Steering Is Tight Problems of Toyota Sienna

I own a 2004 Toyota Sienna ce. In February or March I started to experience steering problems. When I first started my vehicle up in the morning, the steering was very tight and difficult to steer. After about an hour or less of driving the problem disappeared. A mechanic changed the power steering fluid, but the problem continued. Some days there are no problems and some days there are. I have complained of the problem to the Toyota dealership where I have the van serviced which is copeland Toyota in brockton, MA. They could find nothing wrong with the steering.

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The contact owns a 2004 Toyota Sienna. He stated that while driving at various speeds the steering wheel is very hard to turn and stay in one position . He stated that his vehicle was fine until it snowed and the salt on the roads made the steering intermiate shaft corrode. The dealer was contacted and they stated that there was no recall and that they will repair the vehicle at the owner's expense. There had been no repairs done to the vehicle at the time of the complaint . The failure mileage was 81000 and current mileage was 82000.

On septmber 9, 2008 I was told at the that I needed to replace all four of my run flat tires after doing so, when I left the dealer I noticed that the steering did not feel the same as it did prior to my visit. Initially, I thought because I had four new tires that the steering felt tight because the tires were hugging the road. Over the past few weeks the steering had become progressively worse. Driving straight the car felt like it pulled towards the left, making turns was difficult because the steering wheel would move intermittently as if I had no power steering. I called the dealer on October 3, 2008 to make an appointment and they told me they could look at it on October 8, 2008. The car sat over this past weekend and when I drove it first thing Monday morning I could barely move the wheel so I brought the car to the dealer on October 6, 2008 to make sure it was safe to drive. They diagnosed the problem as, "steering shaft u-joint failure," and told me that the steering could cease. They ordered the part and replaced the steering shaft u-joint the following day on October 7, 2008. I inquired how often they saw this issue and decided to research this part which brought me to this website. I was curious since my family has owned many Toyotas and never heard of this issue. In addition, the dealer had just replaced the same part on another Sienna this past Saturday. I requested that they give me the defective part which I have.

2004 Toyota Sienna power steering is tight. The power steering does not function as smoothly as it should on this vehicle. Dealer says it is a belt issue but that has not corrected problem in the past.

About 15 minutes into a half hour drive the steering suddenly felt like it was sticking during turns. The force required to turn the steering wheel became unpredictable, making the vehicle difficult to control. Did not drive the vehicle until local garage (not affiliated with Toyota) could inspect steering. They reported that the intermediate steering shaft needed to be replaced due to corrosion from road salt, but that the part was on national back order. Found on NHTSA website that Toyota had issued a TSB on this problem in January 2007. Given the rapidity of the onset of this problem, suggest that owners in high salt areas should be notified by manufacturer. Total mileage on vehicle is 56,000. Will keep damaged part when replacement arrives.

This happened about late 2006 to early 2007. I first observed that once in a while while turning the steering was stiff and the wheel will not turn back to its neutral position, and the car will over steer. It felt like there was no power steering and you could hear some squeaking noise from the steering. Since at first it happens on and off during turning, everytime I took it to the dealer, they said was nothing wrong, it was still under warranty at that time. . After driving it for a couple of months there was an increase in the incidence and the steering at turn was getting harder and there was and increase in over steer that I would have to go slower than usual to avoid other vehciles. By that time I brought it back to the dealer, and they said that was some rusting and corrosion at the steering shaft and had to be replaced and by then the warranty had expired.