Steering Rack And Pinion problems of the 2003 Toyota Prius

I experianced a shaking in the steering wheel of my Toyota 2003 Prius when backing up for the first time in the morning each day. The dealer said it was caused by the electric power steering rack and pinion which could lockup at any time. Toyota has recalled 01/02 model Prius for this problem, but not the 03. Why is Toyota alowed to let this condition to continue with failure of these electric power steering units? how many lives must be lost before the government acts? Toyota is chaging $2,500. 00 to $3,500. 00 to fix a problem they know exist in these cars a worried consumer.

2003 Toyota Prius steering failure - while driving in traffic in los angeles, turning left at a stop sign the steering system locked. I reset the car and could not regain control until putting the car into reverse and then pulling forward again. The car then continues to intermittently lock in the left turn position and you must use force to try to center and steer again. Took to dealer and they said the rack and pinion system has failed $3500. 00 to repair. This car is not safe to drive until the steering can be repaired, I really like this car but don't know if I can ever put my family in it again. The steering failure is very dangerous and had no warning.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that when he turned his vehicle to the left at any speed, the steering made a weird noise and would not return to the straight position. He took the vehicle to the dealer 15 months ago and was informed that the failure was related to the temperature. The dealer stated that at a cooler temperature, the steering would go back to normal. The failure never corrected itself and the vehicle was brought back to the dealer. The dealer informed him that he needed to replace the entire rack and pinion steering system. The vehicle has not been repaired. The VIN, engine size, and number of cylinders were unknown. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000 and current mileage was 130,000.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Prius. When the contact would drive the vehicle she noticed that the steering wheel would turn left and right and would not return to the center position. The vehicle was taken to the dealership on 2 separate occasions where the contact had the rack and pinion replaced on both occasions the failure mileage was 42000 and the current mileage was 103000. The VIN was not available.

My tires were worn to the cords, all four of them, on both sides, the inside was worse. I took it to the dealer (Toyota of glendora) and asked them to check it and the alignment, among other things. I had just 22,667. 0 miles on it. They called me and said the tires were just "worn out" and that there was nothing wrong with the alignment. I took it to firestone (who warrantied the tires) and was told by 3 different professionals there that the tires were not worn out, that the side walls were destroyed due to faulty alignment. I had to pay for 4 new tires and an alignment. I wrote to Toyota who referred me back to Toyota of glendora. Toyota of glendora contacted me by phone and denied ever telling me there was nothing wrong with the alignment. They claimed they couldn't fix the alignment because all 4 tires were bad. I claimed they lied about the alignment to keep from keeping it over night again, building up to the lemon law. I feel they damaged my alignment when they replaced my entire rack and pinion steering in oct 03, they denied this saying that replacing the rack and pinion doesn't affect the alignment. They didn't tell me about the damage to the tires which they should have noticed last time they rotated them. I want them to pay for my alignment and perhaps my four new tires, they refused and hung up on me. I wrote to Toyota again and they responded with a letter deferring to the dealer, Toyota of glendora.

While driving at 60 mph power steering failed 4 times. Dealership will replace the rack and pinion.