B4GT Posted October 12, 2004 Share Posted October 12, 2004 Hi, I noticed my Power Steering fluid is at cold min even when the engine is hot, I want to top off the fluid. The dealer said any Dexron 3 ATF fluid is fine, though the manual says not to mix different brand of fluids. The dealer doesn't even carry subaru fluid. Any one has experience with this? Can I put another brand of fluid in there? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanboy Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 Wow, came on here to check out if anybody else had their PS fluid at the min cold level while hot, and here you are! Goof from the factory on a group of cars? Low for a reason??? -B -B http://www.standardshift.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eamiller Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 [quote name='B4GT']Hi, I noticed my Power Steering fluid is at cold min even when the engine is hot, I want to top off the fluid. The dealer said any Dexron 3 ATF fluid is fine, though the manual says not to mix different brand of fluids. The dealer doesn't even carry subaru fluid. Any one has experience with this? Can I put another brand of fluid in there? Thanks.[/QUOTE] Bah, it's just hydraulic fluid. Power steering racks don't put nearly the stress on the fluid as ATFs do. Don't worry about it and just put some Dexron III in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 mine has been below the cold min since day 1, but the sales guy told me not to worry... it will be his ass if anything goes wrong. This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deer Killer Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 [quote name='gt_ltd']mine has been below the cold min since day 1, but the sales guy told me not to worry... it will be his ass if anything goes wrong.[/QUOTE] The only thing I ever want to hear from a salesmen is him agreeing to my price... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanboy Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 So what color is the PS fluid from the factory? A pale yellow correct? Got it topped off at the dealer, looks like candy apple red now. Looks like they mixed different fluids. But most Dextron III fluid is red. Wonder what the factory stuff is. Hehehe... Of course now I think I hear some PS pump whine. Of course, it is so slight it could have always been there, and others think I'm crazy. :) I'll keep an eye and ear on the level and any noise, if any. -B -B http://www.standardshift.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascade-LGT Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 [size=1][size=1][size=1]During a parking maneuver heard noise and remembered this thread. Power steering fluid level way down. Bought some ATF fluid and replenished. Noise gone... Wonder about dealer PDI and if it’s really performed. My car has about 4500 miles on it now and was purchased in late September. Minor problem but this kind of crap does little for Subaru's dealer reputation. I believe the product is good, but if SOA's dealers do not perform up to the car's potential, Subaru will still come up short - not to mention potential damage to vehicles not properly PDI'd. Haven't completed satisfaction survey and am considering blasting the dealer citing this and the fact that the tires did not have proper pressure. Am I being too demanding? This does not seem like an isolated event... [/size][/size][/size] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dactylonian Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Yep. Got my '05 2.5 GT Ltd in July '04 in SoCal and the power steering fluid was at the "cold min." level after a few days. Also, the coolant level seems to be low... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domain Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 Hopefully i'm not reviving a topic that has been deemed dead but: I just purchased a 2005 Legacy 2.5 GT a few days ago, and made the mistake of not checking all the fluids before leaving the dealership... not sure what I was thinking at the time, since the drive from the dealership to home was over 300 miles. Anyway, to make a long story short when I woke up the next morning and opened the hood, I was particularly surprised to see the Power Steering fluid level at the "Cold Minimum" marker. I contacted the dealership who told me that any Dextron III would be acceptable... however having read through the user's manual (... yes i'm strange, I read it cover to cover the first night ...) I was a little curious as to its comment about "mixing brands". I went ahead and contacted Subaru Customer Service, who didn't provide an exact answer, but did hint that a dealership could provide me with Subaru ATF fluid. I contacted a local dealership, who said they had the fluid on hand. Not really much to say about this stuff... just a white bottle labeled "Subaru Genuine Parts: Automatic Transmission Fluid / Power Steering Fluid". Part number is S0A868V9240. Looks like any other Dextron III fluid i've seen, red in color, though maybe a little thiner than the fluid that goes in my Porsche. As with Dactylonian, my coolant level was also a little low.... however it seems to cycle up and down... sometimes its near full when the vehicle is cold, other times it is near low. ----- Domain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2006Specb122 Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Power Steering was also at the COLD MIN since day ONE! Haven't bought anythign new. Got on here to see what people had to say about mixing brands. I think it's a way subaru can tell you they won't honor the warranty if you mixed brands. :) I wonder why they are all so low? Anyways... if anyone else knows anything about why the book recommends we don't mix brands let mek now. It's funny that they say that yet you don't know what the orginal liquid is. I guess they expect us to bug the parts guy at our local dealership or flush the whole system just to top it off! