Steering Failed Problems of Toyota Sienna

The contact owns a 2012 Toyota Sienna. While driving 35 mph, the steering wheel began to jerk left and right independently without warning. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer (orland Toyota, 8505 w. 159th street, tinley park, IL 60487) where it was diagnosed that the intermediate steering shaft failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the VIN was not included in any recalls. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

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The contact owns a 2007 Toyota Sienna. While driving 60 mph, the contact noticed smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle without warning. The contact pulled the vehicle over to a nearby fuel station. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine oil cooling hose needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. While driving 25 mph, the steering wheel failed to turn left or right without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the drive belts in the tensioning system needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer stated that they extended a warranty, but would not pay for the repair. The failure mileage was 100,600.

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Our 2002 Toyota Sienna had the gear shift repaired at a major atlanta area Toyota dealer on may 5, 2014. The gear shift replacement required the entire steering column to be disassembled. About one week after that repair, the steering completely failed. The steering wheel turned with absolutely no control of the wheels. By sheer luck this steering failure occurred in a parking lot after just traveling on the interstate. Had this steering failure occurred at interstate speeds, this may have been fatal. The vehicle was returned to the same major atlanta area Toyota dealer and the cause of the steering failure was identified as "steering joint bolt backed off from connection". I was told that the steering failure was caused by one bolt coming loose. The steering failure was corrected by "re-tightened' bolt with lock tight". In summary, the repair of a gear shift by a certified Toyota dealer service center resulted in complete steering failure due to one bolt that "backed off from connection" or that was not properly tightened or secured. It is very concerning that Toyota?s steering column design has the potential to cause complete steering failure when one bolt comes loose. It is also a major issue that a certified Toyota dealer service center is unable to safely dissemble and reassemble the steering column and provide a safe and drivable vehicle. I would like to find out how often this type of steering failure has occurred on this and similarly designed Toyota vehicles. I would also like to know how many crashes, serious injuries or deaths have resulted from this issue. This certainly can?t be the only occurrence. I feel it is imperative to alert owners of this vehicle as well as authorized repair centers of the situation or issue a recall to ensure that the steering joint bolt is secure. . Read more...

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Steering failed in van, no warning, became very hard and acted like steering with no to very little power steering. Required significant driver input to steer and drive vehicle. Dealer said road salt caused exposed mechanisms under car to corrode and tighten.

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The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Sienna. While driving at approximately 50 mph, the steering rod failed. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the steering rod was defective and needed to be replaced. The repairs were performed at the contacts expense. The contact called the manufacturer and opened a case. The VIN was unavailable at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000. The current mileage was approximately 84,000.

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The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. While driving 15 mph and turning the vehicle, the steering column began to fail. The steering became stiff and then loosened too much. As a result, a crash could have occurred. The dealer stated that they were unaware of any failures with the steering column. The contact inspected the vehicle himself and determined that the lower universal joint on the intermediate shaft was failing and covered with rust. The vehicle has not been taken to a dealer for inspection and repairs. The manufacturer stated that the vehicle needed to be taken to the dealer for inspection. The failure mileage was 100,000 and current mileage was 102,000.

On April 18, 2008 the steering on my Toyota Sienna began to feel difficult. It was very hard to turn the steering wheel. The intermediate steering shaft had failed and was replaced on may 6, 2008.

The steering began to get hard to turn. The problem progressed to the point where it began to interfere with driving. The dealer told me it was a due to corrosion on a steering shaft and if it failed completely, I would not be able to steer the vehicle. I believe the repair cost $700 with the part and subsequent alignment.

Below steering problems persist to the present, despite numerous repair attempts by Toyota dealership employees and Toyota engineers. The approximate date of incident listed with this report represents the date of purchase of the vehicle / time first occurred. Although several issues are present, I did try to describe them into 3 distinct problems. 2008 Toyota Sienna le awd, bearing steering issues with this vehicle: 1. The vehicle steering wheel physically turns to the right, while braking. 2. Steering wheel fails to center properly at all times. 3. Steering wheel has to be held to left to keep tracking straight. The vehicle steering wheel physically turns to the right, while braking. The greatest effect / turning is observed as the vehicle's speed decreases. The greatest effect / turning is also observed as the vehicle's speed decreases and the vehicle is traversing down a steep gradient. This occurs if I drive in the center of the road, with the center of the road crown, centered on the vehicle and on the right side of the road, where a vehicle must lawfully travel. Conversely, if I drive on the left side of the road / or the left side of the road crown, the vehicle does not adversely pull to the left. It was noted by the Toyota dealership that this is due to road crown. This issue provides a false sense of steering, especially in the snow, as it is sometimes believed that the road conditions are causing the vehicle to track right, and overcompensation is usually applied. Vehicle pulls or drifts to the right while driving. Once the vehicle starts pulling / drifting, it continues abruptly. Driving on longer trips 2-3 hours does cause arm strain, from constant correcting of the steering wheel attempting to cause the vehicle to track straight. I did file a lemon law claim against Toyota regarding these defects, and received compensation. Thereafter I did not take to dealership, as Toyota simply cannot repair the issues.

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2005 Toyota Sienna intermediate steering shaft failure. Vehicle just out of warranty and other internet searches revealed numerous others with same early failure. TSB exists for problem, but repair is early and expensive. Updated 10/03/07.

The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The contact stated that when turning the steering wheel in either direction, it becomes difficult to turn, jams, and fails to turn back to the correct driving position. The dealer stated that the vehicle needs an intermediate shaft, steering gear, and a steering column flex coupling. The dealer also stated that it is not safe to drive the vehicle because the steering may fail. The current and failure mileages were 48,000.