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2009 Gen3 Prius Requires New Steering Column

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by GrumpyCabbie, Jun 24, 2011.

  1. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Just got back from my 50k mile service and whilst there I informed the main dealer about a rattle I was starting to get with the steering wheel. I was also finding the steering to be slow or juddery from time to time when turning with the car stationary.

    Turns out after investigation that it's a problem with the steering column from the steering rack to the steering wheel! Luckily the car is still under warranty (60k mile warranty in UK) and the part is to be fitted free of charge. A good thing as the part isn't cheap!

    My only concern is that this is a Toyota with only 50k miles on it and it needs a new steering column. Have other gen3/2010 Prius owners had similar issues or problems with their steering? Is it a design weak spot that's coming to light on higher mileage cars? Mine does get a lot of use being a taxi in a congested English town. Has any known issue been corrected for the replacement part or the newer 2011 Prius?

    Perhaps I might look at trading the car in for a new Prius (maybe plug in?) as all new UK Toyotas get 100k mile no quibble warranty which should give me 3 - 4 years worry free motoring.
     
  2. Flaninacupboard

    Flaninacupboard Senior Member

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    It'd definitely be under more stress on taxi duty. I was taught to never steer while stationary, but it must be almost unavoidable for you.

    Did the rattle sound like it was in the wheel or in the column?
     
  3. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    The intermediate shaft was a problem on 04-06, subject to a recall, and has been a problem on other Toyota models in the past as well. If it is an issue across the fleet, it may take some time for it to show up as a recall. Over here, if enough people report the same problem to the NHTSA, then a recall can be forced, but it usually takes a few years. I don't know about over there, but over here, any dealership repair carries a 1 year, unlimited mileage warranty.
     
  4. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    We have nothing as good as NHTSA over here. We have VOSA which is a toothless lion that eats out of the manufacturers hand.

    To be fair with Toyota they diagnosed the problem and authorised the warranty claim. The part should arrive next week all going well.

    On another note, I have a feeling the dealers have used 5w30 oil instead of 0w20 YET AGAIN :mad: Out of 5 services they have managed to get it wrong 4 times! They got it right at 40k as I made a fuss before they service the car. This time I assumed they'd have learnt, but it appears not. They will be changing it to 0w20 next week! ;)
     
  5. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    What gave you the clue that they used the wrong oil?

    For a more positive indication, instruct them to only put in 4 litres and to give you the 5th litre bottle so you can top it off yourself when you get home. That way you get to see what they actually used.

    You can also put a nice bright "0W-20 only" label on your oil fill cap.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    hopefully, you just got a defective part and it's not a major problem. my son just had to replace the altenator in his camry at 85,000 miles. unusual i think, and not under warranty. but, sometimes you just get a lemon.
     
  7. Ffejrobins30

    Ffejrobins30 New Member

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    As posted above, the intermediate shaft is a big issue on a lot of Toyota vehicles, as well as other makes. My '06 Rav4 has a clunk from it, my parents both have Saturn Auras that I had to replace the shafts in, all of the GM Silverado/Suburban (C/K) series trucks have this problem as well. It's not uncommon and actually not that expensive in comparison to what other items could be making the noise. Glad to hear that you're getting it done under warranty though.
     
  8. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Fuel economy has bombed, the car hesitates ever so slightly when the engine fires up (it doesn't on 0w20), the car is slower and doesn't do quick getaways when pulling onto roundabouts.

    Out of 5 oil changes they've only got it right 2 times. I can tell by the way the car runs and sounds that the oil is wrong. When the correct 0w20 is used the car runs sweet straight off.

