One way to know when it’s time to change your power steering fluid is based off of mileage. When looking at mileage-based power steering fluid exchanges, it is often suggested to change around 50,000 miles. That is a pretty standard recommendation for most automotive service centers.

We have another suggestion for knowing when to change your power steering fluid. Changing the power steering fluid based on age is another common practice. Typically, PS fluid should be changed at a minimum of every 5 years. Most power steering fluid manufacturers today will have a life expectancy for their fluid printed on the bottle, so always review the suggestions from the manufacturer.

Typically, the easiest, and most logical time to change your power steering fluid is whenever a part on the power steering system is being replaced. Naturally whenever a part is removed you will lose most if not all of your powers steering fluid, so it only makes sense to remove all of it at that time and replenish the entire system with fresh fluid. When a hard part like your power steering pump, steering gear or rack and pinion fails, there will often times be small metal pieces from the broken components inside the fluid. If you do not exchange the fluid after the failed part is replaced, the contaminated fluid can cause premature failure of the new component. When it is time to change power steering fluid on your vehicle, please always make sure to dispose the old fluid properly. Most automotive centers will accept the fluid for recycling at no charge.