not come back since the incident so im just unsure my car must be possessed

 

I had a similar issue with my 04 tsx, no smoke however, only stiffness when turning. But it was just due to my power steering fluids being low

 

My TSX formed a leak in the PS rack and I had to replace it in Sept. There is a TSB for faulty seals that need replacement but only a reman rack is available outside of the dealers.

 

My P/S rack when out in Sept with fluid pouring out of both boots. Found a new replacement rack on Amazon for $240 and local shop to install/alignment for $250. Steering seems to be back to normal with my used eBay P/S pump and Amazon steering rack.

I checked and the price went up from $239 to $316 in the last 2 months.
Amazon 04-08 TSX P/S Rack:

Amazon

Amazon