Steering Column Problems of Toyota Prius

I am requesting $2,919. 03 in repair reimbursement for my 2013 Prius c, VIN # jtdkdtb37d1537986. On 2-11-19 I attempted a right turn on a city street in san marcos, CA. I rotated the steering wheel and heard and felt a �clunk. � the steering wheel lost all torque and spun freely without engaging the wheels. I drifted into the middle of the intersection with complete loss of steering (see san diego sheriff report # e5545245). Big red's automotive (see attached invoice) took attached pictures of steering column and intermediate shaft. Pictures reveal internal damage to cogs. Carfax report indicates extensive dealer service history with no reported accidents. Dealer Toyota of escondido did not disclose damage or accident to vehicle. With no evidence of an accident causing condition and extensive dealer service to this vehicle I conclude condition causing complete loss of steering is factory defect. I request reimbursement of repair cost. Thank you, michael howard.

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Electric steering makes the steering wheel hard to turn and is erratic. Dealer said the car needs a new steering motor/column. Car is not safe to drive. My research has found other model Prius with silirar problems and also the rav4 has steering issues. This occurs while driving the car. My wife refused to drive the car. And I have parked it. Dealer wants almost 3000$ to replace.

See all problems of the 2010 Toyota Prius 🔎.

My car has a clunking/rattle sound when going over bumps or uneven roads even without brakes slightly engaged. It also does this when driving over 60 mph on smooth roads but if I turn wheels slightly left or right the sound stops and when I turn them back straight it begins again. It is so bad that you can feel it on your feet and strongly thru the steering colum. Also the front tires wear heavily on the inside edge. It feels like steering column may be loose at times. Also the horn keeps blowing fuses and when you put a new fuse in the drivers side door will shock you e every time you try to exit the vehicle. And the outside air temp will not read temp. I had new tires put on to replace old front tires and rotated all and balanced and just had new brakes put on from dealship. Radio reception is horrible even though other vehicles in same area get great reception. I love this car but I did buy it used so I am not sure if all recalls have been fixed or if they need fixed again. It seems like a lot of mechanics have no idea what they are doing.

See all problems of the 2007 Toyota Prius 🔎.

Clock spring failure. Controls on the right side of the steering column are not working. Concerned that this clock spring failure will also cause the driver's airbag to fail to deploy in a crash.

See all problems of the 2006 Toyota Prius 🔎.

For the last couple of years there is a clunking sound from the steering column when turning the steering wheel from side to side, either stationary or when moving.

See all problems of the 2004 Toyota Prius 🔎.

Vehicle in motion when steering column adjustment released and would not relock causing the steering column to move forward and back, up and down. The car was difficult to drive because the steering column would not stay fixed in one position. Took the car to the dealer where they removed the steering column and reinstalled a bolt that had come out of the steering column and reinstalled the bolt with thread lock. Cost of repair was $532. I believe this is a safety issue and other models should be checked for the loose bolt.

See all problems of the 2012 Toyota Prius 🔎.

Steering column broke while making a right turn in city driving. Recall service had been performed on the steering column.

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Takata recall, dash (sounds like something is losse) when driving over bump or at higher speeds. Then I toke it to the dealer they said that's steering column problem.

The steering column was a bit loose when I bought the car used from a rental office at I 95 Toyota brunswick georgia it has gotten worse at 130000miles about 90% highway they tell me it will cost $1100 dollars to replace the whole column.

The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 25 mph, the vehicle made a loud popping noise. The contact noticed that the steering wheel was tilted and the anti skid and anti lock braking system warning indicators illuminated. When the contact attempted to merge to the emergency lane, the steering wheel separated from the steering column and caused a complete loss of steering ability. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the technician stated that the failure was unrelated to NHTSA campaign number: 12v537000 (steering). The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 103,000.

My daughter borrowed my Prius for a drive from layton, utah to seattle. Within an hour of leaving my home in layton, utah she called concerned about a vibration in the front end of my Prius as she approached 80mph. When she returned to utah, I had the tires checked, rebalanced, and the front end realigned. Soon after that, my husband and I left for the tahoe area. We experienced a vibration whenever we eased the steering from either a left or right pressure to neutral. Then at low speed going over a rough road with potholes, it sounded as if the steering column was going to fall apart. I have a recording of the rattling noise it made. I returned to the dealership I purchased my Prius from. They found that the intermediate shaft was loose and recomended replacing it. Parts #45260,45209, and 45221 were replaced. The vibration and rattling noise have been eliminated. The cost to me was $1003. 84. According to my VIN number, there has been no recall for the parts used to assemble my Prius. I urge you to look further into the quality of the parts used to assemble the steering mechanism in my Prius.

As I was pulling into a parking spot I head a snapping sound in the steering column and the wheels stopped turning. The steering wheel would turn, but the wheels would not turn at all. We had the vehicle towed and it is currently in the shop.

