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 | ||||||||||||||||
| 12V537000 | Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing | from 08/05/2003 to 03/30/2009 | V (Vehicle) | 669705 | 12/20/2012 | MFR | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 11/14/2012 | 11/14/2012 | |||||||
| Defect Summary | Toyota is recalling certain model year 2004-2009 prius vehicles manufactured august 5, 2003, through march 30, 2009. the affected vehicles have a steering intermediate extension shaft assembly built with metal splines that complete the connection from the steering wheel to the steering gear. these splines may have been manufactured with an insufficient hardness. | |||||||||||||||
| Consequence Summary | Over time, the splines may wear and eventually fail resulting in a loss of steering ability, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. | |||||||||||||||
| Corrective Summary | Toyota will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the extension shaft and replace it if it is one with insufficient hardness, free of charge. the recall began during december 2012. owners may contact their toyota dealer or the toyota customer experience center at 1-800-331-4331. | |||||||||||||||
| Notes | Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov. | |||||||||||||||
Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | ||||||
| DP13001 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 02/21/2013 | Steering Intermediate Shaft Failure | |||
| On january 30, 2013, mr. william rosenbluth, of automotive systems analysis, inc. in reston, va, petitioned (odi 10495921) the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) to open a defect investigation concerning the upper coupler of the steering intermediate shaft on model year (my) 2004-2009 toyota prius vehicles. the petition was based on an inspection of a client's (mr. george richwine of san diego, ca) vehicle, 2005 toyota prius.mr. richwine had expressed this concern to nhtsa via odi 10437229 in late 2011.the petition consists chiefly of the vehicle inspection and repair records.it includes images that illustrate wear and corrosion on the splines at the base of the steering column and indicates that these conditions indicate partial engagement to the upper intermediate shaft coupler.the petition also reports that no known service took place that would account for this condition since the time of vehicle production. | ||||||
| STEERING - COLUMN | ||||||
| DP13001 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 02/21/2013 | Steering Intermediate Shaft Failure | |||
| On january 30, 2013, mr. william rosenbluth, of automotive systems analysis, inc. in reston, va, petitioned (odi 10495921) the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) to open a defect investigation concerning the upper coupler of the steering intermediate shaft on model year (my) 2004-2009 toyota prius vehicles. the petition was based on an inspection of a client's (mr. george richwine of san diego, ca) vehicle, 2005 toyota prius.mr. richwine had expressed this concern to nhtsa via odi 10437229 in late 2011.the petition consists chiefly of the vehicle inspection and repair records.it includes images that illustrate wear and corrosion on the splines at the base of the steering column and indicates that these conditions indicate partial engagement to the upper intermediate shaft coupler.the petition also reports that no known service took place that would account for this condition since the time of vehicle production. | ||||||
| STEERING - LINKAGES | ||||||
| DP13001 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 02/21/2013 | Steering Intermediate Shaft Failure | |||
| On january 30, 2013, mr. william rosenbluth, of automotive systems analysis, inc. in reston, va, petitioned (odi 10495921) the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) to open a defect investigation concerning the upper coupler of the steering intermediate shaft on model year (my) 2004-2009 toyota prius vehicles. the petition was based on an inspection of a client's (mr. george richwine of san diego, ca) vehicle, 2005 toyota prius.mr. richwine had expressed this concern to nhtsa via odi 10437229 in late 2011.the petition consists chiefly of the vehicle inspection and repair records.it includes images that illustrate wear and corrosion on the splines at the base of the steering column and indicates that these conditions indicate partial engagement to the upper intermediate shaft coupler.the petition also reports that no known service took place that would account for this condition since the time of vehicle production. | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| STEERING | |||
| 03/04/2013 | 81000 | ||
| In an attempt to avoid oncoming calves on a county dirt road driver inadvertantly pulled steering wheel to the right and hit a tree at road side. tree is twelve inched from road surface. before seat belt restrained driver, driver's forward momentum broke the steering wheel. driver was not injured. went to local hospital er. sheriff investigated. with the extensive damage to the front end of the vehicle the air bag should have deployed. it did not. photos taken. your organization is being notified as we feel the air bag should have deployed. we will also contact toyota. thank you. lu. | |||
| 04/29/2011 | 44627 | ||
| While driving my 2009 toyota prius i hit a curb and then lost all steering. steering wheel turned completely 360 degrees without turning the wheels. we were about to drive on a mountain road with numerous turns and steep grades. i had the car towed to a toyota dealer who replaced the intermediate shaft and spiral cable sub assembly. i was researching the issue and found that toyota had a recall for this exact item in 2004,2005, and 2006. it seems that 2009 still has the problem. if i was travelling at any higher speed and lost all steering it would have been deadly. | |||
| 03/14/2010 | 2900 | ||
| 2009 prius - on two occassion recently when i went to make a right turn my steering froze and the engine died. i almost hit a car. i have had it into piercy toyota on two occassion and they still have not found anything. i am afraid to drive the car. it only ha 3000 miles on it. they have been nice, but no results. if the car is doing this now and they cannot find it what happens next. not satified with there answer. i need your help. | |||
| 09/01/2009 | 300 | 3 | |
| I have the exact same problem with my 2009 prius as described below. i have had it into the dealer 3 times and have gotten no satisfaction. i have had 4 friends with prius cars drive mine and they all agree that my car's steering is bad. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/02/17/financial/f012558s46.dtl smaller, less-expensive vehicles such as the 2009 and 2010 corolla use electric-assist power steering. they are usually equipped with power steering systems that are aided by a small electric motor, a system known as electric-assist steering. the motor essentially helps align the steering wheel with the movement of the tires. the system is cheaper to install than steering systems that rely on hydraulics. problems can arise if the motor is out of sync with the steering wheel, which could potentially cause the vehicle to wander without any turning of the wheel, he said. car companies work on it a lot, said jim de clerck, a professor in the michigan technological university's mechanical engineering department and a former general motors engineer. it is a pretty well-known customer-satisfaction issue. *tr | |||
| 07/31/2009 | 6700 | 1 | |
| In addition to the traction control, abs, gas pedal/floor mat problems with the toyota prius there is also a safety issue with the power button. in an emergency situation, like the door coming open, throttle getting stuck, etc. you can't power off the vehicle quickly. you must hold the power button for some amount of time before the car will shut off. unlike the toyota camry example where they suggested turning off the ignition, you can't do that on the prius. you also can't remove the key/fob to turn the vehicle off or power it off. there is also an extreme under steer problem with the vehicle which is a safety concern. in wet conditions it is exacerbated. it can be observed on clover leaf overpasses and general cornering. *tr | |||
| 01/18/2009 | 1000 | 1 | |
| We own a 2009 toyota prius and we're experiencing problems with the prius's steering while operating the car over 60 mph. the car wants to shifts from side to side. we are continuously moving the wheel , attempting to steer the car straight . during any cross winds the problem is worst. we contacted the local dealer and toyota's customer service rep and both indicated, the car is working as designed. investigating my car problem on the internet, i discovered priuschat.com . there i found many other owners of different year priuses with the same steering problem. *tr | |||