Electric Power Assist Steering System Problems of Toyota Prius

The contact owns a 2002 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that there was a malfunction in the power steering system which caused the steering wheel to seize while driving. The vehicle was towed to the dealer who replaced the angle sensor. The vehicle was repaired under NHTSA campaign id number: 11v304000 (steering:electric power assist system) prior to the failure. The manufacturer was notified and the contact filed a complaint. The vehicle was in the process of being repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 65,000. Updated 01/04/lj the vehicle was towed to the dealer who reinitialized the torqued angle sensor.

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2003 Toyota Prius. Consumer writes in regards to recall notice concerning pinion shaft nuts on the electric power steering the consumer stated the recall was performed at the dealership on August 10, 2011. Upon leaving the dealership, when the consumer attempted to use the horn, he discovered it was not working. The consumer returned to the dealer, to inform them, the horn had been disconnected or maybe a wire had come off. The dealer stated the recall had nothing to do with the horn. The consumer stated the horn was working prior to arriving at the dealer. The consumer then contacted Toyota customer service and they contacted the dealer. The dealer stated it was just a coincidence that the horn broke while performing the recall. According to the service invoice, the horn and cruise control short power spiral cable was bad. The consumer stated the dealer refunded his money. Updated 09/23/jb consumer's issue resolved 12/6/11.

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2003 Toyota Prius, steering wheel shakes when making left turns. Car has had scheduled services. Shaking started as a rattle/grinding sound at the steering column. Shaking now happens when turning left or right, at startup or while driving on interstate. Most recently steering was un responsive at 50+mph. The vehicle has been in for service 3 times prior to today with no troubles found. Today (3 days after warranty expired) dealer finds crack in steering column same as that in recall for 2004 - 2006 Prius see recall 06v188000. Dealer wants $2500 to repair.

This complaint concerns the failure of the power assist operation of the electrical power steering system. The power steering warning icon is displayed on the central panel and the driver experiences an abnormal steering effort.

The first sign of a problem was a squeaking sound coming from the steering column. The next couple of times powering on the car, the steering wheel would jerk as soon as the car received power. This jerking became progressively worse. The next couple of starts, the steering wheel would vibrate violently when backing up and starting to move forward. Finally, it got to a point where, as I was driving away, the powering steering just became disabled. I was unable to drive the car and the info panel was reporting a major system failure in the steering. I was informed after an initial inspection by the dealership that a fuse had blown. After a longer period of time, I was told that the ecu had gone bad and needed to be replaced.

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A 2001 Toyota pruis I own has developed an intermittent but severe steering wheel shake over the last 4 months. It is consistent with a warranty enhancement notice we received from Toyota in 2004 (NHTSA item number 10007669). To date the problem has only occurred at very low speeds, mostly when backing out of a parking spot or the driveway. The shaking / rattle is extremely severe, shaking the steering wheel so hard it is impossible to hold on to it. It lasts from less then one to 4 or 5 seconds. If it was ever to occur at any real speed, loss of control is a certainty. Due to the intermittent nature, I have not been able to get my dealer to "diagnose" the problem, when I took it in with this complaint. Since then, I have discussed the issue with fremont Toyota's customer service representative, the dealers service manager, e-mailed Toyota's national headquarters (they recorded it as file number 200706250915); and called Toyota's customer experience center without a satisfactory result. I am told the service center needs to experience the problem before Toyota would authorize a repair. Due to the intermittent nature, I either have to bear the cost of substitute transportation while leaving the car at the dealer for an extended period of time until a diagnosis is made, or continue driving the car until the problem becomes severe enough to cause an accident. Given that this problem is known to Toyota, I fail to see why a repair is not authorized. I cannot believe that this know problem cannot be verified without actually experiencing it empirically.

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I was driving east at 50 mph on California hwy 68 at 0800. It was raining but there was no standing water. I was driving a 2003 Toyota Prius. As I crossed the intersection with san benancio road the car slowly swerved to the left across the road, entering the opposite shoulder sliding broadside. The car continued the rotation, coming to rest facing east again. I did nothing to initiate this bizarre event.

2001 Toyota Prius. Consumer states problem with the rack and pinion the consumer stated not long after she purchased the vehicle. She experienced problems with the rack and pinion steering system, including steering wheel shaking and loss of power steering. The consumer took the vehicle in for service and was informed the entire rack and pinion assembly needed to be replaced. The consumer believed the repair may be related to the pinion shaft problem that was just recently identified under a recall. The consumer is seeking reimbursement for the previous repair. Updated 12/28/11.

