Recalls
| Campaign | Manufacturer | Manufacturing date | Type | # of units affected | Date Owner notified Mfg | Recall Initiated by | Manufacturers of recalled vehicles/products | Report Recieved Date | Record Creation Date | Regulation Part Number | FMVSS Number | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | ||||||||||||||||
| 11V304000 | TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. | from 01/28/2000 to 05/30/2003 | V (Vehicle) | 52377 | MFR | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 06/01/2011 | 06/01/2011 | ||||||||
| Defect Summary | Toyota is recalling certain model year 2001 through 2003 prius passenger cars manufactured from january 28, 2000, through may 30, 2003. the steering linkage may loosen, resulting in reduced electric steering assistance when making a left turn. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | Loss of power steering, particularly when an operator is actively intending to steer the vehicle, may increase the risk of a crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Toyota will notify owners and dealers will replace the nuts in the steering linkage free of charge. the safety recall is expected to begin in early july 2011. owners may contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to http://www.safercar.gov . | |||||||||||||||
| STEERING - GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION) | ||||||||||||||||
| 00V285000 | TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. | from 05/09/2000 to 07/21/2000 | V (Vehicle) | 1772 | 10/27/2000 | MFR | TOYOTA MOTOR NORTH AMERICA, INC. | 09/21/2000 | 09/22/2000 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. insufficient electrical contact can occur in the torque sensor that controls the power assist operation of the electric power steering gear box. the torque sensor could send improper electrical signals. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | If this occurs, the power steering warning icon will be displayed on the center panel, and the driver could experience higher than normal steering effort depending upon vehicle speed. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Dealers will repair the electric steering gear box. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Owner notification began october 27, 2000.owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact toyota at 1-800-331-4331.also contact the national highway traffic safety administration's auto safety hotline at 1-888-dash-2-dot (1-888-327-4236). | |||||||||||||||
Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||||
| POL-11-03 | 06/23/2011 | 10041273 | Toyota: unusual steering wheel vibration when the driver releases the steering wheel. warranty extension. *rm | 09/26/2011 | |
| TCS-11-022 | 06/29/2011 | 10041274 | Ready | 09/26/2011 | |
| TCS-11-022 | 06/29/2011 | 10041274 | Toyota service campaign: see document search button for owner letter. unusual steering vibration when the driver releases the steering wheel. 2001-2003 prius. *rm | 09/26/2011 | |
| POL-11-03 | 06/23/2011 | 10041273 | Ready | 09/26/2011 | |
| 04010 | 05/28/2004 | 10007669 | Customer support program - warranty coverage enhancement on the electronically-assisted power steering system. *tt | 07/07/2004 | |
| STEERING - GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION) | |||||
| ST00800 | 11/17/2000 | 616118 | Subject regarding power steering gear installation procedure (repair manual supplement). *tt | 02/09/2001 | |
| 374 | 11/22/2000 | 616073 | Nformation on avoiding damage to the power steering (ps) main shaft lower dust seal when installing the power steering gear assembly. *tt | 02/08/2001 | |
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||||
| 03009 | 05/19/2003 | 10005356 | Electric motor power steering electronic control unit. limited service campaign 30d. *tt | 02/23/2004 | |
| TC00030 | 10/17/2000 | 618285 | Special service campaign regarding a new power steering gear assembly. *jb | 04/11/2001 | |
| STEERING - RACK AND PINION - RACK | |||||
| 0403 | 06/04/2004 | 10008428 | Warranty enhancement - electronically assisted power steering rack assembly. *tt | 07/30/2004 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 08/03/2011 | 140000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius. the contact received the recall notice associated with nhtsa campaign id number 11v304000 (steering:electric power assist system). an authorized dealer was notified and the contact was informed that they would inspect the vehicle before performing repairs. the contact stated that according to the recall notice, the dealer was supposed to repair the vehicle if it was included in the recall. the manufacture was notified and offered no assistance. the vehicle was not yet taken to the dealer to find out whether or not repairs were needed. the failure mileage was 140,000. sm. | |||
