For the past couple of days, I have been noticing a whine in my steering, especially when I first start the car. Looked under the hood today, and it is real low, almost 3/4" below the cold min fill line.

First off, which power steering fluid should I use/would you guys recommend? tried searching, found Mobil is good, any other ideas?

Secondly, is this something rather common in our cars, or is it something I should be worried about? Haven't seen any spots on the ground where I park or a leak under the reservoir, but I can't be sure...

Plan to just fill it back up, and watch it for a little while..

 

Any standard ATF will suffice. I don't think this is a common problem so I'd recommend you get under your car and find the leak(s). While you're at it, install a magnefine power steering filter. See my DIY video on the install and on how to flush the power steering system.

Good luckQ

 

Alright, well I had to take it to go see family for the weekend, so I kept track of how many miles I drove... After 240 miles, I had to top it back off, then since then (500 miles) I haven't had to fill it again. I'm going back to college on Sunday, and I'm going to take it to the stealership and have them find it, fix it, do my 60k tuneup, and anything else that needs to be fixed...

Bought the car from a local used car dealer who is also a good family friend, and I'm not too fond of him lately, so extended warranty will come in handy see what I can get fixed for free.