Classic Steering Rack Trouble

I'd go to a forum that discusses the earlier model Prius'. I suspect that, like all the other little irritations on the introductory model, Toyota has engenineered it out of the 2004 model.

 

Unfortunately, there aren't very many of us "classic" owners here. It may be worthwhile to revisit the option with Danny again, since there are more of us now.

 

My sister who has my old Classic received a letter approximately a month ago from Toyota telling her that if she experienced the steering shudder she should take it in to be repaired. The ironic thing is that I had it repaired last fall before she received the car.

 

I was among the first Classic owners to get my rack replaced... at roughly the same mileage as you. That fixed it... until roughly the same mileage again.

The second time, I let it take its course. Turns out, it was the result of aging. Something about that particular design (not present in the HSD model) hits a wear tolerance that causes a noticable shutter. It goes away though, once the wear moves beyond a certain point.

So even without replacement, it was just fine eventually. Of course, that's shudder type #1, which only occurs when you are turning the wheel. If you have type #2, that occurs when the car isn't moving and you aren't even touching it, that's an entirely different situation.

Good Luck!

By the way, the blogs on my website contain details about my experiences. Start by searching for "steering-rack" and "shudder".

 

hi sparkymarvin,

whereabouts do you live?

 

Andrew, you should call Toyota's national customer service line, 800-331-4331. Open a case # and mention all the details you have put here. It is their responsibility to get your local service shop in line with reality.

I went through steering rack replacement on 2001 Prius about 1 month ago, and some persistence was required. Since then at least one other person has sailed though starting with the phone # above, so maybe things are working better now. You might also ask them how to present this 'clear and present safety hazard situation' to NHTSA. A little drama wouldn't hurt. Plus that 10,000 of your internet Prius-friends are watching how this matter gets handled.

I would be pleased if you could find a local Toyota shop with more interest in customer satisfaction. Where are you?

Prius Chat *is* for the 2001-2003 Prius. We are remarkably tolerant of the newbies since 2004, though. Probably because we have been Zen-driving for that much longer. As a general rule, they don't wave back. I am not sure that all of them know what a real Prius looks like.

 

Just noted in another post that we've had our rack replaced now for the 2nd time in an '02.

I wonder how many years we'll get on this one?!?

 

Does anybody in this thread have the details of the extended/enhanced warranty? I bought my 2002 prius 4 years ago and have a dealer that hasn't heard of the warranty extention. I thought I read on-line somewhere that it extended the warranty for the rack and pinion an additional 5 years from the original 3, and also had an unlimited mileage? My dealer is trying to tell me it is just an 8yr/100k warranty just like the battery.

I appreciate any insight you can give me, I'm just trying to save $2,100 as well as get my Prius back on the road.

thanks,
dave

 

Hi Dave,

I have not heard of an extended warranty offering for the 2002 electric steering gear. Normally that would be covered under the 3 year/36K mile warranty.

Certain 2001 Prius had service campaigns to replace the power steering ECU and the steering gear. However, as stated above, I am not aware that this applied to 2002 models.

In addition, I recall that my 2001's power steering system was covered by an enhanced warranty for five years from the date of sale; however since I sold that vehicle I no longer have the notification letter to confirm the details.

 

Thanks for looking.

dave

 

So is that 5 years from when new, or 5 years extention from the end of the 3 year warranty, which would still have a 2002 most likely covered?

dave

 

Hi Dave I see you are here already. The Warr enhance was 5 years after the in-service date. Thus it will not help you onthe phone except to exsablish that this is a known flaw etc. The 800-331-4331 people seem to need to be brought gently up to speed, over time. Then 'somebody' behind the scenes makes a decision and you get the goodies. At least this is our hope. Get started on the phone. Good luck

 

Thanks all for your input and help. I wound up getting it fixed at a local shop. I bought a steering rack from a wrecked 2003 from a pick and pull and had it installed. Total cost was quite a bit lower than Toyota as it should have been. The 2003 only had 50k miles on it, so I figure the rack should still have some life in it since my car already has 162k miles on it. The car steers wonderfully again. Total cost was about $800 including an alignment after the rack install. The book lists this as a 4 hour job.

Due to the previous front end wreck my car was in prior to me owning it (forgot about that until looking at the car on the rack at the shop), and the high miles I didn't even bother with Toyota since I needed my car back on the road ASAP.

dave

 

Good job Dave. Did you learn any tips or tricks during the purchase and replacement processes that might be of interest to future 'victims'? If so please post them hereabouts.