The steering on the car failed completely. There was a popping/snapping sound while turning the car, and afterward I could turn the steering wheel without any resistance (much less than usual) and the wheels did not turn at all. A little earlier in the drive I could feel the steering on the car feel a little off: I had to turn the wheel a little more to get the wheels to turn and something just felt loose. I'm incredibly grateful that the final 'snap' occurred while in the parking lot and not while on the highway/at higher speed. Apparently fox news ran an article about an incident that describes the same issue: http://fxn.ws/1ezmqpy. *tr*dt as of april 29,2015 consumer stated car has been repaired.
2007 Toyota Prius steering complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 34 of 34, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. While driving at 20 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the steering wheel module coil needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact mentioned that the vehicle was previously repaired under the federal safety agency campaign number: 12v537000 (steering).the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 85,000.
I bought a used and regularly serviced 2007 toyota prius in september 2014 with 69,000 miles. This week of april 5th, the airbag symbol showed up on the dash along with the headlights not working properly. When I took the vehicle in to the local toyota dealership, I was told that the steering wheel spiral coil was broken and ;that my airbag system was disabled. This happened at 85,000 miles. It cost me almost $500 to have this coil replaced. The service manager said this was simply due to normal wear and tear. I also have outside hatch rubber opener that is gooie and sticky and the hatchback door often will not open. Updated 10/31/2017
The buttons on the steering wheel began to stop working. One by one, each began to fail. I wasn't too worried since they're simply the climate and stereo controls, however, as I began researching all signs pointed to this being the "clock spring" assembly. This also controls the airbag and is a huge safety issue. I went to the dealer who confirmed and said this would cost $500 to repair. When I asked about the airbag they said they do not recommend that I drive the car because the airbag "might not work" anymore. After seeing a sufficient amount of posts here, I wanted to also add my feedback as it appears this is far more widespread than just an isolated incident. I have drive 4 other (non-toyota) vehicles for well above 200,000 miles and never had this issue. My father (automotive mechanic for another car brand) said he's never had anyone come in with this issue before. Considering that toyta prides themselves as having safe vehicles, I would hope that they consider a recall on this life-threatening part failure.
I had my car in for 110,000 mile service on april 25. They changed the oil, rotated the tires, installed a new air filter and said that I needed new front brakes and they cleaned and adjusted the back brakes. Yesterday after backing out of the garage the brake light warning light along with the ABS and vsc light came on briefly. On interstate 90 nearing downtown cleveland all of these lights came on again along with a noise. I called the toyota dealer and talked to the service advisor and asked if it was safe to go to cleveland and back and he said if the brakes work, it probably just a switch and it would be ok to bring it in tomorrow. While I still had him on the phone, we lost all power to the vehicle and it decelerated down to 30 before we were able to reach an exit ramp and stop the car in the grass. I was informed today that the problem is a low volt battery that needs to be replaced for $299. At no time did a low battery light come on and I have not had trouble starting the car nor do I have dim lights. We were fortunate that we were not killed on interstate 90 without power, steering or brakes. I think this is definitely a safety issue that needs to be addressed.
After the car has been parked for awhile, the dashboard was completely black. The car powered on, but there was no speedometer, no fuel display, and no odometer. The car will drive and gas engine and hybrid system works as usual, but there are no power steering, the turn signals do not work, and the wiper does not work. After driving for 5 to 15 minutes, the dash would light up and car drives like normal again and the problems mentioned go away. Based on internet research, this seems to a common problem. There are almost identical complaints on this site including the federal safety agency id number 10544698. Significant safety concerns exist due to the temporary lost of power steering, no turn signals, and no wiper during a rain.
The traffic report said I lost control on a curve. I was knocked unconscious and do not know. Six days before the accident my husband took the car to toyota to replace the headlamp for the third time. He said there was a recall on the steering part ?? And they were going to replace it. They gave us a recite that they had replaced the part with the part number. My husband said they only had it back there for less than 15 minutes. Six days later I had an accident stating 'I lost control'. *tr*dt
After short period of servicing a recall on steering extension shaft #c0t, some of steering wheel buttons stopped functioning due to damages to clock-spring cable. The dealership don't want to admit their technician fault failing to realign the steering wheel to center position. Many of prius second generation hybrid owners been recalled have this issue after fixing the shaft. Is the damaged spring cables already were or due to lack of expertise?
Loss of power steering assist that caused the vehicle to become difficult to keep in the proper lane of traffic. The power steering assist loss remained at all speeds including standing still at a traffic light. The toyota dealer checked the steering and "reset" the steering computer and torque sensor which returned the steering to normal. Several weeks later while driving on the interstate the loss of power assist returned. The car was brought back to the toyota dealer and the same procedure of "resetting" the steering computer was performed. The vehicle's steering went back to normal again ! The dealer stated "no" fault codes were ever present, and toyota denied having an issue with the 2007 steering system. I believe the steering computer does not properly store the torque sensor zero point, thus should be replaced. The toyota dealer disagreed and told me not to worry about it because the vehicle's steering was in perfect operating condition. My concern is the steering will lock up or do something terrible and cause a serious accident !
