SSC 90A: EPS Assembly Replacement

[Patrick Wong]

SSC 90A applies to certain 2006-2007 Highlander Hybrid and 2007 Camry Hybrid vehicles. I received notice of this SSC yesterday.

The symptom is gradual increase in steering effort at low speeds when turning the steering wheel to the complete left or right position.

The cause is insufficient adhesion between the permanent magnets and rotor of the Electric Power Steering Link Assembly causing the motor to gradually lose torque.

The solution is to replace the EPS Assembly which may take five hours of dealer labor.

If anyone has already had this repair done, please advise details.

[galaxee]

here's a little more info from the official documentation. vin ranges, a basic outline of the procedure, warnings. etc.

[efusco]

We got that. As we've had no noticable issues we're going to wait until the 60k mile service and have it all done at once.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by galaxee

here's a little more info from the official documentation...

Thanks, as usual you have immediate access to the details!

Referring to the 2006 HiHy repair manual, p. PS-65, it appears that the engine and transaxle have to be removed to gain access to the power steering assembly. The SSC says 5 hours of labor:

- Is that enough time to remove and replace the engine/transaxle, remove and replace the steering gear, do the necessary initializations, etc.?

- Does the documentation that you retrieved suggest an alternate approach that does not require engine/transaxle removal?

- Assuming that the engine/transaxle is removed, would it be reasonable to expect that the engine oil, engine coolant, transaxle fluid and inverter coolant will be drained and replaced with new?

I'm surprised that the only gaskets that have to be replaced are exhaust system gaskets (per the bulletin info you provided.)

I hope that my local dealer's service dept still employs the hybrid tech who I first met in 2005. I know this guy pretty well as he replaced the traction batteries under warranty on my 2001 and HiHy, and performed other work like resealing the original 2001 battery, replacing the engine ECU, etc.

[galaxee]

no need to drop the cradle to do any of this, fortunately. it will pop right out the side of the vehicle through the wheel well, no major disassembly of many unrelated parts required. 5 hours is definitely sufficient to cover that job for anyone who knows what they're doing. the hihy's exhaust y-pipe is in the way, hence the exhaust gaskets.

[Patrick Wong]

I had this work performed today. When I dropped off my car in the morning I could see a blue Camry Hybrid having its steering gear removed, two techs working on it.

Now that I have the car back, the steering seems to require a bit more effort than in the past. Otherwise its good, I looked into the front wheel wells and could see the new steering gear.

Evan (and anyone else with an affected HiHy): Please carefully note the steering effort on your vehicle prior to taking it in for service, and compare to the steering effort when you get your car back.

The parts cost ~$1,200 MSRP. What's the labor rate in your area? If $100, then labor will cost $500 at five hours, for a total price of $1,700 if not covered under warranty.

[ggood]

Had this work done to my HyCam yesterday. I didn't notice any difference in steering before or after.