1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Looking at a gen 2 that has no steering (is this cheap fix?)

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by MilkyWay, Mar 19, 2017.

  1. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    819
    357
    23
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    #1 MilkyWay, Mar 19, 2017
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,325
    15,110
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    "No steering" is an awfully vague description. Have you seen and sat in this car to be able to say anything specific about the steering?

    Taken literally, "no steering" would suggest you'll need to pick up a steering wheel, air bag, spiral cable, upper and lower columns, torque sensor, ECU, assist motor, gearbox, and a coupl'a tie rods. ;)

    -Chap
     
    #2 ChapmanF, Mar 19, 2017
    MilkyWay likes this.
  3. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    819
    357
    23
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    It is at toyota dealership and parts quoted are clock spring, tie rods, shaft, and steering gear...
     
    #3 MilkyWay, Mar 19, 2017
  4. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    819
    357
    23
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Well, they responded and said a guy is coming with a "deposit" paying well over the asking price....

    He has it up for $1000 or best offer or it's being donated...It is clean and requires (my guess) $300 to regain steering....

    LOL...Miles are 230k but if I didn't have all this competition he definitely would have taken 7 or 800.

    I responded back "$1600 today" just to see where it goes
     
    #4 MilkyWay, Mar 19, 2017
  5. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2006
    11,314
    3,588
    1
    Location:
    Northern VA (NoVA)
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    What model year are we talking? There was a steering recall back around 2004 2005 MY
     
    #5 wjtracy, Mar 19, 2017
  6. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    819
    357
    23
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    It is a 2005 with over 230k and at Toyota dealership...
     
    #6 MilkyWay, Mar 19, 2017
  7. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    819
    357
    23
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    UPDATE: Seller raised price to $1800 or best offer and has someone coming tomorrow for $1700....If they don't agree on price then I am next in line...I'm thinking $1300-$1500 is fair considering miles but my email comment was $1600.

    1) How many hours for the $130 steering rack? I am anticipating maybe 3 hours max....Not like a 10 hour $700 job...Please someone comment on this point!!!

    2) Apparently the clock spring controls steering wheel buttons and horn....And kicks the airbag light on....I will skip repairing this unless it is right there when changing the rack.

    HE WAS QUOTED OVER $3000 FROM STEALERSHIP...I am anticipating $130 for rack and maybe another $200 tops for labor to put in...So around $300 tops....In case it gets to me tomorrow then Is this about right?
     
    #7 MilkyWay, Mar 19, 2017
  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,325
    15,110
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Have you inspected the car yourself to be sure what "no steering" means?

    You could be in the ballpark, or you could be low by hundreds.

    As to the labor for rack replacement, best bet is to sign in at techinfo.toyota.com and look over the procedure in the repair manual. I believe (don't take my word for it, I've only had a Gen 1 and Gen 3) the steering gear is mounted on the subframe, which may need to be lowered for access.

    If you need a shaft, you may need the torque sensor and motor to go on the shaft (or to swap those parts over), for which you may also need the repair manual for any subtleties in the procedure that you might not just guess.

    With a bad clockspring, you may have no horn, and if the airbag light is on, probably no airbag protection in a crash.

    -Chap
     
    #8 ChapmanF, Mar 19, 2017
  9. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    819
    357
    23
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I'm wondering if dealership quoting the steering shaft is just because that is what they do? And if just the steering rack would fix problem?
     
    #9 MilkyWay, Mar 19, 2017
  10. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    819
    357
    23
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Another problem is when I look up power steering failure on the gen 2 I am getting a lot of posts about just having to reset the PS code and/or changing the power steering module on the dash....But it would be hard to believe that a dealership would totally mess up the diagnosis...
     
    #10 MilkyWay, Mar 19, 2017
  11. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,325
    15,110
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    You need to see the car and really find out what happened with the steering, and why they decided the parts they quoted are necessary. If you can't get there to see it, then have a detailed conversation with them about the history of the car. Why are you so sure it would be the rack as opposed to any of the other parts in the system? Do you have a rack already, so you're wishing for it to be the problem?