The steering failed on my prius about 45 degrees into a right turn on saturday, 9 feb 2013. I heard a loud "pop" and my car lost steering completely and immediately. It almost caused an accident with the driver side of a car that was waiting at the stop sign to my right. There was no warning or "feeling" accompanying the steering loss (I.e. It didn't "grab" or "lock"). The steering wheel just suddenly no longer had any effect on the direction of the vehicle. The toyota dealership who investigated found that the spiral cable sub-assembly needs to be replaced, which they claim is not related to any current recall. This doesn't feel like a "normal wear and tear" issue, because it could have caused a serious accident.
While driving the power steering went out suddenly causing a total loss of assisted steering. Which caused an abrupt change in steering ability almost causing me to hit a car while turning. The dealer determined it was the ECM and needed a new one at an astronomical cost of over $1000 to fix.
2007 prius touring was steering at low speed to park when the steering column shaft connection to the gearbox steering rack failed and the car steering wheel turned freely but no longer controlled the front wheels. Car could not be steered. Electrical warning lights indicating steering slide then vehicle powered down and could not be moved. Had vehicle towed to toyota dealership. Tech informed me the steering rack was damaged along with the air bag cable coil assembly. Upon dissassembly tech found that the steering shaft connecting the column to the steering rack gear box had stripped and also needed replacement. Total cost of repairs. $2302.65. Out of warranty. 59,980 miles. *tt
Steering wheel and column of 2007 prius shakes violently and uncontrollably, especially after engine is started for the first time of the day. Dealership found "c1554 power supply relay failure." after contacting toyota about problem they learned it has been reported at least 10 times before. Toyota instructed dealership to replace electronic powersteering ecu and 50 amp fuse/block assembly. This problem seems to be a clear safety-related defect in the vehicle (2007 prius), even after earlier prius models had similar problem with power steering and were recalled.
Steering wheel clunks as it is turned past certain positions. Overall, it has a loose feel. Toyota inspected it, said it is not normal, but failed to find a solution.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. While driving approximately 45 MPH, the vehicle began abnormally sliding toward the left. The contact attempted to steer the vehicle toward the right but the vehicle would not change direction. The contact then attempted to brake but the vehicle would not stop. The contact was unable to maintain control of the vehicle which resulted in a single vehicle rollover crash. The air bags did not deploy. The police appeared on the scene and speculated that the front passenger side tire blew prior to the crash. A police report was available. An ambulance also appeared on the scene as the contact sustained minor injuries. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an insurance company lot. The vehicle was not examined for the cause of failure. The failure and current mileage was 43,000.
I bought a new prius 2007 in december 2006 from liberty toyota in new jersey. The car is garaged, serviced regularly, and has never been in an accident. The steering wheel locks up sometimes. We complained about it to the dealership at every service, and we were told that they were unable to get an error code, and hence could not find the problem and correct it. Unless toyota acknowledges the problem, and codes the system for such errors, of course the dealership will not get a code. I also pointed out to the dealership that we knew someone who had an accident because her steering in her prius 2006 locked-up and that the 2006 prius had been recalled for faulty air bags (recall id from the federal safety agency: 06v096000) and electric steering power assist system (recall id from the federal safety agency: 06v188000). We were then told that the 2007 model could not have the same problem as the 2006 model because toyota would have fixed it. The recall on 2006 model steering was made on may 31, 2006. It was much too late for the 2007 models. They were already shipped out of japan. Frustrated by the unresponsiveness of the dealership, I called toyota's customer experience number and I was told by an automated message that I should call the dealership. If I wanted to call the dealership, I would not be calling toyota. I then sent an email complaining, now over a year ago, through their website, but never heard from toyota. . Ever since the steering problems surfaced, we have stopped using the car except for very short runs so that the battery gets recharged. Now that toyotas flagship model, the corolla, has steering problems, I am truly worried. Toyota has been dismissive and non responsive so far. This needs to be addressed before any more lives are lost. Thank you for your help.
I own a 2007 toyota prius. At highway speeds the car pulls or starts to swerve to the right or left on its own, and I have to constantly be alert to pull it back into the center of the lane. I read that the corolla has reports about this problem, which prompted me to report it. I have not discussed it with the dealer. The car has low mileage - about 16,000 miles.
Toyota prius loss of electical power, loss of steering resulting in crash in may 2009 while driving in a residental neighborhood at low speeds, prius lost all power resulting in loss of steering and loss of brakes resulting in crash into a high curb. I had prius towed to toyota dealership and filed complaint with dealership as well as with main california complaint center. They said that it would take them 4 months to investigate complaint. They recommended my storing car at dealership for four months if I wanted an investigation. They would not investigate otherwise. They told me there was no cause for concern and that the power loss must of resulted after the crash. They said that toyota had no safety complaints about power loss or steering or brake loss. I went on line and found same year model recall in australia. They told me the products were dissimilar and not a cause for concern. I disagreed. My routine mechanic at merchants tire and auto could find nothing wrong. I repaired the structural damage and sold the car since toyota assured me there was nothing wrong. Toyota corporation's methodology of investigation appears to be designed to stifle any meaningful determination of baseline safety fault. The requirement to store a car for months at owners expense and for driver to have no access for transportation would appear to discourage any meaningful investigation of safety concern. Given the current finding of brake and other safety defects in toyota products, I am concerned that the power loss may have been under-reported because of their unethical business practices. I report it to help you determine if there is a pattern of power loss, loss of steering and loss of braking in the prius.
