How to Check Power Steering Fluid (60-Second DIY)

Park on a level surface, turn the engine off, and set the parking brake. Pop the hood and look for a small plastic tank near the front of the engine, usually within reach of the serpentine belt. The cap is almost always black and stamped POWER STEERING FLUID, sometimes with a steering-wheel icon.

If the reservoir is clear plastic like on this Corolla, you will see greenish or amber fluid inside and four molded level marks on the side: COLD MIN, COLD MAX, HOT MIN, HOT MAX. If the reservoir is opaque white or black, look for a dipstick built into the cap.

Engine bays collect dust, road grit, and the occasional dead bug. Before you do anything else, wipe down the reservoir body and the area around the cap with a clean shop rag. The reason is simple: if you have to pop the cap to top off, anything sitting on the cap falls straight into the fluid and goes through the power steering pump on the next start. That gets expensive fast.

Take a few seconds and clean the level marks on the side of the tank too, so you can read them clearly without grit hiding the line.

Look at the side of the reservoir for two pairs of molded lines: COLD MIN with COLD MAX (one pair), and HOT MIN with HOT MAX (the other pair). Which pair you read depends on how warm the engine is.

If the car has been parked for several hours and the engine is cool to the touch, the fluid is cold and should sit between COLD MIN and COLD MAX. If you have just been driving for 20 minutes or more, the fluid is hot and should sit between HOT MIN and HOT MAX. The hot range is higher up the tank because the fluid expands as it warms. Reading the wrong pair makes a fine level look low or a low level look fine, so match the pair to the engine temperature.

Not every car has a see-through reservoir. Many GM, Ford, and Chrysler models use an opaque white or black plastic tank with a built-in dipstick attached to the underside of the cap. The procedure is the same as checking engine oil: twist the cap off, wipe the dipstick clean with a rag, screw the cap fully back on, then twist it off a second time and read the level off the dipstick.

The dipstick has the same COLD and HOT bands, usually as hatch marks or a checkered range with C and H labels. Read the band that matches your engine temperature.

Before you add anything, check the top of the cap. Most cars have the correct power steering fluid spec stamped right into the plastic: a brand name like PENTOSIN, a spec code like ATF DEXRON III, or the words POWER STEERING FLUID with a part number reference. This Corolla cap reads ATF.

Putting the wrong fluid in is one of the easier ways to ruin a power steering pump. ATF in a car that needs Honda PSF will eat the pump seals. Honda PSF in a car that needs Mercedes Pentosin will do the same. If the cap is blank or worn smooth, do not guess: check the owner's manual before you open a bottle.

Even if the cap tells you the fluid type, take 30 seconds to open the owner's manual to the engine compartment overview page. The diagram numbers every fluid reservoir and labels which is power steering, which is brake, which is coolant. On a strange car or someone else's car, this is the fastest way to make sure you are about to add fluid to the right tank.

The manual will also have a separate Checking the Power Steering Fluid page with the exact recommended fluid spec, the inspection interval, and the procedure to top off. Toyota recommends Dexron II or III for this Corolla, and the same page also tells you what to do if the level keeps dropping (which usually means a leak in the pump, the rack, or one of the hoses).