| 08/03/2011 | 140000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius with 140,000 miles. the contact received recall notice 11v304000 (steering:electric power assist system). when the contact call the dealer in regards to the repair he was told that they will inspect the vehicle before they would repair it. the contact stated that according to the recall notice that the dealer would fix the problem if the vehicle is included in the recall. the manufacture was contact and offered no assistance. the contact had not taken the vehicle to the dealer to find if the repair was needed. bl | |||
| 05/25/2011 | 65704 | ||
| While driving into a freeway our 2001 toyota prius experienced a violent shaking of the steering wheel and the ps and eclamation warning lights came on. my wife pulled over and shut the vehicle off and the error cleared. i decided to drive the vehicle to the dealer the previous owner done all the service and repair. as i pulled into the service area the violent shaking happened again. i researched the issue online and found the there was a recall of the power assist steering unit due to a faulty sensor. when i questioned the dealer regarding the recall the service guy became defensive and said it is not covered under recall and warranty is expired so it is a chargeable repair. i reviewed the recall notice and warnings but my vehicle is not in the vin range but the problem is exactly the same and cost $4000 to repair. i don't believe this is a fair process if some vehicles were repaired while others have to be paid for by owners. | |||
| 01/20/2011 | 148000 | ||
| Steering wheel, uncontrollable shudder, will litterally rip itself out of your hand or grip. usually happens during the first of the day when it's relatively cold. while slowly moving the vehicle, the steering wheel will start to vibrate violently, in an un controllable manner. sometimes the power steering will just error out while driving down the street during the day, loosing all power steering as well. | |||
| 01/20/2011 | 34000 | ||
| I have a 2001 prius. i bought it in 2003. ever since i bought it, the steering wheel sometimes wobbles when i back up and turn the wheel. this has been consistent since 2003. this winter, when the weather has been very cold, the steering wheel has shuddered violently several times, wobbled while driving forward twice, and now the warning light for power steering is on. i am taking it to the dealer tomorrow, jan 21 2011. i have read about the wobbling steering wheel while backing up since i bought the car. i am also seeing that there was an extension of the warranty on the steering column, but i never received notice, and my dealer denies any recall regarding this problem. | |||
| 12/02/2008 | 150000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius. while driving the dashboard illuminated the steering failed it was very difficult to keep the vehicle under control the steering shacked when the failure occurred. the contact stated the failure was experienced numerous times, but when the vehicle was turned off for a moment the steering reset to normal, but the recently the steering doesn't reset back normal . the manufacturer was contacted they advised the vin wasn't included in recall 00v285000 steering: gear box (other than rack and pinion) therefore they will not assist with the repair. the failure mileage was 150,000 and the current mileage was 205.000. li | |||
| 06/13/2010 | 112000 | ||
| My 2001 toyota prius steering 'groans' when the wheels are turned far left or right. this defect occurs more often in warm weather and after the car has been driven. the vehicle has not been in any accidents. | |||
| 08/26/2010 | 103000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius. while turning left at approximately 25 mph she noticed the steering wheel turned very easily to the left and she had to apply heavy pressure to get the steering wheel to return to center position. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where she was informed of a steering recall. the manufacturer was notified and she was informed her vehicle was not included in the recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 00v285000, steering:gear box (other than rack and pinion). it was not repaired. the failure and current mileages were 103,000. sm. | |||
| 06/04/2010 | 109000 | ||