    I'm sure they'll replace the oil when I next go round, otherwise they'll make me cross and when I get cross I will feel obliged to relate my experiences of this dealer to all my customers. :cool:
     
  9. Ffejrobins30

    Ffejrobins30 New Member

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    It's not uncommon for dealers or other service shops to use the wrong oil. Most of the techs are of the "it comes from the oil gun, it's the right oil" state of mind. It's kind of hard to prove, so there's no sense in fighting it right now, but what you can do is ask to see the bottles that the oil came out of. Since 90% of the Toyota vehicles see at the dealer use 5W30, that's what they have in the guns. They will pour the 0W20 from 1qt bottles. That's what I suggest.
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    picked up a new lawnmower from a local family owned shoppe that has been selling them for over 60 years. they set it up for me and when i got home i checked the oil level before starting it. it wss a half inch above full. i read the owners manual and it stated 'under no circumstances should the engine be run with oil level above the full mark. open the drain plug and remove excess oil before starting.' i took it back to the shoppe and they told me not to worry, it won't harm anything. "they put that in the manual to cover any liability"
     
  11. socratesthecabdriver

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    hey grump did they tell you what the cost would have being????????
     
  12. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Got it fixed yesterday and the steering is now much tighter and the rattle has gone.

    I did ask a cost and they indicated about £1,000 for the parts alone plus sales tax (20%) and fitting. All covered by warranty.

    How you finding your Prius Mr S? I'm upto 50k miles now.
     
  13. socratesthecabdriver

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    its doing ok i get some knocks here and there from the front but it did so from the start on some harsh abrupt bumps ! i have 59440 km getting ready to go for service i go to the dealer with amsoil 0-20 in my hands as the toyota dealer cant provide me with anything less than 5-30 i think is what they are trying to pass on to us here in greece hahahaaaaaaa ..
    another gen3 owner taxi owner that i know runs his cab on a double shift and has 160000km and hasn't reported any problems with it to me yet he lives across the street from me ! he has it for an extra month than me!! another toyota taxi owner corolla owner pointed out to me not to turn the steering all the way because they break down easy on these models because of some electric ring on the column drive thing heheheee!!!
    guess what almost every time i pop a u turn i max out the rack and pinion to a gap sound hahaha a fault habit i have since i was a kid !!! i cant stop doing it this steering is to light i think i am going to putt an even smaller steering wheel on it so there is less turning force generated ..hehehe
     
  14. billnchristy

    billnchristy Active Member

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    You might just be the happiest cabbie I have ever heard of. :)
     
  15. socratesthecabdriver

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    hey grump you sure it wasn't the linkage the cross they call it here in greece my neighbor the othe taxi driver said he changed the cross i assume that's the steering linkage a small part from what he told me !!! easy fix !!! let me tell you what happened to me with that peugeot dealer i used to go to when the car was in warranty they used to claim big repairs even though there was no such thing wrong with the car just so they could claim the labor i guess as income i am suspicious of that , be on the look out ! anyway he also told me some fuse box thing in the back where the battery is also went bad on him indicating hybrid system failure just before 100000 km but he said they told him it doesn't happen that often to the cars .
     
  16. socratesthecabdriver

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    he also told me that if it happens to me to open the back up where the battery is lift open some black cover and play with some orange thing that should allow me to restart the car so i could get to the dealer ... i am going to get him to show me this stuff so that i can get sum illustrations up of that part that went bad on him
     
  17. socratesthecabdriver

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    realy i am not my new minister of transportation is attempting to open my trade rendering the value of the medallion on my taxi worthless,which by the time i am done paying of it will run me 200000 euros !!!
     
  18. adamace1

    adamace1 Senior Member

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    Holy Replies batman....
     
  19. senna

    senna New Member

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    I have 30000 km on my Prius III 2009 and I also need to change some part of the steering wheel because when the car is standing still and I move a steering wheel I can hear a sound from it and it feels like it has few degrees of empty space if you know what I mean... didn't expect that coming from Prius. Donno if anybody else had similar problem? Toyota will fix it under warranty this weekend.
     
  20. kgall

    kgall Active Member

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    Either the steering problem or the wrong oil would make me grumpy too.

    Have not had steering problems either on my 35K miles Prius or my old 198K miles Corolla (more than a light-second as one of my childhood friends said when his first car passed the milestone).

    But that's a sample size of 2. Not very impressive statistically.