is it safe to drive a car with a power steering fluid leak?

Answer 1

not. safe at all.
chin

Answer 2

Steering Fluid Leak

Answer 3

Safe, depends how fast the leak is and if you can steer your car OK..or is it so stiff you need two hands. If you cant get it to the mechanic in the near future, make sure to keep extra power steering fluid with you at all times. Ive had to drive around with out power steering before. It's a pain, but doable if you don't have the funds to get it fixed immediately. Just take it easy and try to keep the power steering full as much as possible. You can also look in your Auto parts store for something to plug or slow the leak temporarily. As far as safety goes...I think people have forgotten there was a time that not all cars came with power steering. Just be careful that's all.

Answer 4

It depends on where the leak is coming from and how much is already leaking. Depending on what type of leakage you have determines more of my answer. But if it is minor your care should be safe to drive but keep some power steering fluid on hand and if at any moment you hear any noise when your turn and turning become difficult immediately put more fluid into the power steering gauge under the hood to prevent more damage and do this until you can get it fixed or at least as you say buy a new vehicle. But your care could be worth fixing it so that you can make some money off of it buy selling it if you choose to buy another vehicle and you don't want to keep that one. Consider keeping it though as a back up car or a "I'm a run miles on this old car" type of thing. Good luck.

Answer 5

Well, there's two answers to this:

If the power steering is just leaking, then yeah, it's safe to drive it for a while. It will get harder to turn and eventually you'll start looking like a weight-lifter, but it;s not detrimental.

However, if the fluid is leaking because another part of the steering column has come loose and cut or pinched the line, then the problem could be worse.

My opinion? My husband and I rarely take our mechanic's full advice because we've usually got empty pockets and a deserted bank account. But we have a "free estimate" done, badger the mechanic to tell us if it's a problem that will make the car die today or if we can come in a "few days" and have the work done. When he says, "yeah, in a few days" then that tells us it's not a serious problem and we can let it go until w have the money (or until the car breaks down, whichever comes first) ;-)

Answer 6

If the leak is minor, you have nothing to worry about. As the car loses fluid you will notice more noise from under the hood as you steer. That in and of itself will indicate the need for more fluid before the power steering stops working all together.

Answer 7

It depends on what kind of car you have and what system is in the car. If you have what is called power assit ,your power steering also runs off your braking system making it un-safe to drive. If it is just a power steering unit try to keep it full, you will be able to steer even if you lose the fluid but it will be hard like standard steering on old cars. As long as the car is moving it not to bad to turn but as soon as you stop you better be a body builder to turn it.

Answer 8

depends on the leak! Power Steering fluid will expand as it heats up. This could cause more and more fluid to leak out and could burn up the pump. without power steering you will not be able to react quickly or what is more likely not be able to park your car. at low speeds it will be much harder to steer.

Answer 9

Quite safe. But keep the fluid level near full so as not to burn out the power steering unit.

Answer 10

depends have a frenid turn the steering wheel while you watch see if the oil sprays out and what direction it sprays. If near the exhaust then I would be for fixing or draing once drained it is quite safe just hard to steer, It will be like the old arm strong steering but harder as long as you are moving it will handle fine, on Ice and snow it will be easier to control because you wont be able to react as fast

Answer 11

It depends how bad the car leaks and where it is leaking from.

If you have a steady stream or it's leaking on something hot it could catch on fire. If there's just a couple of drops on the driveway just check the fluid every few days and it'll be fine till you can get it fixed.

M