    Well, slow down a sec and notice you just wrote "power steering failure", while the earlier posts suggested something more like collision damage to the steering gearbox, tie rods, shaft, etc. (And even if the issue were "power steering failure", there are still different possible reasons for that, calling for different fixes. And resetting the code is about as much of a fix as turning up the radio to fix a noisy bearing.)

    Doesn't it stand to reason that what's needed to fix the problem depends on what the problem is? It doesn't sound like you know what it is yet.

    -Chap
     
    #11 ChapmanF, Mar 19, 2017
  12. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2016
    6,102
    5,813
    0
    Location:
    Columbia, SC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    #12 TMR-JWAP, Mar 19, 2017
  13. stockdaddy

    stockdaddy Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2015
    208
    56
    0
    Location:
    Missouri
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Someone owning a car that considers steering as non important enough to get fixed is a pretty big red flag.
     
    #13 stockdaddy, Mar 19, 2017
  14. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    819
    357
    23
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    That is yours? If so, not bad.

    Funny thing is that I have access to dealer auctions and typically go 1 time a week. Been waiting about 3 or 4 weeks for a gen 2 but nothing so far. If one rolls through running and driving with over 200k it is going to sell for very cheap.

    So sick of this Pacifica that takes 17 gallons to fill up and is back on empty in a few days.
     
    #14 MilkyWay, Mar 19, 2017
  15. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    819
    357
    23
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    He is an Uber driver. He immediately towed it to the Toyota Dealership and once the robbery-ship said over $3000 to do a $300 job he listed it on craigslist for $1000 or best offer.

    It's not that he thought steering was not important it's that he didn't want to get robbed by the robbery-ship...$3000 for a 2 hour job with rack for sale on partsgeek for $130? Insanely overpriced job.

    Did I mention it has 230k miles?
     
    #15 MilkyWay, Mar 19, 2017
  16. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2016
    6,102
    5,813
    0
    Location:
    Columbia, SC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    No, that wasn't mine in the ad. It's just one that was on Craigslist - Columbia.
     
    #16 TMR-JWAP, Mar 19, 2017
  17. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,325
    15,110
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    So is it the Uber driver that has you convinced (or has himself convinced) of what is wrong with the steering and what is needed to fix it?

    Is it possible to step back a bit and post: what was it about the steering that made him want to tow the car to the dealer and have the steering looked at in the first place?

    -Chap
     
    #17 ChapmanF, Mar 19, 2017
  18. MilkyWay

    MilkyWay Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 20, 2013
    819
    357
    23
    Location:
    MI
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    No, the dealership has the owner convinced with complete quote parts and labor....It is a good thing because why pay public price when you can get dealer price?

    Yesterday I ended up buying 2 priuses at the dealer auction which is out of state....hopefully no surprises (red triangles)....although I'm not really scared of whatever it is!!!! Plan to keep the 2005 with 202k miles....dying to get that 45mpg back...Plan to sell the 2007 but you wouldn't believe these people that come to look....They want everything to be perfect for $3500 LMAO...

    Note: These are sitting in a different state...titles are not in...so they are unpaid for....I have no idea how they look or drive...well, outside appears to be halfway decent and both drivers seats look like they could use a good cleaning.

    1) For $1950 delivered, a 2005 that has 202k miles....carfax shows coolant flushed at 160k...brakes/drive belt at 166k...rear brakes 175k.....pvc valve and front diff @ 187k....alignment @ 193k...
    17454988_10155116426614450_1881372363_o.jpg

    17453470_10155116426634450_530605181_o.jpg
    17407944_10155116426644450_1789785224_o.jpg


    2) For $2550 delivered, a 2007 that has 146k miles...carfax shows battery/brakes/drums/shoes/brake wheel cylinder/spark plugs all replaced in last 10k miles

    17431034_10155116430469450_487431601_o.jpg 17453444_10155116430459450_1838154502_o.jpg 17454905_10155116430464450_490819251_o.jpg
     
    #18 MilkyWay, Mar 22, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2017
  19. surferboy808

    surferboy808 New Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2017
    5
    0
    0
    Location:
    Honolulu
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    nice pick ups!
     
    #19 surferboy808, May 20, 2017
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)