pauliehcfr

You have to use the Pentosin CH-11S as it is a specialized hydraulic fluid. I have found it at NAPA autoparts for around $20. ATF otherwise known as automatic trans fluid will damage the system resulting in costly repairs

salaki

Wow! Props for Napa to carry such gold fluid.
I'm going to try them next time

ericdiver

U. Can buy a 6 oz can of it for topping off at vw dealers for $13

turboawd

it seems like my local dealer charges over retail for bmw parts, but when it comes to a can of pentosin, it cost only $15.

Cypo545i

Hey guys,
It's getting chilly here in New York as fall is here and one rainy morning I got a warning about my steering. It showed a red icon with a little car tilted to the right side. It said that it might have to do with fluid leaking out of power steering reservoir or my shocks. I let it warm up and turned it off and turned back on and it was good until the next morning. Checked the power steering reservoir and guess what? It was low on fluid. Never had this happen to me. I usually check my fluids pretty often. Should I be worried about it? Doesn't look like I'm leaking anything.

Cypo545i

Ask forgot to mention this. The CHF 11S is blue and the fluid in my reservoir looks brown? Is this because the fluid in the reservoir is old? Or do I have bad fluid in there?

FormerE30Owner

I think that the CHF 11S is green. Anytime that I flushed my system the old fluid was green with a black tint to it, not brown. You might have the wrong fluid in there, In Canada, I have found Prestone Power Steering fluid which is as a "European" one which they say can be used where the Pentosin is specified. The Prestone is green.

Also, this hydraulic fluid expands greatly with temperature, so that might explain the low level at low temperatures - that happened to me once and I simply topped up to the max on the stick and I have never had any low levels since, even at -30 C temperatures.

Salut, Bob P.