Petition for an investigation into defect conditions in upper immediate steering extension shaft #2 manufacturing defect in the 2004-2009 Toyota Prius vehicles w/respect to recall 12v-537. An inspection revealed that the current loss of steering issue was caused by a catastrophic failure of the upper steering intermediate shaft. The upper steering intermediate shaft was decoupled from the electric- power- assist column output spline. A careful examination of the decoupled components revealed that for an extended period of time, the upper steering intermediate shaft had not been properly installed on the spline output of the power assist column. This allowed a metallurgical failure on the interior of the upper steering intermediate shaft, which consequently allowed separation of that shaft from the electrical steering power assist column. An examination of the shaft spline showed a long term deterioration of the upper intermediate shaft #2 inside spline as evidence by metallurgical shards of deteriorated spline metal still residing in the upper intermediate shaft cavity. Also, the cruise control would cancel and not re-engage, then there were times, where the cruise control would not dis-engage at all. The vehicle would drift off course whenever the consumer took his eyes off the road, for even a moment. The consumer would have to steer the vehicle constantly or it would drift into another lane. Apparently, it was due to a computer algorithm that would attempt to correct for wind and road surface anomalies.

We bought our Toyota Prius on June 2006. Recently my wife, who is the principle driver, complained to me that there was something wrong with the steering of the Prius. I drove it and noticed that when I made a turn either left or right that I heard and felt a clanking sound coming from the steering column. I also noticed that with the engine off and the car not in motion, there was quite a bit of movement from the steering wheel whenever I would push it up and down. I took it to my mechanic and he said that the steering shaft assembly was defective. He replaced the steering shaft assy part # 45260-47052. I am not sure whether this has been a recall item or not but if it was I was never notified or made aware by Toyota. It cost us $371 parts and labor for this repair.

The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while turning, there was an abnormal vibration from the steering wheel without warning. The contact mentioned that the steering wheel remained loose after the failure. The vehicle was previously serviced under NHTSA campaign id number: 12v537000 (steering) but did not rectify the failure. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering column needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 116,000 and the current mileage was 131,000. Updated 03/31/lj the consumer stated the manufacturer offered to pay 50% of the repairs. The consumer believes the manufacturer should pay for 100% of the repairs. Updated 04/01/2014.

Steering wheel and columnof 2007 Prius shakes violently and uncontrollably, especially after engine is started for the first time of the day. Dealership found "c1554 power supply relay failure. " after contacting Toyota about problem they learned it has been reported at least 10 times before. Toyota instructed dealership to replace electronic powersteering ecu and 50 amp fuse/block assembly. This problem seems to be a clear safety-related defect in the vehicle (2007 Prius), even after earlier Prius models had similar problem with power steering and were recalled.

I have a 2001 Prius. I bought it in 2003. Ever since I bought it, the steering wheel sometimes wobbles when I back up and turn the wheel. This has been consistent since 2003. This winter, when the weather has been very cold, the steering wheel has shuddered violently several times, wobbled while driving forward twice, and now the warning light for power steering is on. I am taking it to the dealer tomorrow, Jan 21 2011. I have read about the wobbling steering wheel while backing up since I bought the car. I am also seeing that there was an extension of the warranty on the steering column, but I never received notice, and my dealer denies any recall regarding this problem.

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Severe shaking in steering of 2002 Prius. Also encounter loss of power steering for a short time 4 different times. Taken to dealer 3 times !st two times I was told it just needed grease on the steering column. 3rd time was told it needed $3400 of working and that the car was dangerous to drive. Car had approximately 107,000 miles the third time I took it in. After I contacted Toyota corp. The dealer called to say he would work with me on the price, but I can not trust him to do the work. It has not been fixed yet I had ask the service manager if the car was safe to take on a long trip the 2nd time I took it in and he said yes. It was on the way back from the trip that I loss power steering driving on i95. Thankfully I was able to control the vehicle until power steering resumed.

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The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that on June 2, 2010, the vehicle suddenly accelerated and crashed into a curb. There were minor damages to the vehicle. There were no injuries. The contact called the dealer and was told that someone would contact him. The current and failure mileages were approximately 17,000.

My wife and 2 daughters were driving on interstate 90/94 when the entire steering column slowly dropped. I double checked the lever underneath to adjust it, but that was tight. I could see wires and bolts where the column had dropped several inches. I lifted the column up and thought it would lock in or click back in place. When I did this, the entire column collapsed in my lap. An alarm sounded and I had no control of the steering while going 70 mph. Somehow I managed to get the vehicle to the side of the road and had the vehicle towed to the dealership. Dealer fixed the vehicle and wrote, "upper steering column plate came out of bracket, possibly not locked in all the way from factory. " dealer had a field tech come look at and take pictures. Approximately 2-3 weeks later had a call from the dealer saying some engineers wanted to replace more parts and wanted vehicle again. This time they replaced the entire column rather than fixing pieces. At this point we had no faith in the vehicle and began dealing with Toyota to get a new vehicle as this Prius only had 6,293 miles.

