Steering Column Rattling Noise

Steering Column(???) Rattling Noise

Hi - I'm new to the Forum but looking for help please! I have a 2015 Gen 3 Base Model Prius w/ 25,000 miles.

The car has developed an annoying hard rattle when driving on bumpy (think cobblestoned) streets at any speed. It sounds to me like it is metal-to-metal but unsure. However on smooth roads there is not any sounds made remotely similar to this rattle. The car has never been in an accident and has been well maintained.

This is what I have done so far to find this "rattle"

1) Took off steering wheel assembly etc. to expose the upper bearing. I cleaned the bearing and shaft and applied new grease on/in the bearing and on the shaft : NO HELP. (However the sound "seems" to be coming from this upper area BUT unsure)

2) On the lower intermediate shaft with the Universal Joints on each end I packed in grease into the 8 joints (4 at each end) thinking that if this part was the problem then at a minimum for a short duration the sound would have been deadened slightly (same reasoning used above in #1) : NO HELP

3) I took it to the Toyota Dealer who said I needed to replace the entire steering column; WAIT, 25,000 miles WHAT??
(I'm thinking that was an easier then finding out what the actual problem is): NO HELP

I'm asking for anyone who has had the same/similar experience with their Prius to let me know what you ultimately did to a) find the rattle source and to, b) fix it.

Thanks in advance for all your help !!!

 

Thanks - I didn't use a "Stethoscope" but we used something similar

 

So I unfortunately do know where the noise is coming from (see attached pic). It in the steering column's power assist area. This part of the assembly resides behind the instrument cluster that is why you hear the noise under the trim panel. The bad news is this "part" can not be fixed. You unfortunately have to have the whole steering column unit replaced.

I actually spoke to a shop in Illinois who's specializes in Toyotas and spoke to the owner there. He was quite helpful and was very familiar with this problem that Prius' have. The only solution he said was replacing the column, the power steering part can not be repaired by itself as its inside an enclosed/sealed area.

This was the same answer the Toyota dealership gave me.

Wish I had better news. I'm just going to grin and bear it with mine for awhile and then sell it as it will probably cost you $1,300 - $1,500 to get it repaired.

You would have thought that Toyota would have sent out a factory recall notice on a known issue that its Prius' are having...sigh

Good Luck