I have a 2007 SR5. Recently had power steering and transmission coolant leaks repaired at dealer. Steering was still f'ed up but they told me to drive it home and see if it worked out. My mechanic looked at it the next day and said regular power steering fluid was put in and not Dexron ATF like it says on the cap. Went back to Toyota dealer. They claim the pump was bad and replaced it. The Toyota tech told me that they use Toyota approved power steering fluid and normally use that to completely refill any power steering system (even those with 'use Dexron ATF' on the cap. The power steering is much better with the new pump but I am still not 100% convinced it is where it was before. Should I just accept that power steering fluid is ok now or should I have the power steering flushed and go back to Dexron ATF?

PS fluid and ATF are both hydraulic fluids per the interwebs, differences being in the additives. Depending on what's used, it may have affects on seals and gaskets.

With that said, I'm pretty sure the dealer who refreshed my vehicle before putting it out on the lot used PS fluid.

I flushed it out a month later when I did my trans drain and fill. Just used the left over Maxlife ATF to flush the PS system.

It probably didn't matter one way or another which fluid was in there... if the pump was bad the pump was bad.

+1 on what ZebRuaj said as well... my own research lead to similar... a power steering pump is just a hydraulic pump and would/should function with pretty much any hydraulic fluid.

That said, you should have declined the repair at the dealer and do the flush yourself (or had your other mechanic do it?)... its very easy to do and you would have had you own answer before going for the repair. I suspect the pump would have been doing the same thing regardless. If there was an issue, it was probably already there before the fluid had anything to do about it.

As far as what the dealer used... I would probably be OK with it, but you could flush it out, it really isn't that big of a deal. At least that way you would have your answer for sure, and a chance to make improvements if you feel there are some to be gained.

I was going to use Max Life as well... but I ended up using this instead.

the cap says dex for a reason not ps fluid. ! mechanics aren't engineers.

Most Toyota dealers I have seen/know someone at in the PDX area all use Johnsons power steering fluid. Its supoosed to be compatible with ATF power steering systems and power steering fluid systems.

I choose not to use that and instead use Amsoil ATF. Had it for 30k miles now and its perfect.

That being said, I assume the Johnsons PS fluid does fine as well, or multiple dealers would not still be using it year after year.

As I had feared, the power steering was ok for about 2 weeks and is now starting to fail again. New feeder lines, a new pump, and we are back to square one. I have a feeling that if I take it back to this dealer, all of sudden my rack and pinion will have failed in the past 2 weeks and that will have to be replaced. This car has had few issues over the past 10 years and now if feels like it is turning into a lemon. I also went to another local repair shop and they said the same thing "the cap says use Dexron ATF fluid and that is what you should use".

If you think the dealer is diddling you then find another shop. Personally I think there is just too much liability for most of these dealers to dick around too much so I generally trust the work they do, but they generally lean towards changing a part, vs fixing a part. Sometimes its up to you to do your own research and make those informed decisions too.

Welcome to owning old stuff... stuff wears out overtime. Sometimes it all comes at once, sometimes it doesn't.

My 2006 Acura TL after 70,000 miles literally just started falling apart: It didn't need much except gas and oil but since it all came at once it felt like a lot.

New brakes from warped rotors, half shaft bearing was toast, new CV and seals. Timing belt, plugs, and ignition relater stuff. All fluids all the other preventative maintenance that needed to come with it. Soon after all that, I had some power steering issues which I ended up diagnosing myself and fixing for cheap. I'm sure if the dealer had their way I would have ended up changing a power steering pump vs telling me about the TSB I ended up finding on the forums. It was basically a o-ring on the inlet hose that wasn't sealing well anymore and in cold weather it would start introducing air into the system causing it to wine. Cost me $1 to fix it.

Either way, average the cost of all maintenance over the course of 10 years and you have your total cost of ownership per year. I bet its going to be a lot more affordable than you think. If you want it any cheaper than that, you pretty much gotta work for it or just develop a good relationship with an independent shop.

What exactly is failing now? My PS pump has over 320xxx miles and not a hint of issue so I'm wondering what's the deal with your PS system that's such a PITA.