| Tl-the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius. while driving at approximately 65 mph the power steering warning light illuminated on the dashboard and the vehicle lost power steering. the vehicle was pulled over and restarted. upon restart the vehicle operated as normal for approximately 30 minutes when the failure recurred. the failure has recurred about twelve times while driving for at least 30 minutes. the manufacturer was notified and informed the contact that the vehicle was serviced by a prior owner for the recall associated with nhtsa campaign id number 00v285000. the vehicle was not taken to an authorized dealer to be serviced for the current failures. the failure and current mileages were 109,000. sm. | |||
| 03/01/2010 | 116000 | ||
| Tl* the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius hybrid. while driving at speeds of 65 mph, the steering wheel began shaking excessively. immediately, the power steering warning light illuminated on the warning panel for a few minutes. the contact also stated that while traveling downhill with her foot on the brake pedal, the pedal would vibrate. the manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was repaired three separate times under various recall campaigns by the previous owner. they were unwilling to assist with any further repairs to the vehicle. the vin was not available at the time of the complaint. the approximate failure mileage was 116,000 and the current was 118,000. | |||
| 02/17/2010 | 1 | ||
| My 2001 toyota prius' steering wheel shaking violently this symptom has been happened to my 2001 prius since 2008. i had been trying to contact toyota for a replacement but no feedback. lately the symptom getting worse until now. *tr | |||
| 12/18/2009 | 40000 | 5 | |
| The steering wheel on my 2001 toyota prius suddenly starts shaking violently when i start up the car. it seems to occur during cold weather. i have to stop the car when it happens because steering is no longer possible when the shaking happens. this shaking has occurred at least 5 times. if i let the car warm up for a few minutes before driving it seems to reduce the occurrence of the shaking. *tr | |||
| 05/17/2007 | 60000 | 1 | |
| While investigating the prius for accelerator issues, i think you should also follow-up on the well known power steering issue with the '01 and '02 models. there are likely still hundreds of these vehicles still on the road. worse, even though this issue was addressed by a factory recall (nhtsa assigned recall no. 00v-285) toyota placed a 5 year limit on the warranty service. what is worse, once the recall replacement has been performed, toyota will no longer perform further replacements at their cost. if the failure should happen again, as it did for me as a third owner of the vehicle, it is an expensive replacement (at over $1,300 usd). at this point to my best knowledge any current owner of an '01 prius or certain models of the '02 prius are gambling that an essential safety related component of the car such as the electric assist power steering will not fail. it remains completely unclear to me that the replacement power steering assist units on these models are any more healthy and immune to the problem that were the original units that were subject to recall, since mine failed on me after having been replaced. as further evidence i cite the operation flow chart i in the ssc y05 technical instruction update from your own website at which shows that even for vehicles that fell within the warranty time period, toyota felt that if the work had been done once, it did not have to be done again. http://nhthqnwws112.odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/docservlet/artemis/public/recalls/2000/v/rcorrd-00v285-3651.pdf in my case, the repair was expensive enough i traded the vehicle rather than repair it. i do not know whether the dealer repaired the vehicle before it was resold and that is my greatest concern. i urge the nhtsa to re-open an investigation into this issue, since the prius is already under investigation for acceleration issues. *tr | |||
| 12/04/2009 | 59000 | 1 | |
| I have a 2001 toyota prius. sporadically, the steering will shake violently. it seems to happen when i turn the steering wheel. mechanics cannot figure out what is wrong. this past weekend the power steering warning light when on and i lost power steering. it came back on when i stopped the car so it may be a computer glitch. the shaking is getting worse. *tr | |||
| 01/02/2009 | 122000 | 1 | |
| Steering wheel shakes violently when backing when backing up after morning start up, this has been reported to dealer several times and they were unable to confirm problem, the problem continues and we now have light movement of the steering wheel when moving forward at highway speeds in a strait line this movement is a slight tug from left to right. the warning indicator has come on and is reset when restarting, looking at the 2000 recall it sounds like the same condition. *tr | |||
| 05/01/2006 | 65427 | 1 | |
