Lower intermediate shaft play. How large of a concern before a 1500 mile road trip?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Jagdepanzer, Jun 18, 2026 at 4:42 PM.

  1. Jagdepanzer

    Jagdepanzer Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 10, 2023
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    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hello guys!

    I've been experiencing steering play in my Prius the past 1 to 1.5 years. It has 330k miles so I wrote it off for a bit. I knew it wasn't anything suspension related as everything has been replaced within the past two years or so. I thought it was something to do with the steering shafts but never looked deeply into it until recently. I have a 1500 mile trip planned in < 2 weeks.

    Here's the play I'm describing, front wheels do not move when I do this. INTERMIDIATE SHAFT BOLTS ARE REMOVED BUT IT HAPPENS EITHER WAY.

    I also get clunks in the steering when initially turning to the left (or right, but less).

    After investigating, it seems as though my upper intermediate shaft is locked up (cannot telescope in or out anymore) and my lower intermediate shaft has a large amount of play and movement. I know there was a recall on these shafts, my vehicle doesn't seem to qualify (I'm sure they don't do it free anymore anyways lol).

    Intermediate shaft play when moving by hand:



    Intermediate shaft play when moving by wheel:



    This recall inspection video seems to track with the issue on my Prius:



    My questions is, how long can I delay this repair? I really don't want to have to drop the front subframe on TWO Priuses (one for parts, and mine for fixing). Will this end up failing catastrophically? How soon? Or am I completely on the wrong track and something else is broken? The steering rack itself seems to be very tight and happy.

    Thanks guys!
     
    #1 Jagdepanzer, Jun 18, 2026 at 4:42 PM
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2026 at 5:04 PM