Where does the power steering fluid go into a 2003 kia optima se?

Answer 1

Open the hood and on the left side (passenger) you will see a round black cap towards the front of the car along the sidewall. It is to the right of the windshield washer's fluid reservoir. Remove the cap and fill to between the minimum and maximum line stamped on the outside of the reservoir. Make sure you fill to between these two lines. There is also a dipstick built into the cap. Make sure you have the fluid in the crosshatched section of the dipstick. Replace the round black cap. If you are having to fill up the power steering reservoir often (more than once every year or two) you probably have a leak. Look for fluid on the engine's serpentine belt as the Power Steering pressure line is routed directly above the serpentine belt on its way to the rack and pinion steering unit at the rear of the engine bay. This results in the serpentine belt having p/s oil on it and the p/s pulley will often slip, making it feel as if your power steering pump is bad. These pressure lines often leak at the first crimping connection directly above the power steering pump's pulley wheel. The entire line has to be replaced (consumer's price at the dealer is approximately $140). Most backyard mechanics can replace this line (2 connections - one at each end & 2 clamps) without much problem, although it is a bit tricky to snake it back along the firewall. Two people make it an easy install. This will save about another $130 or so to have the dealer install it. Make sure you use a flare nut wrench at the steering rack end, as the nuts used in most fluid line connections are softer than the boss that they are screwed into to ensure a leak-free connection. Use a funnel to fill the [power steering reservoir to the correct level, then turn the engine on and continue to slowly fill to the correct level. Have a second person turn the steering wheel to full left then full right about 8 - 10 times to "bleed" the air out of the system. Check for leaks at both ends of the power steering pressure line. Using a pressure car wash hose to rinse all of the p/s fluid from the serpentine belt and engine will stop it from slipping, as the fluid had tended to splay all over the side of the engine and engine bay.