| I am the original owner of a 2001 toyota prius. in 2002, we experienced a shutter and loss of power steering when turning the steering wheel at low speeds. the electric motor-assisted power steering (emps) rack had failed at 13,396 miles. toyota replaced the emps rack under warranty. in 2006 at 65,427 miles, we reported to toyota that the power steering failed while making a turn and the instrument warning lights illuminated. fortunately, we were able to bring the vehicle to a safe stop. toyota replaced the second rack at no charge. in 2008 at +105,000 miles, we experienced a noise in the front end that sounded like rubber bushings squeaking when the steering wheel was turned from left to right. toyota informed us the emps rack had failed a third time. toyota also told us that it is not their responsibility to correct the problem, but was willing to pay for the new parts and not the labor. a check of the internet blogs indicates that failure of the emps is a common problem with the first generation prius, first introduced in 2001. numerous owners have reported emps failure on their vehicles. second owners of the prius appear to be less likely to get a satisfactory resolution of this problem from toyota than first owners. unexpected loss of power steering while turning the vehicle can be a scary and unexpected event potentially leading to loss of control of the vehicle and personal injury. i strongly recommend that nhtsa investigate this situation. *tr | |||
| 03/05/2008 | 69012 | 1 | 02/27/2008 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius. while driving at any speed, the steering wheel vibrates. the failure worsens when making left and right turns. the failure has occurred ever since the vehicle was purchased. the vehicle has not been taken to a dealer. the current mileage was 69,110 and failure mileage was 69,012. | |||
| 06/01/2007 | 26000 | 5 | 06/07/2001 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius. while driving between 2-5 mph, the steering wheel would intermittently shake. the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. the failure mileage was 26,000 and current mileage was 27,000. updated 01/11/08. *lj the consumer was told he would be charged for replacing the steering rack. updated *jb | |||
| 10/07/2005 | 39000 | 8 | 09/19/2001 |
| Dt: the contact stated that 2001 toyota prius was having trouble with the steering wheel. when the wheel was in certain position it shuttered violently. the problem was intermittent. this happened just a few times since 2001, and in the last week, it was happening daily. the contact had not taken the car to the repair shop prior to this week. the contact was taken vehicle to dealer for a check up on the steering. there has been no success in contacting toyota as of now. she will contact toyota soon. the contact stated that the vehicle was very unsafe to drive. there has been no near misses, but this condition was very scary.*ak updated 12/27/05. *jb | |||
| 07/15/2003 | 2 | 01/01/2002 | |
| Consumer stated while driving at any speed and with no warning the steering bolts became loose and caused the steering wheel to jump around, which made the vehicle difficult to steer. dealer notified.*ak vehicle pulled significantly while driving. the tires were inspected at 15,536 miles, but at 18,800 miles one of the tire blew revealing the tires were bald. later, it was discovered the alignment was out and tire needed to be replaced again. *ph *jb | |||
| 07/21/2003 | 1 | ||
| Potenza 175/65/r14xl (oem tires) which are specifically made for the prius, wear quickly and on the edges. this resulted in my tire tread having a 1/32 rating, while the middle of the tire still had a long life left.*ak when making sharp turns at low speeds (especially when the car is cold), the steering wheel will vibrate (sometimes audibly, sometimes not). were this to happen at even a slightly higher speed, accidents may occur. this problem has become more frequent in the last few weeks. it now occurs at least every other day. | |||
| STEERING - COLUMN | |||
| 03/13/2006 | 100 | ||
| My steering wheel and column of my 2001 toyota prius intermittently shakes very violently! i have taken the car back to the dealer but they say that they cannot reproduce the problem. when i complained to toyota usa headquarters in torrance, ca, they told me that they could not fix the problem if the dealer could not reproduce it. i told them that my wife is scared to drive the car because of the violent shaking and that i cannot believe they could be so cavalier and negligent about a safety problem with the car's steering system. on top of this, i have come to find out that toyota has issued a technical bulletin to its dealers about defects and failures in the power steering system of the 2001 prius! it turns out that they had to completely redesign the power steering system for their hybrid vehicles and there were problems with steering systems of the early prius models. they are just being too cheap to fix the problem they created. i think these cars should be recalled so that this problem can be fixed for all of the owners to avoid accidents, injuries and death. on behalf of my family and on behalf of their safety thank you for your time and help in this matter! sincerely, joseph krebs austin, tx. *nm | |||
