Steering Fluid Going Black

[VMF]

3 weeks ago i noticed a little noise when i was turning the wheel while the car was not moving, so i decided to flush and refill the steering wheel system. the old fluid was all dark and greasy and there were a lof ot it. i got nice pink fluid instead. when i checked it 2 weeks later it was all black and looked like used oil

what might be the problem?

[Roland Bauske]

There was probably still some fluid in the rack. Lexus does not show any recommendation in the manual for changing the fluid. I even checked with the dealer. You shoud flush it again, and at least every oil change suck out the fluid you can get in the reservoir. That is what I do in my LS400 and my Mercedes.

[VMF]

thanks for your advice, but this procedure is like 50$ and is done not by a dealer but by local mainenance shop and i'm just not sure if they doing everything right. please let me know if i can do it myself and what kind of fluid should i use? i used a regular transmission oil before.

[SKperformance]

i used synthetic tranny fluid in my pump when i changed it drained it out and ran the car for a few second while turning the wheel to get it all out

it still is pretty red after 4 years

but it may also be used to run your cooling fan also meaning there is alot of fluid to flush spinning around in the hoses

but once any old fluid is there it will turn black again

my steering feel also got much better at turning slow to park and alot less when on the highway for pump boost as mine in my es 300 is variable force for feedback when needed

[VMF]

how do i flush the system? i dont want those guys to touch it, coz bunch of fluid was droppin on my alternator and the rest of the stuff down there and i dont want to c that again, but they had a special mashine to do that, how can i do it myself?