Looking for insight steering shake

Your symptoms are consistent with the 'tin whisker' hypothesis that some folks at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) are looking at. It turns out there may be a way to "burn out" the whiskers with a 9V battery or wall-wart. However, my associates at GSFC may want to speak with you directly before we take any corrective action. If not, I would like to talk you through the procedure.

One other less attractive option is to pull the fuse for the power steering module and make it a manual steering car. A friend who lives about 50 miles South of Huntsville near Blountsville has a dash switch that he can turn it on and off from the cabin of the car. When parking, it can be turned on for assistance. My understanding is at highway speeds, power assistance is not needed and some prefer the improved 'feel.'

I'll send you my contact info and we can talk about the options.

Bob Wilson

 

How did your resolve this issue?
I also have a 2000 Prius Jap import in New Zealand with the severe steering shake at 132,000Km. I was wondering if the US warranty extension on this problem applies in NZ?
Belltopper

 

I had the same problem, it got so bad, that it was a danger to drive. I had a workaround, and pulling the fuse was one of them, but when I had this issue, the car was not that old, 5 years or so. Anyhow, I took it to the dealership, who were quite smug about it, and said that there's no warranty, nor any recalls. But then after the accelerator issue and public relations debacle that Toyota endured with the Prius and other models, I decided to try talking to the dealership again. Wow! I was given the red carpet, and they fixed the problem for free! They said that it was a loose screw inside the steering column. Not sure if they were telling the full truth on the fix for that, but it was great to have if fixed for free! And I've been driving the car even now today with no further issues with the steering. Although now my traction battery is going bad, it will still drive on the freeway, all that with 221,000 on the car! Not a bad run for a little car!
I do hope you get the steering issue fixed, because I too had the intermittent jerking effect on the steering wheel while going down the freeway, not a pleasant experience!
Just tell your dealer that this is a dangerous situation, that other Prius year models DO have a recall on this problem. If they give you the cold shoulder on it, then call Toyota and take it up the chain, keep explaining how this could be a potential dangerous situation, and that other people outside of the model year had theirs fixed for free. I am one of those, and hopefully, you can get it taken cared of.
Good Luck!

 

It is really unlikely that a 2000 Japan domestic market vehicle will have any warranty coverage from Toyota New Zealand, since the car was not intended to be sold outside Japan.