| STEERING - ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 12/08/2006 | 1 | ||
| 2001 toyota prius. consumer states problem with the rack and pinion *tgw the consumer stated not long after she purchased the vehicle. she experienced problems with the rack and pinion steering system, including steering wheel shaking and loss of power steering. the consumer took the vehicle in for service and was informed the entire rack and pinion assembly needed to be replaced. the consumer believed the repair may be related to the pinion shaft problem that was just recently identified under the recall. the consumer is seeking reimbursement for the previous repair. *jb | |||
| 01/01/1901 | 2 | ||
| Ltr from senator brown on behalf of constituent, re problems with his 2001 prius. *nj a safety alert was issued for the failure of the main computer, which resulted in the engine shutting itself off. the consumer stated the computer failed on his vehicle after 1 year of service. it took toyota 18 months to identify the problem. after a costly replacement of the accelerator pedal, the ecm was finally replaced. the consumer discovered a technical service bulletin had been issued regarding the replacement of the ecm. the consumer stated the ecm was defective when it left the factory, however toyota was not willing to take any responsibility for the repairs, because the car was too old. the power steering had to be replaced twice. *jb | |||
| 08/11/2007 | 61000 | 1 | 05/20/2001 |
| A 2001 toyota pruis i own has developed an intermittent but severe steering wheel shake over the last 4 months. it is consistent with a warranty enhancement notice we received from toyota in 2004 (nhtsa item number 10007669). to date the problem has only occurred at very low speeds, mostly when backing out of a parking spot or the driveway. the shaking / rattle is extremely severe, shaking the steering wheel so hard it is impossible to hold on to it. it lasts from less then one to 4 or 5 seconds. if it was ever to occur at any real speed, loss of control is a certainty. due to the intermittent nature, i have not been able to get my dealer to diagnose the problem, when i took it in with this complaint. since then, i have discussed the issue with fremont toyota's customer service representative, the dealers service manager, e-mailed toyota's national headquarters (they recorded it as file number 200706250915); and called toyota's customer experience center without a satisfactory result. i am told the service center needs to experience the problem before toyota would authorize a repair. due to the intermittent nature, i either have to bear the cost of substitute transportation while leaving the car at the dealer for an extended period of time until a diagnosis is made, or continue driving the car until the problem becomes severe enough to cause an accident. given that this problem is known to toyota, i fail to see why a repair is not authorized. i cannot believe that this know problem cannot be verified without actually experiencing it empirically. *tr | |||
| STEERING - GEAR BOX (OTHER THAN RACK AND PINION) | |||
| 12/08/2006 | 1 | ||
| 2001 toyota prius. consumer states problem with the rack and pinion *tgw the consumer stated not long after she purchased the vehicle. she experienced problems with the rack and pinion steering system, including steering wheel shaking and loss of power steering. the consumer took the vehicle in for service and was informed the entire rack and pinion assembly needed to be replaced. the consumer believed the repair may be related to the pinion shaft problem that was just recently identified under the recall. the consumer is seeking reimbursement for the previous repair. *jb | |||
| 11/10/2009 | 105256 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius. he stated that the power steering continued to fail intermittently. he had to stop and shut the engine off at each failure in order for the steering to reset itself. the manufacturer was contacted and although there was a recall, his vin was not included in the recall campaign number 00v285000, steering gear box, other than rack and pinion. no repairs were made to date. the current and failure mileages were under 105,256. | |||