The contact owns a 2010 Toyota Prius. When the contact tried to pull down the visor, the garage door opener slipped off the visor and fell into the steering column. He had not taken the vehicle to the dealership but did have an appointment. He also had not spoken with the manufacturer to-date. The vehicle had not been repaired at the time of the complaint. The current mileage was approximately 3,900. The failure mileage was approximately 3,800.

The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph the steering column locked. As a consequence he crashed into a wall. He did not sustain any injuries. The insurance company will repair the vehicle, and investigate the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,000. The current mileage was 110,000.

I was backing up from a parked position, I turned the steering wheel to proceed forward and heard and felt a crunch. I put the car in drive and had to stop before hitting a parked vehicle because the car was not going in the direction I steered. I soon realized that I had lost all steering control. I had it towed and my local mechanic evaluated the steering column and found what he thought was a manufacturing or assembly defect. Thinking that my car may not be the only one affected I made some calls and researched the internet. I found that this car had a recall published 6/2006 for this very problem. I am the 3rd owner of this vehicle. The previous owner bought it from a reputable Toyota dealership, with the logo "certified used" on the sales receipt. He purchased the vehicle from the dealer after the recall notice had been published. It appears the dealership did not check for recalls before "certifying" this vehicle. This could have been a catastrophic event at high speeds for me, my family or someone driving by me at the wrong time. I will submit a second complaint if the dealership and/or Toyota does not handle this appropriately.

The contact owns a 2003 Toyota Prius. While driving approximately 10 mph and attempting to slightly turn the steering wheel to the left, the steering column became stuck in a fixated position. The contact could not complete the turn. She pulled to the shoulder of the road and restarted the vehicle to resume normal operation. The following day, the vehicle was towed to a repair shop and the steering main shaft assembly, tilt column assembly, and bolt were replaced. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and it is currently being repaired. The failure and current mileages were 36,000. Updated 10-07-08 the consumer stated she has not experienced any more failures since the repair was done. Updated 10/15/08.

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This is a complaint about souter's in barstow, California, not honoring the recall notice on 2004-2006 Toyota Prius steering intermediate shaft replacement. I took it in when I got the first notice and since I have to use hand controls to drive I have these controls installed in this Prius. Soutar's said they would not work on the defect unless the controls were removed. Or they would call a technician to come up from la to remove the controls and I would have to pay. It would have cost too much. They said they were sorry.

I purchased 2002 Prius in June, 2005. In September 2005 power steering warning light came on 3 times while driving on freeway between tucson and phoenix. Dealer said the power steering torque sensor was malfunctioning and would cost $1450. 00 to replace. Took to my own mechanic (authorized Prius mechanic) who confirmed the dealers assessment and also told me that Toyota does not provide parts to repair the power steering so entire unit must be replaced. Problem disappeared for about 1 yr. Then in July of this year, power steering warning light started to come on while driving from tucson to las cruces. Also, steering wheel started to shake uncontrollably when backing up or turning while car was in motion. Battery also failed when attempting to leave nm and had to replace battery at a cost of $140 with only a one year warranty and no one except Toyota sells the battery. After discussing problems with my mechanic I called Toyota to see if they would replace power steering column - they told me my car was too old and had too many miles on it (only 59k). I own a 1975 celica that has 265k miles and it has never needed any steering column work - how come a car 30 years later needs one after only 59k? I used to think Toyota made a good product and stood by their cars, but I guess I was wrong. The 2002 Prius in not a road-worthy car and the savings in gasoline consumption does not come anywhere close to paying for a $1450 repair on an obviously defective steering column. I do not feel safe taking the Prius out on the freeway and steering wheel continues to shake uncontrollably. I will replace the power steering unit only when repair parts become available or the part breaks down completely. I doubt I will keep this car very long and I know I will not buy another Toyota in the future. Now when I am asked how I like my Prius I tell people to buy a Honda civic instead.

My steering wheel and column of my 2001 Toyota Prius intermittently shakes very violently! I have taken the car back to the dealer but they say that they cannot reproduce the problem. When I complained to Toyota USA headquarters in torrance, CA, they told me that they could not fix the problem if the dealer could not reproduce it. I told them that my wife is scared to drive the car because of the violent shaking and that I cannot believe they could be so cavalier and negligent about a safety problem with the car's steering system. On top of this, I have come to find out that Toyota has issued a technical bulletin to its dealers about defects and failures in the power steering system of the 2001 Prius! it turns out that they had to completely redesign the power steering system for their hybrid vehicles and there were problems with steering systems of the early Prius models. They are just being too cheap to fix the problem they created. I think these cars should be recalled so that this problem can be fixed for all of the owners to avoid accidents, injuries and death. On behalf of my family and on behalf of their safety thank you for your time and help in this matter! sincerely, joseph krebs austin, TX.