Hello everyone,

I removed my PS reservoir a bit ago to get some space to work in. When I put it back in I must've introduced air into the system, as it's making quite a bit of noise now when I turn. I also completely lost power steering for 2 seconds during a hard turn on a steep incline - I'm guessing this was due to an air pocket that was able to be compressed. Please correct me if I'm misunderstanding a more serious issue.
The fluid is very foamy after driving, and it's just super dirty otherwise. I'm going to do a full flush following the instructions from . If I do this with a buddy to turn on the car and rotate the wheels while I pour in more fluid until it runs clean, that aught to flush any air pockets out of it, right?
Another question is the PS fluid itself. I bought a big bottle of Prestone power steering fluid, but I've heard some people say that our cars can get whiny if their PS pumps are fed anything other than Honda genuine fluid. Is this a serious concern or do you think I should be fine?
I did the turkey baster technique to partially drain/fill the PS fluid (with Prestone fluid) earlier in the year, but I can't recall if the PS pump sounded any different after. It felt much better, that's for sure.

What're your thoughts? Thanks in advance for anything, fellas

 

The recommendation is to use Honda P/S fluid ONLY.

Also, if you flush it or otherwise introduce any air into the system then you'll want to either lift the wheels off the ground (just enough to be off the ground) or put cardboard under the wheels and then turn the wheels lock to lock several times until all the little air bubbles are out. Of course, you'll want to have someone monitoring the reservoir so that the level doesn't get low and introduce more air again. The air bubbles will be tiny/frothy if there's a ton of air so you might need to let it sit for a bit or have fluid and a funnel on hand for the next few days to top it off between trips.

The pump will make a buzzing noise when there is air in the system.

 

Thanks for the response Chojun.
I'll go ahead and return the Prestone stuff then. Didn't realize it was such a big deal - just did some research and it seems the consensus online is hands-down in favor of Honda fluid.
I'm guessing when I put the car on jack stands and rotate the wheel, I'll want the reservoir cap open, right? I'll do the flush anyhow, since my fluid looks like my office coffee at the moment.
That buzzing sound is exactly what it's doing.
Do you think the momentary loss in PS was due to a large air bubble buildup? It only happened once and I've had no further issues aside from the buzzing.

 

my story. I went to my local acura dealership and ask them the difference between their (honda/acura) power steering fluid and the aftermarket honda fluid sold in local autoparts store (oreilly, advanced auto, auotozone, napa, etc) and even the stuff that's marked Honda Power Steering Fluid sold at the local autopart stores." All they could do is shake their head and say "don't buy it". They could not tell me why i should buy theirs or not the aftermarket stuff, offer any real world experience, scientific data or try to make up stories about how honda/acura power fluid was superior. I then called about 3 other acura dealership part department and basically got the same story about not to use anything other than what they are selling but could not offer any real insight as to why it's better to use honda/acura fluid and not some other fluid. Overall i brought the acura/honda fluid from the dealer out of an abundance of caution & fear and not because I have a clear understanding why I shouldn't use aftermarket honda/acura power steering fluid. Just my 0.02 cents.

 

There are a lot of folks on here that will only use Honda/Acura fluids, which is fine if you are the overly cautious type. My car has over 316k miles on it and I've used aftermarket/alternative fluids and components (the few that have been necessary ... all I can remember right now is a single coil pack) without issue. Not saying that the Honda/Acura stuff isn't better than the "compatibles", as I really don't know, but I can tell you that I've had no issues with the products (non-Honda/Acura) I've used, including power steering fluid, brake fluid, transmission fluid, oil filters and coolant.