Steering Column problems of the 2006 Toyota Tacoma

Steering became very stiff while driving in town yesterday. Upon making a right turn at a familiar intersection, it became difficult to make the turn due to very stiff steering. The front end of my truck came very close to a vehicle coming into the intersection from the street I was turning into, and then the usual return of my wheels to straight ahead did not occur as expected, and I had to quickly force the steering wheel back before I ran up over the curb on my right. Luckily the car coming into the intersection had been far enough back from the intersection that we did not collide, and if I had not forced the steering wheel back at the end of the turn I may have hit pedestrians on the sidewalk. Upon investigating this problem with a mechanic immediately after the incident (yesterday afternoon) and at online forums, the most likely cause seemed to be the u-joint on the lower intermediate shaft of the steering column down just before the steering gear, just inside the left front wheel. Per some online forum advice, I used penetrating oil on that u-joint to loosen it, with good results (stiffness is now gone). But this seems most likely to be a temporary fix. I doubt that loosening the u-joint today will keep it from a repeat performance at some unknown and unpredictable time. Clearly this could cause accidents, and per online forums, it has apparently been a known issue for a while. There are no grease fittings on the u-joint, so there is no way to put a more permanent lubricant (grease) into the bearings of the u-joint. Also, the u-joint in question is not protected by a rubber boot, and is completely exposed to all the water, dirt, and salt that splashes up while driving. Others have noted that spraying with penetrating oil or the like is only a temporary fix, and the stiff steering problem returns after a time, making an accident much more likely.

The contact owns a 2006 Toyota Tacoma. The contact stated that when the ignition was turned to the on position, the steering column detached from the vehicle. The contact stated that the steering column was reattached to the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the diagnosis was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 70,435.

Several weeks ago my power steering started to act erratically. It felt like I had no help with the steering. I had to struggle to turn the steering wheel. Then a few moments later it would feel better but the return motion in the power steering would still be sluggish. The dealership service said to check the fluid level and add fluid if necessary. I topped off the power steering fluid. That helped a little, but the sluggishness in the power steering continued to be erratic. Made an appointment for 1/7/2015 with the local dealership. Upon arriving at the dealership, one of the service writers explained that the universal joint in the power steering column had gotten dirty over the years and was now slowly breaking down. He said it was very expensive to fix and to just continue driving until it gradually is consistently very sluggish. Going down the highway a 65 mph and having the power steering freeze up on you as you are making a turn is very dangerous for me, my family and other motorist. How many people have to die before Toyota has a recall for this problem?.

2006 Toyota Tacoma double cab, v-6, 4wd. I bought this truck new from palmer's Toyota in mobile, al. At 72,000 miles, the driver's side airbag light came on. Took the truck in for service and it was determined that the spiral cable in the steering column was bad. The cost to repair is in excess of $500! I chose not to repair at the time - have been driving with the light on for a week now. Service rep said that until repair is made, my airbags were "disabled". It appears that alot of Toyota owners are experiencing this same problem. What are the chances that this could be investigated and possibly Toyota issuing a recall for this?.