Tl* the contact owns a 2007 toyota prius. The contact stated that while driving 45 MPH the steering column locked. As a consequence he crashed into a wall. He did not sustain any injuries. The insurance company will repair the vehicle, and investigate the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 99,000. The current mileage was 110,000.
This was a first time occurrence for my 2007 prius. I was stopped midway on my mountain, long & steep, dirt driveway trying to park along the rock side. It was too tight to park so decided to continue down to the bottom. I was in reverse and shifted, with my foot on the brake, into drive. The car suddenly bolted forward propelling me through the fence and down a steep embankment to our deck where 12 people were having a dinner meeting. My brakes didn't work, nor did the steering. The bolting force was heard by all on the deck. There is no way I would have pressed the gas by mistake for two reasons: your foot must be on the brake to shift; and as is typical on our steep gravel roads, one never presses the gas pedal while proceeding down. The car propelled 10 or 12 feet forward crossing the drive at a diagonal, crashed through the fence boarding the drop off, and proceeded down the embankment stopping only when it hit the big tree by our deck. To my right were all the guests and my husband, just feet away from the oncoming, out of control car. Had I missed that particular tree, I would have rolled down an even steeper ravine because of rocks to bounce off and very sharp drop off.
New 2007 toyota prius touring package #6 - 11k miles at this time. Car always leans to the left. Steering tugs to the left, but dealer says alignment is fine. Dealer said left side is 1/2" lower to ground than right side of car. Dealer said that is normal and acceptable. I complained that when I turn right, car seems to roll excessively and feels unstable. When I turn left, car & suspension feel fine - minimal lean or body roll. Purchased car new in jan. 2007. Had front end alignment within a month or two, which improved pulling to the left. However, handling still felt as described above, so I had dealer check alignment again. Dealer said it was within specs. Dealer also advised me at that time that the left side of car was 1/2" lower than right side. I've made several return visits to two different dealers [poway toyota and bob bridge toyota in renton, wa]; both dealers say alignment is ok.
I was driving my 2007 toyota prius (only 2 1/2 years old with 10k miles on it) through a curvy road when the vehicle stability control system began turning on and off erratically, much more than was called for on an a mostly smooth road. I could tell something was wrong with the system and that it was malfunctioning, so I pulled over to the side of the road to investigate. Unfortunately it was dark and I was on a narrow, windy busy road so I quickly decided there was nothing I could do to diagnose the problem. I got back in my car and continued down the road at a slightly decreased speed 20-25mph. A couple of minutes later I was driving into a curve and tried to turn the wheel. I turned the steering wheel but the wheels didn't react. The steering wheel offered no resistance as I turned it back and forth and I was quickly heading into oncoming traffic and pointed towards a steep dropoff into a canyon. At this time there weren't any warning lights or indicator lights on the dashboard to indicate something was going on, but there was a loud warning beep at some point. After about 2-3 seconds the steering responded again but when it turned back on I was turning so hard on the wheel that my car now veered sharply to my right towards a rock face wall on the side of the road. I recovered on time and pulled over on the side of the road. I was too scared to drive the car, so I had it towed to a toyota dealer. They looked it over and claimed nothing was wrong and that there was nothing more they can do for me. I could have died that night and almost hit many cars. I am petrified to drive my car ever again and worried this could happen to more people, so I wanted to warn your agency. I plan on contacting toyota headquarters as well to complain and insist they check my car because even if this only happens one more time, it could be fatal.
The first sign of a problem was a squeaking sound coming from the steering column. The next couple of times powering on the car, the steering wheel would jerk as soon as the car received power. This jerking became progressively worse. The next couple of starts, the steering wheel would vibrate violently when backing up and starting to move forward. Finally, it got to a point where, as I was driving away, the powering steering just became disabled. I was unable to drive the car and the info panel was reporting a major system failure in the steering. I was informed after an initial inspection by the dealership that a fuse had blown. After a longer period of time, I was told that the ecu had gone bad and needed to be replaced.
Tl*- the contact purchased a 2007 toyota prius on february 28, 2007 with 4 miles from beaver toyota of santa fe new mexico. The day after purchasing the vehicle while driving over 40 MPH it did not drive straight, it moved left to right. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer, and was told that this was how the vehicle drove. The service manager explained that these vehicles had many complaints because of the way the vehicle was aerodynamicly made, the vehicle tended to move from side to side going over 40 MPH on the highway. The failure mileage was 20, and the current mileage was 300 miles.*ak updated 04/09/07.
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