Jeep Garage  - Jeep Forum banner

Power Steering Reservoir Going Down

56K views 202 replies 58 participants last post by  thgearhead 
#1 ·
Heads up. I have an early 14 and love it. It takes the Pentosin CHF-11S or whatever FCA calls theirs which is in fact Pentosin. I took it in about April as my reservoir was low and I topped it off to the blue line before doing so. Mistake as the dealership which is first rate could not find a leak anyplace. I paid the fee for them investing it and stating no leaks anyplace. Must be evaporating as others have reported the same thing. I raised the BS flag stating I have a 07 BMW 335 that takes the same Pentosin and in 10 years of ownership I have never seen the level go down.
It is low again so I am at a decision point; should I just refill it myself (48,000 miles) and just ignore this until it gets worse or take it into the dealership and see if they can find a leak? I was told by my dealership that they could top it off if they can't find a leak. Here is the deal. I pay 139 bucks diagnostic fee regardless if they find anything or not. I have Max Care but it only covers the repair and they argued last time that I had to pay the maintenance fee not the 100 bucks which Max Care says should be paid before the service program kicks in.

My thoughts until I can see something really leaking it is doing the same as last time but leaking a little more now. I would guess I will add 6-8 oz of Pentosin and keep watching it. Once it really starts leaking where I can notice something pulling the fiber cover off the bottom the dealership can then repair it.

Be sure to check your level and use the FCA MOPAR power steering product or Pentosin CHF-11S. When I checked MOPAR had a better price than the parts houses or ordering online...
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Looked at my PSF yesterday and it was 3/4" below the minimum mark. I have 2015 JGC Limited Ecodiesel with 13,300 miles


I visually could not see any wet spots on the R&P boots or anywhere underneath the engine compartment. No fluid on the garage floor.


Took it in this morning and the dealer looked at it. They pulled the lower shield and didn't find anything wet or leaking. They topped off the fluid to the max line.


I'll keep an eye on it over the next couple of months and see what happens. If it goes down again it seems to me the leak has to be on the rack seals and the fluid is sitting inside the boots.


Dealer told me if fluid was sitting inside the boots they would swell up and deform and get soft.


Time will tell.
 
#4 ·
I think until they see it dripping on the floor they will do nothing. Makes sense can't see it must be just an owner with no clue. So far I have lost well over 12-14 oz since I have refilled it twice. My service plan is good until 8/120 so I have time. I might squeeze the boots and see if anything weeps out...


Sent from my iPhone using JeepGarage
 
#5 ·
If it goes down again I will insist they check inside the boots. I also have the 8/120 extended warranty.


I don't think it was low from the factory when new. This topping off will tell the story if there is a issue.


You're right, they think we are imagining things. At least it's documented now.
 
#6 ·
My level was right at the blue line. I refilled to a line slightly above that I marked slightly above the blue line. I have a good dealership but frustrated with this issue. I have replaced power steering racks by myself so I know the score...


Sent from my iPhone using JeepGarage
 
#7 ·
Experiencing the same thing with my 2015 Limited with 20K miles. Mine seems to get to the minimum mark and hasn't seem to go below that. I'm thinking that may be because it sits for extended periods of time without being used. I'm not noticing any leak indications as well. Dealer says it wasn't top off at the factory, doubtful. I think I would have caught that on delivery inspection.
 
#8 ·
Mine has also done this since new with no visible signs of leaking. I have a bottle of the special fluid, forget the specification, for our Jeeps and just top it off every 10k.

For comparison, every BMW I've owned did this too.

Sent from my iPhone using JeepGarage
 
#9 ·
Every BMW I have owned that leaked I replaced the racks on. But of the 12 I owned including some for 11 years they didn't leak.
It is definitely leaking and soon it should show especially if I squeeze hell out of a CV boot.


Sent from my iPhone using JeepGarage
 
#10 ·
My level is low too. Looks to be a common problem or a characteristic of the vehicle. I too have the 8/120 warranty, so I am not going to worry about it. I see no leaks either. I will have the dealer top it off at the next oil change.
 
#11 ·
This should not be a issue with a $50K vehicle. Either it's leaking, or it's not. If it's not, the fluid should be staying at the normal level.


In the 30+ cars I've owned over my lifetime, this has never happened till the JGC.


My wife's 2013 Ford Escape Titanium has kept it's level since I've owned it.


