Why does every car I drive eat power steering fluid??

[Accipiter22]

I noticed that my car was whining the last couple weeks when I would make turns at low speeds, and figured my power steering fluid was getting low. So I'm getting my oil changed on Sunday and they tell me it was virtually empty, and that they checked for leaks and found none, so they were baffled as to why it was nearly out of p.s. fluid. There's definitely no leaks, my parking spot has no stains on it. The odd thing is, this is the 3rd consecutive car on which when I become the primary driver it mysteriously starts eating p.s. fluid. EVERY car I drive seems to go through it like crazy...why?

edit: Cars I've had

1998-2002: Drove an 89 dodge dynasty
2003-2006: Drove an 88 Old Cutlass Brougham (only had 40k miles on it)
2006-Present: 2005 Chevy Malibu

 

[Demo24]

don't hold the wheel at full lock for extended periods of time.

 

[LTC8K6]

They leaked while driving, but not when you were parked? The fluid went somewhere.

I had a rack leak that never left a mark in the driveway. It sure was leaking, though.

 

[GoatMonkey]

It shouldn't just disappear. I try to not completely turn the wheel when the car is at a dead stop when parking. If you've ever driven a car with no power steering that's how you have to do it. In theory it should put less stress on the system. But still it shouldn't just disappear without a trace.

Also, cut out the drifting and donuts in the 89 Dodge Dynasty.

 

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
They leaked while driving, but not when you were parked? The fluid went somewhere.

I had a rack leak that never left a mark in the driveway. It sure was leaking, though.

I was wondering if it was a rack leak, someone had said sometimes they don't leave marks..

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey
It shouldn't just disappear. I try to not completely turn the wheel when the car is at a dead stop when parking. If you've ever driven a car with no power steering that's how you have to do it. In theory it should put less stress on the system. But still it shouldn't just disappear without a trace.

Also, cut out the drifting and donuts in the 89 Dodge Dynasty.

My parking lot is a tight fit, you can't park without fully engaging the wheel really...having said that, I only pull in once per day, and pull out of there once per day as well, and even before I lived there my cars ate power steering fluid.