I know that my 2003 calls for Dexron II/III as power steering fluid, but i can't seem to find them anymore. What do you all use? I saw Dexron VI but it said not for power steering.
Thanks!

Ps: i have some old bottles of Dexron III from 10+ years ago but I'm not sure I want to use them.



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Sorry. Just saw another thread on Wal-Mart ATF. I'll stop by tomorrow. I went to AutoZone today but all they have were Dexron VI.

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As long as it's better or equivalent to Dex II you're fine.

You can use either of these

There are many fluids you can use, these two are just a sample, as mentioned Dex II or better just pick a quality brand.

I just flushed mine yesterday. The local parts manager at Toyota told me to use 'power steering fluid' at any parts store, that is what they use. I used Prestone fluid. Just the regular fluid not the synthetic for Asian vehicles. I read for days on this. Blackworks - do you think the Prestone will be ok?

Thank you all. I appreciate your help. Just went to Wal-Mart and bought some Supertech that specifically said for vehicle requiring Dexron II and III and also the Castrol that's recommended here.
@ecally , I believe Toyota power steering needs Dexron II or III ATF, not power steering fluid. At least that's what my manual said.



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Here are the Supertech ATF.

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About 75% of the posts I read said PS fluid was fine. I was feeling good about my choice now I'm questioning it again. Was hoping Blackworks will weigh in again.

From my 2003 owner manual.

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@testrider

To be fair, most generic power steering fluid is based off Dex II if I recall correctly.

Thanks.

Out of curiosity, I googled the MSDS of both but i can't make sense of them beside that their components look different.

Anyway, if Toyota manual and the power steering cap both said to use Dexron, I'm not going to take chance to substitute with something else since Dexron is cheap and is available everywhere :-)

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I drove a Gen 1 4Runner for 32 years and only used Dexron II, III ATF. I never had a single problem with power steering.

IMHO, Dexron ATF is the only thing to use in Toyota power steering systems that have "use Dexron ATF" on the cap. As you say it is cheap and easy to find so I can't see why anyone would use anything else.

I have spent countless hours on different forums trying to figure out if I can use 'power steering fluid' in my 4Runner. I flushed mine through this past Friday with Prestone Power Steering Fluid - not the type they make for 'Asian Vehicles'. I called Prestone this morning and talked to someone at their 'Technical' hotline. He assured me their regular Prestone Power Steering Fluid is compatible with Dexron II or III.

I'm not sure if it is any better, or worse, or the same as using Dexron. The reason I used it is that my 4Runner already had an amber fluid in the PS system. So unless Toyota was using a type of Dexron without a dye in it (to make it red) I figured it was some other fluid. Also, the Parts Manager at my local Toyota dealer told me to just use 'power steering fluid'.

Only time will tell, but at least for now my power steering is nice and smooth. Hopefully, it stays that way!

Don't know about the 4th gens, but in my '94 regular power steering fluid will cause the seals in the pump to leak. I didn't know that until I tried it out of ignorance. Subsequently read the manual, replaced fluid with Dexron II, and no more leaks.