Steering Column problems of the 2005 Toyota Sienna

I was backing out of space in parking lot. With engine still on and running, the steering column locked and the brakes became inoperative. Fortunately I was able to jam down on emergency brake to keep from backing into other vehicles across the aisle in the lot.

My vehicle 2005 Toyota Sienna xle limited awd is experiencing a serious safety scare and concern, I have noticed the steering wheel column making loud pop noise at idle while turning the wheel, and while driving and turn at the speed 15mph or up. The loud pop and clicking noise is also associated with the feeling the u joint at the steering column shaft is badly design, and causing a real safety concern for the general public, this pop noise problem truly deserve a recall by Toyota to fix this safety issue to avoid future injury or death accidents to occur for everybody.

During the turning of the steering wheel to the left at 5-10 mph, in making a left turn, clicks and clunking noise could be heard and felt through the steering wheel. At one point, I had to apply bigger turning force to the left as if I was overcoming some unusual resistance in the steering column, making the turn uneasy and non-smooth.

5 years ago, we needed a Mini van and shopped Toyota, Honda, and Mitsubishi. After some research, we chose a new Toyota Sienna for it's value, it's reliability, and it's strong rating from consumer reports. I have, in the past, driven one Toyota to almost 200,000 miles with little repair, just regular maintenance! when the Sienna was about 39 months old, we began to have some steering issues. Occasionally, it would be "stiff" to steer. It was still drivable and after taking it to a local mechanic, we were convinced we needed new tires, so purchased 4 new tires. The steering issue continued, however, and became worse and worse. We were perplexed because the Sienna was a new car purchase, garaged year round, and was a Toyota. When we received a recall notice about the spare tire recall, we took the Sienna to haley's automall in farmville, va for repair and asked them to also replace the tailgate struts and investigate our steering issue. The mechanic there replaced the tailgate struts, told us it was under warranty, then removed the spare tire from under the vehicle since Toyota admitted "the corrosion resistance of the spare tire carrier cable is insufficient when vehicles are operated in areas where a large amount of road salt is applied. In the worst case, the carrier cable may fail and the spare tire could become separated from the vehicle, a road hazard for following vehicles. ". He put the tire in the back of the Mini van, and then told us our u-joint was corroded in our steering shaft from the steering column to the steering rack. The cost for repair was quoted at $1169. 00. Since the recall admittedly involved "insufficient corrosion resistance", which is exactly what also happened to our u-joint, causing further damage to the steering column and rack, we were certain Toyota would also cover this repair, as clearly a new vehicle should not have corrosion of this magnitude after only 3 years of use!.

The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that while driving in reverse, the steering column began making a squeaking noise. She also experienced difficulty when turning the steering column. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the steering yolk was replaced. The current and failure mileages were 90000. Updated 10/29/09 the consumer stated she noticed the steering wheel was stiff occasionally for over a year. Before it started making noise. The dealer stated the steering yoke needed to be replaced. Updated 10/29/09.

The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that the outside rear driver side door handle would not open the door. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and a technician replaced the release mechanism. The current and failure mileages were 90000. Updated 10/28/09. Shortly after purchasing the vehicle, the consumer noticed the driver side door would not always operate when using the outside handle. Eventually the door would never open with the handle and the consumer would press the button on the door column to open the door and then that stopped working as well as the key fob opener stopped working and the consumer couldn't use the door at all. The vehicle has 2 automatic sliding doors. When the consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, they were unable to get the door to open and then the passenger sliding door failed. The consumer also stated it didn't seem the doors could be opened manually which is a safety hazard. The steering column was also replaced. Updated 10/29/09.