To have to top off with 6-8 oz. of PSF in a year is not normal. Till I saw this post it wasn't even on my radar that this was a issue.


If I hadn't checked it, in another 6 months it would have completely lost all the fluid.


Again, it was 3/4" below the minimum line. I'm not accepting that this is just the way it is. There is a issue and FCA and the dealer should and will in my case, figure it out.
 
#12 ·
I have had this issue with my '14 since the day I bought it. The service advisor at the dealer said that it is normal to consume some fluid. This is the same guy that told me I used out of date DEF when he looked at the shipping date on the container instead of the the manufactured date. So much BS. I am in the middle of a Lemon Law claim now--going to arbitration in March. Too many troubles with this vehicle!
 
#13 ·
I have never topped off power steering fluid unless the rack hoses or pump was leaking. In 10 years of
ownership my BMW which uses the same fluid never used a drop. I can understand the dealership dilemma its low but no physical signs of leaking.
It will show up and if I didn't have my 8/120 plan I would be a bigger pest at the dealership.
I will give it this summer and see if squeezing the boots will not produce results...


Sent from my iPhone using JeepGarage
 
#14 ·
Mine also loses a bit....I bought the MoPar fluid from my dealer and still have about 3/4 of it left after almost 3 years of ownership.

I too have the 8/120 warranty, so I'm not getting myself in a tiz-woz about it...YET!!!
 
#16 ·
Mine did this, too. I think mine just wasn't bled properly at the factory, though. After first top off about a year ago, no more has been needed and the level hasn't changed.
 
#17 ·
akinney, hopefully that's the case with mine. I guess it's possible they didn't properly rotate the steering lock to lock and recheck the level before shipping to the dealer.


With mine now topped off, I'll check it every month to see how much, if any, the level goes down.
 
#18 ·
I have the same issue and have pulled back both rack boots with no signs of leakage a couple of times now.

The thing I have just picked up on was that I left home and then towed the van 500km and noticed that the level had dropped still no signs of leakage.

Could the power steering oil be getting that hot that it is burning up ??

Cheers
 
#19 ·
I'm not sure how widespread of a problem this is, but if my level goes down again with no sign of leaking, I would really like my dealer to escalate this to FCA and figure out what is really going on.


This really should not be happening in a new vehicle, let alone one in this price range.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Count me in... 1st time I've ever looked at it at it at 43K miles.... Almost dry, but no signs of leakage, not great.... but I'll prob refill and move on....


I have some clean appx 5 yr old Valvoline synthetic PS fluid that Meets Chrysler spec 5931, is it compatible?
 
#23 ·
Count me in as another low power steering reservoir. After reading this thread, checked my power steering fluid. 22,000 miles found no leaks, but fluid about 1 inch below low mark,
Added fluid. Never owned car that ever needed power steering fluid.
 
#48 ·
Thanks for this thread, gents.

Never owned car that ever needed power steering fluid.
Neither have I, so it checking this didn't even cross my mind. I mean, hell, I am even planning to drain/refill the tranny at 50k as preventative maintenance, but power steering? Didn't anticipate that (haha).

Count me in... 1st time I've ever looked at it at it at 43K miles.... Almost dry, but no signs of leakage, not great....
Same here. I don't think mine could be more empty unless a hole were drilled in the bottom of the reservoir. The fill is at the level of the hose.

but I'll prob refill and move on....
Exactly.
 
#25 ·
Just checked mine first time since new in 2014 and it's 3/4" below the add or low bottom mark. I've had mine into the dealership a few times and they've done 21 point inspections and never noted low ps fluid or added any to my knowledge. Anyone get theirs topped off under warranty, or isn't this covered under warranty?
 
#26 ·
I did last week when I took it in for the problem and inspection. They topped it of to the full mark.

Now I have a reference point to watch to see if it is loosing fluid again.

Not sure if it is a warranty item. They didn't seem to happy to do it, complaining the PSF is expensive.
 
#27 ·
This is the diesel section, I know. But every time I take my 2015 3.6 (Pentastar) in for an oil change, it needs topped off. Finally this last time I told them that's not normal and to check it out. They claim no signs of leakage.

My 2014 Hemi never needed ps fluid topped off in 52k miles. At 30k in the 2015 and it's always going low. But I guess they all have different systems?..
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top