Steering Related Problems of the 2008 Toyota Yaris

Table 1 shows one common steering related problems of the 2008 Toyota Yaris.

Table 1. Steering related problems of Toyota Yaris

Problem Category Number of Problems
Steering problems
12

Steering problem #1

Bought car with 99k miles. Noted a clunk in suspension. Decided to fix by process of elimination. Turned out it was a broken bolt that holds the control arm inside the subframe which is not accessible from the exterior. Steering was very off and this was a very dangerous issue that is clearly a defect from the manufacturer: the front subframe was poorly designed and the inner bolt that holds the long horizontal control arm bolt was improperly welded or the inner sub frame was made so water could get in and rust said bold/weld.

Steering problem #2

I haf a car accident due to break malfunction and airbag didnt deploy Toyota is discriminating.

Steering problem #3

Tl-the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Yaris. The contact stated that while driving at 10 mph without warning the steering wheel seized which caused the contact to crash into another vehicle. The contact stated that the failure recurred several times. The contact stated that the air bags failed to deploy. There was no police report filed. The contact stated that there was no injury sustained in the crash. The vehicle was not towed to a dealer or independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was not available. Ah.

Steering problem #4

There is a dead spot in the power steering when going straight. When you correct to maintain lane, the power steering "kicks in" and the car does a slight jerking motion in the direction of the turn. At 65 mph on the highway, it becomes a job to maintain a lane on the highway. My dealership has had the car for almost a week and they know what it is doing, but they do not think there is a fix for it, nor do they see it as different from other vehicles. I have had the car since it came ordered directly from Toyota. I am the one that has put the 83000 miles on it. And there is defiantly a issues showing up with the electric assist power steering. Maybe thru long term wear and tear, but it is getting worse.

Steering problem #5

The contact owns a 2008 Toyota Yaris. The contact stated while at a stop sign and attempting to make a turn, the steering wheel became difficult to turn without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 13v292000 (steering). The failure mileage was unavailable.

Steering problem #6

Tl - the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Yaris. The contact stated that the vehicle was making a loud clunking noise. The vehicle was inspected by an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the bolt from control arm fractured as a result of corrosion. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 75,000. Pm.

Steering problem #7

Tl- the contact owns a 2008 Toyota Yaris. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph the power steering and brakes suddenly malfunctioned causing the contact to loose control of the vehicle and crash over and embankment. The contact indicated that during the crash the air bags did not deploy. The contact suffered a left knee and back injury during the incident. A police report was taken at the scene. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 67,000. Jft.

Steering problem #8

Energy level in battery was sufficient to start yariz but insufficient to keep/get the electric power steering motor to operate correctly. Result: my 80 year old wife was able to get out parking lot but after she tried to make right hand turn she ended up in oncoming traffic lane, fortunately 2 cars were able to swirl to their right hand side, hence collision was avoided. Alternator must have kick in because power steering started to work again. Event occurred in mexico.

Steering problem #9

Purchased 2008 Toyota Yaris sedan used in 7/09 for my daughter with 16,000 miles on it. She's at college so I drive it every other day to work which is only 10 miles. I began to notice a sound when I made a sharp right hand turn into a parking spot like the noise of an actual bar and also a rattle if I went over a small dip in the road. I was told it needed new tires on 10/12/12 @ 29,645 miles, I bought good,safe tires:goodyear eagle LS tires 185/60r15. On 5/10/13 I had her car serviced at Toyota: oil change, tires rotated, inspection of air filter, ball joints, etc. Afterwards, as I was driving my daughter and I up to my son's college graduation it was 80 degrees/sunny/clear roads. 52 miles into our trip I was in the slow lane following traffic at 65 mph. Watching the road, both hands on the steering wheel. All of a sudden the steering wheel jerked to the left and we began to go into a skid. I was avoiding other cars as I was trying to regain control of the Yaris. It was buckling under me each time I tried to carefully get us out of the skids. My foot was not on the brake but I had carefully pulled it off of the accelerator and I remember thinking why wasn't the car slowing down, it just kept skidding. After the 4th skid it went into a complete 180 degree spin with us slamming into the cement median. I slammed on the brakes as we went toward the wall. I have been driving for 35 yrs with no accidents and I have been in skids before, on icy roads & regained control. I do not know what caused the steering to malfunction. I have read about faulty bolts on the control arm. The auto repair shop did tell me they replaced the stabilizer bar. I have noticed since the repair the noise under the car is gone and the throttle no longer "screams" when I take my foot off the gas going downhills. We were not speeding, nor driving carelessly. This car does not have abs nor anti-spin brakes.

Steering problem #10

While driving the car at approximately 10 mph the abs and brake lights came on. At the same time the abs felt like they engaged. After researching the problem online I found out that many users in the us and canada are having the same problem due to faulty abs wheel speed sensors on the wheel hub. Due to the salt on the roads during the winter months, salt can enter the sensor and corrode the terminals. This is due to a poor seal between the connector and the wiring harness. When salt water enters the terminals it causes the abs to act up. This is true for 2007 and 2008 models according to other Yaris users. It seems that the problem has been taken care of in 2009 models. But for owners of 2008 and 2007 models problem exists even after replacing the sensor and wiring harness with new ones. This is a major safety concern since the abs system can engage at any time possibly causing an accident and/or injury to the driver and passengers.

Steering problem #11

My 4 year old 2008 Toyota Yaris with approximately 57,000 miles started making a clunking/banging sound when I would travel over small bumps or brake slowly. I took the car to my mechanic who looked at it and told me that I should take it to the Toyota dealer for repairs. He told me that a bolt holding the passenger lower suspension arm to the frame had corroded and sheared off. He said that if I continued driving it the entire passenger side suspension and wheel would likely break away from the car. He showed me a repair bulletin that Toyota had produced detailing the problem and stated that they should take care of it because it was an obvious manufacturing defect and since failure of that bolt could lead to a catastrophic accident. I took my car to the dealership and they looked up the bulletin and showed me that this problem was only covered as part of the basic 3 year warranty. I would be responsible for paying for the repair myself. When I picked up my car from the dealership they handed me what was left of the bolt they replaced and the other bolt that held the control arm in place. Both bolts were badly corroded and had been replaced with new bolts that the service manager told me were a different part number and were corrosion resistant. Toyota obviously knows that this is a problem because they are using different parts than the cars were shipped with from the factory. The Toyota service manager told me to keep my receipt because he expects this to be a recall issue and told me that I will be reimbursed when it is recalled. Please force Toyota to recall these vehicles before someone loses the front end of their car and their life because of a poorly constructed $5 bolt.

Steering problem #12

2008 Toyota Yaris.


Steering related problems in other Toyota Yaris model year vehicles:



Safety Ratings of Yaris Cars
Fuel Economy of Yaris Vehicles
Yaris Service Bulletins
Yaris Safety Recalls
Yaris Defect Investigations