Steering wheel clunk/looseness

[Autmsky]

This is my first time in the forum. I have a 2006 Version 6 with 71,000 miles. I bought it 6 weeks ago with 68,000. I notice everytime I make a lateral pull on the steering wheel, I feel a clunk in the steering column like there is some movement there. This is a common move for me as I use the steering wheel as an assist out of the car. I can also feel this clunk at times on slow parking moves. I've seen the bulletins about loose/defective intermediate steering shafts as well as loose bolts there. All that is good and tight. I took it to the dealer who verified my concern, but in the end said they found nothing wrong. Is it normal for the power steering motor/module to have some looseness? This is my first Prius, so I don't know what's right and wrong. A comparison with another 2007 showed the same "clunk" feel in its column. Tell me what you folks experience.

[JayGoldstein]

Originally Posted by Autmsky

This is my first time in the forum. I have a 2006 Version 6 with 71,000 miles. I bought it 6 weeks ago with 68,000. I notice everytime I make a lateral pull on the steering wheel, I feel a clunk in the steering column like there is some movement there. This is a common move for me as I use the steering wheel as an assist out of the car.

My 06 has about 66,000 km (41,000 mi). I have experienced this "clunk", under the exact circumstances you've described.

I can also feel this clunk at times on slow parking moves. I've seen the bulletins about loose/defective intermediate steering shafts as well as loose bolts there. All that is good and tight. I took it to the dealer who verified my concern, but in the end said they found nothing wrong.

At about 8,000 km, I noticed an occasional clunk when turning at very slow speeds. The steering shaft was replaced @ 12,100 km, but the clunk was not eliminated. I took the car back and the steering yoke was replaced @ 17,200 km.

I still could detect a clunk, and took the car in @ 17,600 km to have the Prius tech check the steering for any loose components. He reported all was well. He noticed the clunk, but said that this seemed to be characteristic of the Prius. He accompanied me as I test drove a used 05 and a new 07. Neither car exhibited the clunk. The tech then spent some time making sure that the alignment of the steering was correct. Whatever he did made a definite improvement in that the clunk occurred less frequently. Unfortunately, it was not eliminated.

I've driven almost 50,000 km since then, and the clunk has not gotten worse (or better). It's an annoyance, but I've learned to live with it.

Is it normal for the power steering motor/module to have some looseness?

I don't think it's "normal." If you find a solution, please let me know.