Power steering failure. When first starting car steering can sometimes vibrate vigorously, then warning light can come on sometimes power steering works for a wile then fail other times it fails immediately making steering very difficult.

Continuation of complaint (odi numbers) 10162367-68 earlier that day we had driven my daughter-in-law and granddaughter to fumicino airport in rome and then returned home. We could only imagine what a catastrophe would have occurred if that freezing of the steering wheel had occurred at autostrada speeds. In the meantime, bi auto in florence has informed me that the part (no 44200-47060) must be delivered from japan and will take a minimum of 10 days. In an attempt to expedite service, I contacted the Toyota customer service in torrance, California (ref # 200607110691) to see if the part may be more readily available and shipped sooner from the us. Their answer was no. Further, they indicated that since the Prius was outside the us, they were not willing to honor the warranty extension and thus the $3500 repair would be at my expense. I will now contact my us dealer (I bought a second Prius in 2004, which is still in the us) to see if they will intercede on my behalf. But what's especially troubling is even if this replacement performed is whether (1) Toyota has made any improvement in the replacement part to eliminate the failure (apparently the 2004 replacement was ineffective), (2) for how many miles might this new replacement part last, and (3) will there be any warning, such as the stiffness in turning, that will precede a catastrophic failure such as this freezing of the steering wheel. For the online form, I have provided my us contact numbers. However, until August 6th, I will continue to be in italy.

Continuation of complaint (odi number) 10162367 the steering was each time frozen in the center position with no possibility of turning to the right or left. The earlier problem was not demonstrable to the Toyota service manager when the car had been brought in for servicing in October 26, 2005 and March 2, 2006 (during a one week visit), but because I had more time in July, I had scheduled a total inspection for the steering mechanism on Tuesday, July 11th. After this catastrophic failure, however, I had the car immediately towed to bi auto Toyota in florence for repair. Despite the fact that the towing charge was more than $200, I had no confidence that this car could be driven safely to the dealership. At the dealership, the service technicians identified the problem as requiring the replacement of the ã‚scatola guida, a part with a price-tag of 2840 euros (approximately $3500). When I called back to my Toyota dealer in pittsburgh, I was told that the most expensive steering part that could be purchased was the steering rack which was about $1100. However, the bells and whistles went off when bi auto provided the part number 44200-47060. This same part was replaced by rohrich Toyota in pittsburgh on may 14, 2004, at 26,539 miles. Replacement was soon followed with a warranty extension. . Read more...

Steering in car locks up at higher speeds. The issue seems consistent with the 2001 recall items. Toyota customer service refuses to offer assistance without charging and claims steering to not be covered under power train warranty.

A year ago, I had my 2002 Toyota Prius shipped to italy while I was on sabbatical. Starting in October (2005), I started reporting to the local Toyota dealer that the steering was stiff when returning the wheel straight ahead on sharp turns or when moving out of tight places where I had parked. I returned to the us for the spring semester, but returned in June, and found the same intermittent problem. My first thought was that there had been some damage to the car during shipping. This past Sunday (July 9, 2006), however, I had a catastrophic incident that might have sent my wife and me off the small country road we were traveling on about a half mile from our home here south of florence in the chianti region. I had been on a steady downhill stretch which then reversed to in an s-curve on an incline. I turned normally through the first half of the s-curve when suddenly the steering wheel froze solid in a straight forward position and I had to jam on the brakes to stop forward motion of the car or go off the side of the road into a ravine. I was probably traveling under 15-20 mph, because the curves were so sharp and I was traveling uphill. To get off the road, I stopped and started the Prius a couple of times to see if this were an electrical-computer fault as the steering system in this car had been replaced at 26,000 miles (more about this later). On about the third try, I was able with tremendous force to move the wheel off center and normal steering was restored. Because there was no adequate shoulder on the road, I returned the car home, experiencing the same steering wheel lock-up more than once, jamming on the brakes to bring the car to a halt, and then wrestling with the steering wheel to the right and the left with the same immense force until it broke free. This was nothing like the previous stiffness I had experienced bringing the wheel back to center from a far left or far right position. (to be continued).

Ltr from senator brown on behalf of constituent, re problems with his 2001 Prius. A safety alert was issued for the failure of the main computer, which resulted in the engine shutting itself off. The consumer stated the computer failed on his vehicle after 1 year of service. It took Toyota 18 months to identify the problem. After a costly replacement of the accelerator pedal, the ecm was finally replaced. The consumer discovered a technical service bulletin had been issued regarding the replacement of the ecm. The consumer stated the ecm was defective when it left the factory, however Toyota was not willing to take any responsibility for the repairs, because the car was too old. The power steering had to be replaced twice.