Power Steering Leak 2020 ~ 08 Trailblazer

Professionally dx-ed as Power Steering Pressure Hose, Power Steering Return Hose & Serpentine Belt. Cost just under $600 bucks. I still have the exact same leak. What do I do?

Please see photo below of spots on pavement: Front Axel
http://userimages-akm.imvu.com/userdata/96/60/96/52/userpics/Snap_iV3EkStLA8478697807.jpg

No info here, where is the leak coming from?

Please see photo below, thank you.
No info here, where is the leak coming from?

Front Axel
http://userimages-akm.imvu.com/userdata/96/60/96/52/userpics/Snap_iV3EkStLA8478697807.jpg

7/20/2020: New dx is PINION SHAFT SEAL - Remove & Replace - w/Skid Plate Costs $100.

Professionally dx-ed as Power Steering Pressure Hose, Power Steering Return Hose & Serpentine Belt. Cost just under $600 bucks. I still have the exact same leak. What do I do?
Go back to the "Professional", and tell them to get it right this time.

You'd be owed at least a partial refund for the "repairs" already made, keeping in mind that they may or may not have been part of the leak, and of course the belt wasn't leaking but could have been worn. That should have been made clear to you.

Spots on the pavement don't help diagnosis, 'cause we don't know where the vehicle was parked. That could be rear axle leakage for all we know.

Front Axel

7/20/2020: New dx is PINION SHAFT SEAL - Remove & Replace - w/Skid Plate Costs $100.

That was the front axel. They gave me a new dx and quote today:
7/20/2020: New dx is PINION SHAFT SEAL - Remove & Replace - w/Skid Plate Costs $100.



Go back to the "Professional", and tell them to get it right this time.

You'd be owed at least a partial refund for the "repairs" already made, keeping in mind that they may or may not have been part of the leak, and of course the belt wasn't leaking but could have been worn. That should have been made clear to you.

Spots on the pavement don't help diagnosis, 'cause we don't know where the vehicle was parked. That could be rear axle leakage for all we know.

So again, you complain to them that their previous diagnosis was faulty, get at least a partial refund, and have them--or someone else--fix the real leak.

No partial refund? Your state will have some sort of consumer protection and/or a department that oversees vehicle repairs. Complain to them, watch the results they achieve.

Clearly, you will need to show receipts and any other paperwork they gave you--estimates, etc.

I don't understand how axle lube can be mistaken for PS fluid. One wonders if you had two leaks, and they fixed one, but not the other.

They stated that it indeed needed all the stuff they had already done. My daughter tells me that the spots are now smaller than what was made on her driveway and on the pavement in front of her house. However, the leaks make the exact same spots still. They didn't actually charge me for the Serpentine Belt, they adjusted the bill and took it out of labor, in the original estimate.

So again, you complain to them that their previous diagnosis was faulty, get at least a partial refund, and have them--or someone else--fix the real leak.

No partial refund? Your state will have some sort of consumer protection and/or a department that oversees vehicle repairs. Complain to them, watch the results they achieve.

Clearly, you will need to show receipts and any other paperwork they gave you--estimates, etc.

That appears to be the case. Please note that this vehicle has been kept serviced and the fluids were relative new... barely a month since oil change and fluids topped off. These leaks started suddenly a couple weeks after last oil change.



I don't understand how axle lube can be mistaken for PS fluid. One wonders if you had two leaks, and they fixed one, but not the other.

That appears to be the case.
That's going to make it tougher--maybe impossible--to get a refund. Apparently, they did fix some legitimate leakage by replacing the hoses. Leaks at the hoses wouldn't be all that surprising given the age of a Trailblazer at this point.

TPlease note that this vehicle has been kept serviced and the fluids were relative new... barely a month since oil change and fluids topped off.
PS fluid and axle lube NEVER need to be "topped-off" unless there's a leak. Brake fluid can be topped-off, but SHOULDN'T be, because low brake fluid indicates that the disc brake pads are worn. Adding fluid screws-up this warning of pad wear. Brake fluid should be FLUSHED and fully refilled at pad-change time, and then left alone until the next pad replacement. (or flushed and then refilled only to the level it was before, if the fluid gets contaminated.)

"Topped-off" does not mean that the fluids were "relatively new". MOST of the fluid would be "old", with only a small proportion of "new" fluid added. Getting "new" fluids requires draining the old stuff; you'd have been charged extra for flushing the various fluids.

Oil changes are made at one of those drive through places, not the shop where the repair was made. So, oil change place just did what they normally do in a full service package. I first went there to get this checked because I thought I had an oil leak and maybe they didnt get a plug or something screwed back in good. They told me power steering leak. All I told the shop was I seem to have a power steering leak. I reckon thats all they checked for and obviously repaired. The second repair will be done Thursday and hopefully, that will resolve this issue. I was just shocked over the exact same spots on the pavement after the first repair. I wasn't expecting that. Again, my daughter tells me the spots are now smaller. I have to believe I did indeed have 2 separate leaks and somehow they were combining prior to dribbling onto the pavement? AARRGGHH! *sigh



PS fluid and axle lube NEVER need to be "topped-off" unless there's a leak. Brake fluid can be topped-off, but SHOULDN'T be, because low brake fluid indicates that the disc brake pads are worn. Adding fluid screws-up this warning of pad wear. Brake fluid should be FLUSHED and fully refilled at pad-change time, and then left alone until the next pad replacement. (or flushed and then refilled only to the level it was before, if the fluid gets contaminated.)

"Topped-off" does not mean that the fluids were "relatively new". MOST of the fluid would be "old", with only a small proportion of "new" fluid added. Getting "new" fluids requires draining the old stuff; you'd have been charged extra for flushing the various fluids.