2002 Toyota Prius: steering wheel locks up

Filed Feb 2, 2020 · Steering · 251,929 miles · MA

I was driving on the highway and felt a jerking at my steering wheel a few months back, I thought ok maybe the steering wheel loose or something, I was going around 65 MPH. Fast forward to two weeks ago and the steering wheel completely locks up on me driving to a dr appointment I had to go to. I was going around 30 MPH in traffic the steering locked up and the triangle illuminated on my navigation screen and the dreaded trouble sign appeared. Once this appeared on my screen the steering wheel felt like it had no power steering. At first I thought, I need to check the power steering fluid, I researched and realized this prius is completely electric power steering. So I arrived at my doctors and turned the car off, when I came back and turned it back on to my amazement the light turned off and the power steering was back. Then the week after same problem happened, but I didn't have my obd 2 reader with me, so again I shut off the car and the problem went away. I started to do research and realized this is a serious common problem with the electric power steering, the computer chip that controls the steering malfunctions and needs to be replaced, so I came here to check if any recalls on my vehicle and there is not. The same problem happened again today, this time my girlfriend was driving and was going around 45, she said she almost crashed. This is a serious safety hazard and toyota appears to be behind the eight ball in this as I have read numberous forums of this malfunction, it's a wide spread problem and extremely costly to fix. This problem shouldn't fall onto the owners as it is the manufacturer's fault for not doing their due diligence and addressing this problem at the factory before mass producing and selling to consumers like I.

Filed Mar 6, 2015 · Steering · 137,000 miles · CA

I was driving onto the freeway, turning right onto the ramp that circled into the southbound interstate when the a red hazard triangle popped up and the screen on my car stated ps error. The steering wheel locked for a bit but fortunately I was still able to steer. I got off on the next exit and was barely able to turn. I turned off the car and looked up the error code to find out it was power steering, I checked the fluids and everything was ok. Turned on the car and the ps error had disappeared, it drove normally the rest of the way home.

Filed Jul 16, 2013 · Steering · 147,800 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 toyota prius. The contact stated that while attempting a right turn, the power steering assist failed and the steering wheel seized. The power steering warning light illuminated on the instrument panel as the failure occurred. The contact spoke with the manufacturer and was told that entire power steering and motor system needed to be replaced. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileages were 147,800.

Filed Jan 19, 2010 · Steering · MO

Tla*the contact owns a 2002 toyota prius. While driving approximately 35 MPH on normal road conditions, suddenly, the steering wheel began to shake violently with excessive vibration. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer. The failure was contributed to the steering mechanism chip. The vehicle was not repaired for the malfunction. On a separate occasion the steering wheel locked without warning. The driver forced the steering wheel to the right as a result of the wheel unlocked. The vehicle was able to resume to normal operation. At this time the vehicle is not being driven due to the potential safety hazard. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 03/01/10 *bf the consumer stated when the weather was cold, the steering wheel would shake violently. The shaking would stop when the wheel was straightened. The dealer informed the consumer there was a problem with the computer chip. Updated 07/19/10

Filed Jul 14, 2006 · Steering · 47,000 miles · PA

A year ago, I had my 2002 toyota prius shipped to italy while I was on sabbatical. Starting in october (2005), I started reporting to the local toyota dealer that the steering was stiff when returning the wheel straight ahead on sharp turns or when moving out of tight places where I had parked. I returned to the us for the spring semester, but returned in june, and found the same intermittent problem. My first thought was that there had been some damage to the car during shipping. This past sunday (july 9, 2006), however, I had a catastrophic incident that might have sent my wife and me off the small country road we were traveling on about a half mile from our home here south of florence in the chianti region. I had been on a steady downhill stretch which then reversed to in an s-curve on an incline. I turned normally through the first half of the s-curve when suddenly the steering wheel froze solid in a straight forward position and I had to jam on the brakes to stop forward motion of the car or go off the side of the road into a ravine. I was probably traveling under 15-20 MPH, because the curves were so sharp and I was traveling uphill. To get off the road, I stopped and started the prius a couple of times to see if this were an electrical-computer fault as the steering system in this car had been replaced at 26,000 miles (more about this later). On about the third try, I was able with tremendous force to move the wheel off center and normal steering was restored. Because there was no adequate shoulder on the road, I returned the car home, experiencing the same steering wheel lock-up more than once, jamming on the brakes to bring the car to a halt, and then wrestling with the steering wheel to the right and the left with the same immense force until it broke free. This was nothing like the previous stiffness I had experienced bringing the wheel back to center from a far left or far right position. (to be continued).