2002 steering rack shudder

Hello,

My prius has developed a violent shudder that would require replacing the steering rack to fix. This would run about $3000.

I'm looking for advice on how to disconnect the power from my steering rack to make it a manual steering vehicle. I have a shop line up to do the procedure, but they have no experience with it and would need a "kit" or instructions to do so.

Any ideas much appreciated.

More details later...

 

Thanks Guys,

That is all great information.

There has been a new development: within 5 seconds of starting the car, the warning light comes on and the power steering goes out. The display reads "PS" and there is an "!" Maybe disconnecting the power from the rack is unnecessary at this point?

We took the car to a shop today to get an inspection to see whether anything out of the ordinary may have been done by the previous shop, or to see any other "red-flags" that may exist.

I'm hoping to "buy time" with the vehicle as a manual before jumping in to the repair. My concern is that after replacing it, the rack will last less than a year and have to be replaced again.

Another concern is that another $1000 plus repair is lurking in our future. The shop we took it to, Moss Alley Motors are far from experts on Priuses, but they are BBB accredited and are very honest and up-front. I'm not sure how helpful their inspection will be.

Brad

 

The shop called back and said they could put in a used steering rack which they found for $950. The total after labor would be $1273. I need to decide soon whether to do it or not. there is no warranty on the used part.

I'm tempted to go for it. The mechanic said they only have one used rack on hand and it could go fast. Also, I'm concerned that the price may increase as demand for used steering racks increases.

I've been dilly dallying with this since December and sometime between then and now the price of the part increased 75% and the dealers total estimate went from $2000 to $3128...before tax. Maybe it's time to make hay while the sun shines.

 

thanks for that Patrick and to all of you for the help. there are a lot of options and bases to cover, and I'm trying to keep my cool through all the confusion.

I really like the used price, but how do I know if the used part they will put in has the same known weakness as all 01-02 racks?

I just asked the mechanic what year Prius the used rack is from. He isn't sure but said he would check on it for me. Is there a way for me to verify the "quality" of this used rack?

If you were in my shoes, would you trust the used part or get a brand new one? I could really use some advice. do you think the savings outweighs the potential risks of a used part? What are the

your advice is much appreciated.

Brad

 

Thanks for all your responses in the past! We called Toyota corporate and they "escalated the case" and we were assigned a case manager. He called back and said he wished they could help with the repair cost but that we are "way past the extended warranty."

We are currently pursuing buying our own used rack and having a shop put it in. I'm running VIN checks on the used parts to see if the vehicle they came from were ever in a reck. The total cost for parts and labor will be under $1000. I know it's not ideal but we are on a budget so we will go for this crapshoot approach and hope for the best!