Kind of long; sorry.. Sort of a follow-up to my prior posting, actually. I had a power steering fluid leak repaired 8/19/2021. When I went to pick it up, I asked the mechanic (local shop) if they used the Honda-specific power steering fluid. He pointed to the generic (DOT3?) quart on the shelf in the lobby. I told him that Honda has a specific power steering fluid.. I brought a .. 12 ounce bottle with me. He left and returned a few minutes later, with most of the bottle gone.



I asked him HOW he had drained the DOT3 fluid out so quickly. He said that they had a “special tool.”



I was heading through the Town Center on 8/11/2022 (roughly a year later). The road is very rough; they were doing water main work earlier this year. Got to my destination; drove back through the area on my way home. I went to use the car 8/16, and the car sounded god-awful when I started it. I immediately shut it down. Based on the prior problem – I first checked the power steering fluid reservoir – completely empty..



I’ll skip the three diagnoses I performed. I had it towed to a Monro shop on 9/17. The mechanic shined a flashlight on the power steering rack, and the seal failed. The fluid was sliding down the side of it like water along the side of an infinity pool..



So – my question is this: do I have possible recourse / a legal claim against the shop that did the repair a year ago, and put the wrong fluid in? I’m thinking if the DOT3 fluid had gotten into the system, it would have damaged the rack and pinion seal earlier than that. Which leaves: the rack was jostled so badly while driving on the beat-up street, that it was the cause.

 

Both questions are hard to definitively answer.

I doubt you have a legal claim against the shop, because it is hard to prove the fluid caused damage to the seals.

The cause of the seal failing could be the road surface, but the tie-rods take the brunt of uneven surfaces. The timing could be a coincidence.