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 If subaru does not want us to mix brands, they should inform us what brand the factory uses (valvoline?) for the original fill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nachowang Posted April 22, 2006 Share Posted April 22, 2006 Mine has been in the LOW mark forever and I saw the Dexron III Automatic Transmission Fluid at Autozone but was hesitant in buying, do we really just use automatric transmission fluid for the power steering??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilh Posted April 22, 2006 Share Posted April 22, 2006 The "vacation pix" say DEXRON III under "recommended materials". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2006Specb122 Posted April 23, 2006 Share Posted April 23, 2006 I finally went down to the local subaru and they had a SUBARU bottle of ATF that was suppose to be exacly for my car. I poured it in.. same color and everything looks great. Topped it off!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 [quote name='2006Specb122']I finally went down to the local subaru and they had a SUBARU bottle of ATF that was suppose to be exacly for my car. I poured it in.. same color and everything looks great. Topped it off!!![/QUOTE] Is the fluid from the dealer red or almost clear? The factory PS fluid in my 05 LGT is not red like most ATF fluids. Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortlid Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 Ya my Mom's '03 GT sedan ALWAYS had P/S pump whine. Sucked out and replaced some ATF in P/S rez. with Dextron II and it is still there. Stealership says no TSB and is no help at 40k??:icon_mad: Anything I can do, a compatable fluid to try??:iam: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallispec Posted May 15, 2006 Share Posted May 15, 2006 mine was extremely low when i checked it this past winter -- similar the OP, it was at the low level while hot. Filled it up to where it should be and everythign seems fine, i dont notice the whine coming from the pump anymore either. and the PS fliud in the tank was red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Rebo Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 [quote name='Domain'] Anyway, to make a long story short when I woke up the next morning and opened the hood, I was particularly surprised to see the Power Steering fluid level at the "Cold Minimum" marker. I contacted the dealership who told me that any Dextron III would be acceptable... however having read through the user's manual (... yes i'm strange, I read it cover to cover the first night ...) I was a little curious as to its comment about "mixing brands". I went ahead and contacted Subaru Customer Service, who didn't provide an exact answer, but did hint that a dealership could provide me with Subaru ATF fluid. I contacted a local dealership, who said they had the fluid on hand. Not really much to say about this stuff... just a white bottle labeled "Subaru Genuine Parts: Automatic Transmission Fluid / Power Steering Fluid". Part number is S0A868V9240. Looks like any other Dextron III fluid i've seen, red in color, though maybe a little thiner than the fluid that goes in my Porsche. As with Dactylonian, my coolant level was also a little low.... however it seems to cycle up and down... sometimes its near full when the vehicle is cold, other times it is near low. ----- Domain[/quote] I should kick myself for not checking these fluid levels sooner, but on the other hand, my car has been running well. At 7500 miles, my PS fluid is also at the "cold min." mark, and the coolant is at or below the "min." mark on the expansion tank. On the way to work today, I picked up some coolant at the dealer, which I'll mix 1:1 with distilled water later tonight. I asked about PS fluid, but didn't buy anything because the parts lady said she only recalls selling trans. fluid for this purpose. It didn't make sense to me at the time, so I held off until I found more information. Having read Domain's post above, it seems the bottle is labeled "ATF/PS Fluid." So tomorrow it looks like I'll pick up some of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawGT Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Hilarious.... I have 7500 in mine, and yesterday just noticed the exact same thing... low PS fluid and coolant/antifreeze. So, is what's the verdict: Dextron III good or not? Also, will any antifreeze brand work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2006Specb122 Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I went to the subaru dealer and they had a bottle of PS fluid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mach_six Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I mixed mine with the Walmart brand since I had none on hand when I needed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 According to the March 07 Subaru Tech Tips, ATF type HP can be used for the power steering where Dexron III was previously specified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inked Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 As with most things in the business world, money is the bottom line. Though it only takes an ounce or two to bring the power steering fluid up to the correct amount, and about 4 to 5 ounces to bring up the coolant level, think of the money Subaru saves each year by not filling them up to the indicated levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ovni Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Anyone knows if the 2005 Legacy GT Power Steering pump is the same as STI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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