2001 Toyota Prius

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

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

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

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.

MY 2001 PRIUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN STALLING (AT LEAST 30 TIMES), USUALLY UPON STARTUP, (AND ESPECIALLY IN HOT WEATHER WHEN AC IS ON AT STARTUP) BUT ON 4 OCCASIONS, STALLS OCCURRED DURING CRITICAL DRIVING IN DANGEROUS AREAS RESULTING IN TOTAL POWER LOSS AND NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES. I INFORMED TOYOTA PRESIDENT WATANABE, AND THEY RECALLED FOR THE "CRANKSHAFT POSITION SENSOR", TO FIX THE STALLING PROBLEM, BUT IT OBVIOUSLY DIDN'T FIX SITUATION BECAUSE CAR IS STILL STALLING. DEALER IS BEYOND IGNORANT AND CLUELESS AND NO LONGER WORTH TALKING TO, AS THEY ARE AS INFORMED AS A ROCK ON A CLIFF. I AM WONDERING IF DEALER EVEN PERFORMED THE RECALL FIX PROPERLY. WOULD LIKE A TRUSTWORTHY TOYOTA TECHNICIAN FROM JAPAN'S TMC (A JAPANESE PERSON) TO PERSONALLY INSPECT MY CAR.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT WALKED OUTSIDE AND NOTICED THAT THE VEHICLE'S WINDOWS WERE BLACK. SHE OPENED THE DOOR AND SMOKE BILLOWED OUT OF THE VEHICLE. SHE SHUT THE DOOR AND CALLED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. THE WEATHER WAS DRY AND SUNNY. THE PURCHASE DATE AND POWERTRAIN WERE UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 79,000.

AUXILIARY BATTERY ON TOYOTA PRIUS 2001 AND TOYOTA PRIUS 2004 FAIL IF THE CAR IS NOT DRIVEN AT LEAST EVERY 7-10 DAYS. THIS PREVENTS THE CAR FROM STARTING. WE PURCHASED A 2001 PRIUS USED MARCH 2004, AND A NEW 2004 PRIUS IN JUNE 2004. THE AUXILIARY BATTERY FAILED ON THE 2001 PRIUS TWICE, AND WE REPLACED IT ONCE. RECENTLY THE DEALER SERVICE REP TOLD US THAT IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT THE BATTERY WILL NOT HOLD A CHARGE UNLESS DRIVEN EVERY 7-10 DAYS, AND SHOULD BE "DISCONNECTED" IF PARKED FOR "PROLONGED TIME." THIS IS POTENTIAL SAFETY PROBLEM FOR CAR NOT STARTING, SUCH AS IF RETURNING ON PLANE AFTER 2-3 WEEK VACATION AND NOT BEING ABLE TO START THE CAR, RISK FOR VULNERABILITY AWAITING JUMP START. TOYOTA'S ONLY RESPONSE IS "WELL, IT'S A HYBRID." THEY SAY THE "HUNDREDS OF COMPUTERS IN THE CAR DRAIN THE BATTERY WHEN PARKED." THEY COULD HAVE DESIGNED IN SOME AUTOMATIC OR SIMPLE SWITCH TO ADDRESS THIS. THEY ALSO COULD NOTIFY THE POTENTIAL CUSTOMER OF THIS DESIGN FLAW. THEY DID NOT INFORM US, OR ANY OF THE OTHER PRIUS OWNERS WE HAVE RECENTLY DISCUSSED THE ISSUE WITH. THE OWNER'S MANUAL FOR 2001 MODEL MAKES NO MENTION OF IT. IN THE 2004 MANUAL, THERE IS A BRIEF MENTION OF NEED TO DISCONNECT THE BATTERY IF PARKED FOR "PROLONGED TIME" BUT DOES NOT DEFINE THAT. ALTHOUGH WE HAVE BEEN HAPPY WITH OTHER FEATURES OF THE PRIUS AND OTHER TOYOT AS WE OWNED IN THE PAST, WE CONSIDER THIS TO BE A SERIOUS AND RISKY DESIGN FLAW. FURTHERMORE, WE CONSIDER TOYOTA'S SALES PEOPLE AND SALES BROCHURES FAILURE TO NOTIFY US OF THIS PROBLEM TO BE A SIGNIFICANT BREACH OF GOODWILL AND RESPECT FOR CUSTOMER SAFETY AND SATISFACTION. *AK