On my daughter's 2001 Acura TL at 78,000 ml., the power steering fluid looked black. Thus decided to change. Changed the power steering fluid in 30-45 min.
Steering definitely feels better. For those who may be having sounds coming from sharp turns in and out of the garage, will note a change.

Thanks to Ken4 at: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t19334.html, for step by step (with pics) procedure.

Note: Acura TL power steering reservoir is different. There are three pipes attached. The lower of the two in a pair (ID 3/8") is the return. This is the one that you hook to a 3/8" clear plastic tubing to drain.
Suck enough old fluid to be slight below the lower end of the lower most pipe at the reservoir, so that when you remove this pipe from the reservoir, minimal fluid is spilled. (To conveniently remove this lower pipe first remove the upper). After the two plastic pipes are connected one to the drain and the other temporary stop cock, reattach the upper one back to the reservoir.
As you pull out the black rubber pipe, keep it pointed upwards and attach the plastic tubing.
Take your time in getting things arranged. Power steering fluid will not start coming out of the draining tubing until you move the steering wheel.
As your partner starts turning the wheel lock to lock, and fluid starts gravitating into your container, add clean fluid. Stop rotating the wheel or squashing the drain tube will halt fluid drain to catch up with the clean fluid replacement.

 

The easiest way on the tl is to attach a hose to the lower and drain it into a container. While the hose is attached, turn the car on and slowly turn the steering wheel from lock to lock to push old fluid out of the system. When its all out shut the car off and reattach hoses and refill. Start the car and slowly turn the wheel lock to lock again to get air out of the system and top off as necessary

Those are the directions in the factory service manual.

 

Good info. Thanks.

 

Others have cautioned not to let the reservoir empty while draining the old fluid. I understand this would lead to harmful air in the system that could fry some components.
Could this be true?

 

That is true. You don't want the reservoir to be empty. The power steering system will be grinding without fluid causing damages.

 

bleeding brakes.. now this? aw man.. im getting lazyer by the minute......

time to get off my arse and do this....

 

This is what Honda says to do in the factory service manual. It wont hurt the system to do what i said. Just dont go driving the car

 

Better be safe then sorry to turn the steering wheel without fluid.

 

I've done the power steering flush twice now.
The first time, while on car jack sand & ignition off, I flushed the fluid thru the return line while feeding the reservoir hoping that clear fluid would cycle thru the power steering. This did not get the system comlete turn-over; it just mixed with the old.
Two days later, obcessed with desire for an alternative, I repeated. This time I did not fill the reservoir while the return line drained it completely (turning hte steering wheel, lock to lock, with the ignition off). I then reconnected the return line and filled the reservoir. Now I had to turn the engine to get the fluid in the system. This resulted in grinding sounds, but eventually regurged the air bubbles and the grinding sound went away.
My take: use cheap (OEM Destron III?) steering fluid to flush the return line as keeping the reservoir filled (asst. keeps turning the steering wheel lock to lock), and once reasonably clear fluid returns, switch to Honda fluid (three pints) to replace and measure the drained fluid to confirm this replacement

 

Is it common to have low power steering fluid? My previous vehicles, including Accord, didn't have low PS fluid issue. I hope that I am having any leaks. Have not seen any stain on the garage floor.

I just noticed with my TLS that the reservoir was low and was making a bit of high whining noise during low speed turns. I first thought it was the alternator or battery going bad, but turned out to be low power steering reservoir. Added 3/4 bottle of PS fluid and whining noise went away.

 

2 questions - what is the life expectancy of the fluid? when to change?
and how much should we buy to refill the system? thanks again

 

No its not normal for it to be low. Just keep an eye on it. I you see it goig down you have a leak somewhere that needs to be addressed.

 

I dont think it needs to be done often, IF you are going to DIY it id say 3 years. A few bottles are all thats needed (they arent big)

 

Thanks, I have never done this before so maybe it will stiffen up my loose steering a little. The car and fluid is seven years old now....

 

do it now!!!!!-
also flush the brake fluid system- thats suppoded to be done every year!!
there are DIY on both projects

on the ps fluid-use ONLY honda stuff- not that crazy use of other fluid and change when you see clean fluid clean yadyada
All that does is introduce residue of the wrong fluid!

If you follow the DIY or read the OWNER BOOK it tells you what to do and how much fluid is needed- use a larger size hose OVER the return line- like a 1 inch lawn hose and use a hose clamp to secure it- lots of red fluid all over is a bummer to clean up

You can always return unopened fluid

The book says nothing about empty the res first!!- this is not the brake fluid!
simply use a return line- and with the car parked on squares of cardboard to reduce surface friction- start car- turn wheels each way until system dry-
THAT forces all the old stuff out of the rack= where most of the fluid actually is!
Stop engine- connect drain hose back to res and mount res to its bolt
refill and start engine- be ready to add more fluid several times as the rack gulps it in
- turn wheels back and forth to full lock position- thats where the air is hiding!

to be really good on `never done car`- just repeat the entire procedure in a day.
that will allow the last drops to get moved around and come out with next change.

 

loose steering? hows the front end alignment?

 

iirc the owner book calls for ps fluid change at 60k miles under normal driving
If you race, or live in really wet climate- more often may be a good idea for you

 

just a little squishy, alignment is coming soon too, i have one more lower control arm to change out for new bushings next weekend. In total over the last 2 months i ave done new endlinks and sway bar bushings front and rear, new upper control arms tie rods , struts and all the parts and one new lower control arm . one more to go than a good line up...

 

roughly how much, i want to stop on ride home at the honda dealership now and do this!

 

If you have lost fluid and no visible leaks, check the boots on the steering rack. If they even look damp, that's your leak. They can hold several ounces before they show leakage. To really check, remove the boots from the rack. They should be dry. Rack failures are pretty rare on hondas/acuras. As I recall, getting the boots off is kinda of a pain.

 

I will take a look on the weekend. Don't want to spend $1-2 grand for the fix. Hope it's just a fluke and an isolated incident that it became so low.