While getting more familiar with my new 2012 4Runner, I noticed that the fluid in the PS reservoir looks more like amber PS fluid than red Dex II or III ATF that the manual says should be used. Does anyone know what's really being used by Toyota these days?

Per the "owners manual" Page 620 in mine.Same thing in the repair manual.

Power steering fluid type--Automatic transmission fluid DEXRON® II
or III is all they say.

Has anyone else noticed that their new 4Runner came with PS fluid instead of ATF? It's important to know because the fluids are quite different and can cause problems if the incorrect fluid is used for the specific system design requirements.

PS fluid is usually clear to amber in color. Dex II or III ATF is very bright cherry red in color.

Mine is clear/amber also and it was like that on my 4th Gen too.

From researching ,the question has been asked a bunch of times on other Toyota forums and most say...The OEM fluid for the power steering is Dexron without red dye. To confuse things more ,everybody and their brother seems to make Dextron III equivalent/compatable ATF fluid so not sure what color they are.

Power Steering Fluid Dexron Iii ? - Corolland Forums

Power Steering Fluid.

POWER STEERING FLUID for 2002 sienna? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

I have been wondering the same thing, my 2012 definitely has some kind of P/S fluid in the reservoir. It is light in color and does not have that harsh taste/smell or red color of ATF.

It has a much more mild taste/smell much like the contents of a bottle of Mopar MS5931 power steering fluid that I have left from my previous vehicle.

OK I guess I will use some kind of good Dextron III when the time comes to change the fluid.

How often do you guys change the P/S fluid? I usually do it every 50k miles on my other vehicles, is that going to be often enough?

That is my interval (self imposed) for service of the transmission and replacing the serpentine belt too.

I guess these spark plugs will go double that mileage, so I will not worry about them till 100k.

Do these vehicles have a power steering fluid filter that can be changed too?

In addition to looking and smelling like PS fluid (clear amber with neutral smell) instead of DEX III (red and stinky smell), the reservoir cap has "POWER STEERING FLUID" stamped on it.

I usually service the PS fluid every 30K miles, so I hope Toyota answers my email by then!

I honestly don't think I have EVER changed my power steering fluid in any of my vehicles just to be changing it. I have owned two vehicles that I have put between 150-200K on them and a few I have sold or traded with around 100K. The only time I have changed PS fluid is if I damaged a hose.

You cannot tell what type of fluid it is by visual inspection or even smell when they are still in barrel or bottle. Many times aeromatics and dyes are added to aftermarket that are not added to OEM supplied fluids.

i just changed my power steering fluid and i bought 2 qts from the dealership. they provided me the ultramax dex/merc atf. i noticed that the reservoir has a filter inside when i suck it out. the tube i used isn't going thru all the way. that's probably the reason why the power steering for these cars really last a long time.

the fluid i sucked out from the reservoir was really black so i guess, whatever accumulated there got suck out too. my car has 80K miles and that was the first time it got replaced. got it new. fluid from the dealership cost me only 10 dollars for 2 qts.

My previous vehicle (Jeep) when the power steering fluid got dirty, I almost hit a parked car because it lost power just for a split second while making a hard left turn.

I got home, changed the fluid and kept it changed every 50k miles after that and never had a problem again. Until that vehicle I had never regularly changed p/s fluid in anything else that I had owned. The Jeep also had the radiator fan run off the power steering pump.

I have a question about these 4Runners, what powers our power brakes? I see no vacuum booster, so I assume it must be hydraulic power. Does it come off the power steering pump? If so, I would definitely want to keep the fluid fresh.

Looks like a few folks have performed a PS flush. Any updates? No news is good news I guess.
I'm planning to do mine using Mobil 1 ATF and the turkey baster method this Summer.
Maybe I'll take a few pics

As far as I know the factory fill is some sort of Power Steering Fluid, though Toyotas still can use a Dexron III or compatible ATF in place of dedicated Power Steering Fluid. Some of our older guys mentioned that in the old days they used straight ATF from the factory and when there was some complaints of noise they used a dedicated PS fluid and that solved the issue, otherwise the two fluid are compatible and should not harm the vehicle. Unless the fluid is dark and burnt looking, I really wouldn't worry about it too much (though it probably isn't a bad idea to change it around 60-90k if you want to.) I know with some of our trucks/SUVs the fluid seems to get burnt up a bit more than the cars; I am guessing mainly due to heat from the engine breaking the fluid down some.

To Harper7's point...on another forum I read that the PS fluid in Toyota's is indeed Dexron II/Dexron III - it's simply missing the red dye. Auto mgs. save a few bucks buying undyed Dexron in bulk...so the story goes.

That said, I used plain-Jane power steering fluid in a bunch of my Toyota's over the years because I was thrown off course by the amber color that looks like traditional PS fluid. No noises - no leaks - no problems using plain-Jane PS fluid. I didn't learn about the undyed version of Dexron until recently.

At Walmart I recently noticed Prestone Power Steering Fluid for Asian vehicles. Cost is about 3X that of regular Prestone Power Steering Fluid.

And then there's this boutique stuff:

Power Steering Fluid by Idemitsu for Toyota Lexus Scion Pack of 3 Ships Fast | eBay

My '95 Isuzu Rodeo came from the factory with the red/cranberry colored Dexron, so there was no mistaking anything.

Whatever.........

Hmmm, I've read some posts that are saying the opposite. Some folks used PS fluid and had minor issues until they went back to ATF. Seems that the M1 ATF is almost universally recommended.