Steering Rack And Pinion Problems of Toyota RAV4

Tl the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Rav4. While driving, a rocking noise was heard coming from the front side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer and manufacturer were not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000.

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Steering wheel feels like lose and there is a thunder noise coming from rack and pinion according to mechanic, especially when drives in the city or over a hump. No matter how small is, also when driving and make right turn.

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I have 106. 700 miles on my car and I start hear clicking and knocking noises inside on my rack and pinion when my car is not in motion and I turn my wheel I hear this noise also when ii hit potholes I feel something loose in my steering wheel as far as im searchig many people of Toyota Rav4 owners having same problem, Toyota should make this as a recall.

I purchased my Rav4 used about 12 months ago. Within the past 3 months I've notices problems with my steering. Slow turns make a clunking sound with loose movement and vibration felt in the steering wheel. Initially I was told it was a bad strut, which I replaced, but the problem seems to get a little worse by the day. In checking online I see numerous complaints of the same nature, some resulting in serious accidents. It appears that the rack & pinion assembly is defective since the problem is so widespread. I have not seen a recall on this and wonder why since steering is so essential to the safe operation of the vehicle. I will be contacting my local Toyota dealer service dept. To see what can be done.

There is a noticeable thumping, like a belt slipping or a gear missing, when making sharp turns. The frequency of the issue becomes more prevalent the longer you drive. On 12/22/14, york auto group, my local Toyota service department, determined there is a failure in the rack and pinion. It is my understanding from my research that some people have managed to get this repair covered by Toyota since it is a potential safety issue and becoming more frequent in this model. I did contact Toyota and opened case # 1412310345. Toyota was less responsive in my case. If this is becoming a known issue, I would like them to cover the repair and possibly alert other Rav4 owners.

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Thumping sound in sterring passeger side. Toyota dealer said rack and pinion must be replaced at 52,000 miles? thumping sound is not always but is getting worse as car is in motion. Frankly seems like a defect. Feels very unsafe, should be recalled since it is weak point of all Rav4 for years 2007-2008.

The rack and pinion steering makes a loud clonking sound when turning vehicle to the left or right. Defective part in all 06-08 Rav4's.

Purchased a 2006 Rav4 sport 4wd v6 back in the summer of 2006 and the car was doing great up until last year (2011) when I noticed the steering wheel starting making this strange clicking noise. I brought the car in back in October of 2011 and they told me it was the rack and pinion making the noise and that over time I could possibly lose steering. They told me it would cost over $2,000 to fix. I asked if I could just drive it until the problem worsened and they seemed to say that was probably ok that it would cost the same to fix so I let it go. Fast forward about 6-8 months (April 2012) and now my car is making a knocking noise when I turn right (as described by almost everyone else on the web with this problem). I brought it back in again and they told me it was the same issue and there was a service bulletin put out for this exact problem. They told me it would still cost the same price to fix and I thought that was insane how Toyota knew about this problem with so many others and refuse to fix it. It sounds like this is a faulty part on all Rav4's around 2006-2007 (maybe more?). Most companies will realize they used a faulty part to make a product and replace it free of charge to keep the customer happy. That is not the case here. I called Toyota's national customer service phone line and spoke to a nasty person who spoke very condescendingly to me. He kept trying to avoid the issue at hand and eventually just said there was nothing he could do because my car was out of warranty. He filed the complaint with the rest of everyone else and went on his way. I am pretty saddened by this since the automotive industry just went through a painful time how can they turn around and act like this to loyal customers?.

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Clunk in power steering and/or rack-and-pinion after making a left turn at a slow speed (can be heard and felt on steering wheel). Has been reported originally on 10/03/07 (odi# 102047400), and after that glen Toyota performed repair as described in TSB st001-08, but replaced the only 1 part out of 2 described in TSB - new, reinforced part has not been replaced. Problem seems to be gone for a while but returned as a result of uncompleted TSB repair performed.

Vehicle decelerate, ignores throttle input with esp light flashing and sometimes a 'beeping' sound with violent sequential brake application by itself of right front wheel, with the violent consequence that it has on steering wheel. Made a 'reset' of steering wheel angle sensor procedure by Toyota steps. Problem not solved. By my experience as an automotive technician I suspected of an esp problem. I also noticed that there was a slightly increased input of steering wheel needed to have the same effect than before. By visual inspection, with another person moving the steering wheel, there was an excesive movement (play) of steering 'rack and pinion' from its mounting bushings to the body. Y pay to have those bushings replaced, and problem solved. It is a common issue. Now 135,000 miles and still no problems. The esp, because of the excesive steering wheel angle sensor reading (caused by the additional input required by rack and pinion deffective mounting bushings) behaves like vehicle is going straight, sliding, instead of taking the turn, so the esp try to 'correct' a condition that it's not happening. Problems could also happens to vehicles going straight (decelerating, esp light flashing, beeping sound and/or violent brake applied to one of frontal wheels).

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Clunking noise in steering wheel when turning right at slow speeds mostly. Sometimes when turning left. Clunks 2 or 3 times on the turn ,while making the right turn mostly. . It does this all the time now . I took my car to a Toyota dealer a couple of weeks ago and had a mechanic ride with me . . I could not duplicate problem more then a couple of times, but the mechanic couldn't hear it. He said to bring it back if it continues. Toyota has no bulletins on this problem for the Rav4, however they have service bulletins on the prius and the highlander models on this same problem. . I mentioned this to the dealer, he said they weren't related?? thank you for your interest.

Clunk in power steering (rack-and-pinion) while making a turn at a slow speed (can be heart and felt on steering wheel).

In June 2006, I purchased a new 2006 Toyota rav 4 sport. Great vehicle. I drive 100 miles a day round trip to work. As of 1/12/07, there are 15,725 miles on the vehicle. Around 12,500 miles, I noticed a strange grinding noise coming from the steering when making a hard right or left turn (turning into a parking place or my driveway). I talked with the Toyota dealer and the first attempt was to heavily lubricate the steering as I was told everything was dry. The car had been serviced for an oil and lube every 4,000 miles. This did not resolve the issue. I was told that I needed a new rack and pinion steering unit. The dealer forgot to order the part. After a week and a half, I called to find out that the part was on back order as there have been a number of problems with the vehicle's steering. When I asked if I was safe driving 100 miles a day, at speeds of 70 mph on the florida turnpike, I was told to drive the vehicle at a safe speed of 40 mph. (I informed the dealer that I would be killed on the florida roads if I drove that slow. - they agreed. ) again, I asked if I was safe. Then I was told that although the part was on backorder, that they would see what they could do. I was called within an hour and told that the part would be in within a week. The new rack and pinion unit and gears were installed yesterday. Additionally, a recommended wheel alignment was done, and it feels as if the front brakes were adjusted. The vehicle feels good, but the crunching noise is still there. Does Toyota have a problem with the steering on these vehicles? if so, I am really disappointed. I traded my Chrysler for the Toyota so that I would not have to go to the dealer for service all of the time. The real question am I safe?????.

While driving a clicking noise came from front of the vehicle. The steering failed to turn properly, and the driver was unable to maintain control of the vehicle, and crashed into a concrete barrier. Upon impact, both air bags did not deploy. The driver refused medical attention and went to the hospital on her own. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The consumer was in the passing lane going at a rate of 56-57 mph when the click was heard, the vehicle started to glide to the left, the consumer tried to gain control of the steering but the wheel continued to go around. There was no steering power. The consumer was informed that the rack an pinion snapped.

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