Replacing your 2012 Honda Accord
’s power steering fluid is as easy as one two three: remove the cap, drain out the old fluid, and refill the reservoir with new Prestone fluid. In Accords, the power steering fluid reservoir is easy to spot—it’s got a bright red cap and sits right next to the windshield washer fluid. Have you ever hopped behind the wheel, started up your engine, gone to turn your steering wheel, and were met with a long, loud squeak or other unpleasant noise? That probably means that it’s time to replace your Honda
’s power steering fluid. But don’t worry—it’s pretty easy to do it yourself! Jerry
, the super app
for car insurance
savings, has put together this guide on everything you need to know about how to replace power steering fluid for a 2012 Honda Accord. And, just for kicks, we threw in some tips on how to use Jerry to save over $800 a year on your car insurance.How do I replace my 2012 Honda Accord’s power steering fluid?
When it comes time to replace your 2012 Honda Accord’s power steering fluid, here’s a step-by-step of what you’ll need to do:
Find the power steering fluid reservoir. In a 2012 Honda Accord, the power steering fluid reservoir has a red cap and sits right next to the windshield wiper fluid.
Take off the red cap and place a pump into the reservoir. No need to run to the store to purchase a fancy pump. Plenty of household items like a turkey baster or the pump from a bottle of liquid hand soap will work just fine for our purposes.
Using your pump, drain the old power steering fluid from the reservoir. Make sure you’ve got a container on hand to catch the excess fluid.
Refill the reservoir with new power steering fluid and put the red cap back on. When refilling the reservoir, we’d recommend you use a funnel so you don’t splash fluid all over your engine.
That’s the basic rundown of how to change your 2012 Honda Accord’s power steering fluid. But, if you really want to take your DIY project from beginner to advanced, you can throw in these bonus steps:
Disconnect the power steering fluid line. Insert one end a small tube (you’ll need something about ⅜ inches in diameter and round) into the power steering fluid line, and the other end into the same container you used earlier to catch the excess fluid.
Start up your engine and turn your steering wheel repeatedly to the left and right. Doing this will squeeze out any remaining drops of old power steering fluid from the engine.
But, if this sounds like too much of a dirty job—or just too much work—you can always opt to take your car to a mechanic
instead. Let’s take a look at what that costs. Should I change it myself or take it to a mechanic?
If you don’t have time to drain and replace the power steering fluid in your 2012 Honda Accord yourself, or if you want added peace of mind of a job well done (by a true professional, no less), you should consider having a mechanic handle it instead. It’ll cost you about $120 and take between 45 minutes to an hour to complete.
But, if you don’t mind a little Sunday afternoon project and want to save some cash, give it a whirl yourself! In that instance, you’ll only have to pay between $10 and $20 for the power steering fluid, and for whatever materials you don’t have on hand (which should cost no more than $5 total).
Which power steering fluid is best for a 2012 Honda Accord?
There are tons of great power steering fluids on the market, but the key is finding one that’s great for your vehicle’s engine. And, for 2012 Honda Accords, you won’t do better than Prestone's power steering fluid
. It’s specifically engineered to work with cars like Honda, Toyota
, Infiniti
, and Lexus
. Here are a couple of our other top picks:
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Peak Full Synthetic Asian | | |
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4.7/5 rating on the App Store | Trusted by 5+ million customers and 7 million cars4.7/5 app rating | Trusted by 5M+ drivers When do I need to replace my 2012 Honda Accord’s power steering fluid?
For replacing your 2012 Honda Accord’s power steering fluid, it’s wisest to follow the rule of threes. You should replace the power steering fluid every three years or after 30,000 miles driven—whichever comes first.
But, that’s not an absolute rule. Sometimes, you may need to swap out your power steering fluid a little ahead of schedule. Keep an eye—and ear—out for these telltale signs:
Strange noises when you turn the steering wheel (screeching, sqeaking, etc.)
Leakage
around your power steering fluid reservoirYellowed or bubbling power steering fluid
How to save money on Honda insurance
It takes about an hour to fully drain and replace your 2012 Honda Accord’s power steering fluid, but when you shop for a new car insurance
policy with Jerry
, you could find a new policy in minutes that can save you an average of over $800 a year. No, it’s not magic—it’s comparison shopping! Once you download the app and take 45 seconds to answer some basic questions, Jerry’s super app
shops policies across 50 plus premium insurance providers without skimping on coverage. Once you find a policy you like, Jerry can even help you cancel your old policy. “This was so easy! Signing up with Jerry
saved me $499 on my semi-annual insurance. As if it was nothing!” —Kache P.
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