| 08/03/2007 | 91000 | 4 | 09/26/2003 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius. she stated the vehicle would shudder and the steering wheel would vibrate when shifted into reverse. the power steering warning light illuminated. there is a safety recall for power steering gear rack and pinion (nhtsa campaign #00v285000). the current mileage was 92,000 and the failure mileage was 91,000. updated 01-15-08. *kb updated *jb | |||
| STEERING - HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | |||
| 06/07/2002 | 07/01/2001 | ||
| Dealer informs that 2 other vehicles are in for repair for the same failure. all three vehicles came in within a 2 week period. i have been given an estimate of time to repair ranging from 2 to 4 weeks because of unavailability of parts. dealer's service department feels that the car is unsafe to drive. steering wheel experiences minor jerks or tics. service writter says this is because of errant electrical signals being sent to power assist.*ak | |||
| 04/01/2001 | 1 | 04/01/2001 | |
| Steering has problem of poor return requires constant input to the steering wheel to keep the car on the road. *ak | |||
| STEERING - RACK AND PINION | |||
| 07/01/2006 | 30000 | 1 | 07/01/2001 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 2001 toyota prius. the contact stated that the steering wheel shakes when turning it in any direction. the failure has been present since the summer of 2006. on july 16, 2007, the vehicle was taken to the dealer. the dealer stated that the steering gear rack and pinion assembly has an internal gear that failed. the manufacturer stated that the contact could pay for the repair in full and they would reimburse him for the parts. the powertrain was unknown. the current mileage was 33,837 and failure mileage was 30,000. | |||
| 07/09/2002 | 1 | 05/18/2001 | |
| Suspected quality issue resulting in premature wear of front driver's side tire, leading to potentially unsafe driving/handling situations.*ak | |||
| 12/21/2002 | 21000 | 2 | 06/05/2001 |
| For the second time in less than 6 months another front tire blew out while driving. first blowout was in august 2002 with about 21,000 miles on vehicle. second tire blowout occurred with 27,000 miles on an eighteen month old car. there was no accident, but it was very scary, and it felt unsafe. wheels vibrated for a few months, small amount, but dealer said nothing was wrong. finally, dealer informed consumer that something was wrong with rack and pinion steering, and it needed replacement.*ak | |||
| 05/16/2003 | 48000 | 1 | |
| The vehicle lost power when the consumer attempted to accelerate. *ak also the vehicle pulled to the right the tires were replaced several times and the vehicle had numerous alignments. the rack and pinion was replaced and the fuel tank assembly was replace. *jb | |||
| 1 | |||
| Consumer stated the steering rack was replaced.*jb | |||
| STEERING - RACK AND PINION - RACK | |||
| 08/13/2006 | 60649 | 1 | 07/15/2001 |
| 2001 toyota prius, 60649 odometer miles. after backing out of a driveway and coming to a full stop, the steering wheel shook violently back and forth (right and left), traveling at least 1 (maybe 2) inches in each direction. between 5 and 10 oscillations occurred. i was not trying to turn the wheel at the time and the motion jerked the steering wheel out of my hands (i was quite shocked). it was all over in less than 2 seconds. i then drove the car back into the driveway (no problem) and had it towed to the car dealer. dealer found bad sensor in the steering rack requiring replacement of the entire rack. *nm | |||
| 05/30/2006 | 67520 | 1 | 10/23/2005 |
| Check engine light came on in vehicle. took to dealer for service and was told the power steering rack had a malfunction and needed replaced. they replaced the rack and electric link assembly and did a front end alignment at a cost to me of $1500 dollars. the service advisor told us that this was the third time this year that he had seen this problem . after researching this problem further, i found that many people have had this same problem. why should i have to pay for a faulty part? *nm | |||
| 07/01/2003 | 47000 | 1 | 09/19/2001 |
| Steering rack problem.....needs replacement due to a broken item in the steering rack. causes high pitched noise whenever steering wheel is turned. toyota agreed to replace part, but requires us to pay for the labor to replace the part. ($500). *ak | |||
| 09/01/2002 | 1 | 01/08/2002 | |
| Hybrid electric vehicle; steering rack failed causing vehicle to pull from side to side. *ak *nlm | |||
| 1 | 09/01/2000 | ||
| The power steering cuts out at random times. the dealer says i need a new steering rack, but it has been weeks and no rack has shown up. now i'm hearing from other prius owners that this problem is widespread and toyota is redesigning the whole steering system. meanwhile i'm stuck with a car where the power steering can cut out at any time. | |||