2003 TOYOTA PRIUS Complaints

I HAVE A 2003 PRIUS WITH 100K MILES. AT ABOUT 95K MILES I BEGAN TO NOTICE AN ANOMALY IN THE STEERING. WHEN I BACK OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY TO MY RIGHT THE STEERING WHEEL SHUDDERS. THIS HAPPENS MORE FREQUENTLY WHEN IT IS COLD. THE SHUDDER HAPPENS OCCASIONALLY OTHER PLACES, USUALLY AT LOW SPEED. I HAVE READ THE OTHER REPORTS AND WORRY ABOUT THE MORE SEVERE FAILURES OTHERS HAVE REPORTED. MY DEALER QUOTED ME $2300 TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM WHICH HE DESCRIBED AS THE "STEERING BOX". EVEN AT 100K MILES THIS DEFINITELY SEEMS LIKE A RECALL ISSUE TO ME BECAUSE IT IS SO SAFETY CRITICAL. *TR

THE BRAKE SYSTEM IN MY CAR FAILED. IT WAS FOUND LATER THAT BOTH THE COMPUTER AND PUM/ENGINE SYSTEM FOR THE BRAKES FAILED SIMULTANEOUSLY. I WAS CHARGED $2000 FOR REPAIRS. *TR

ERRATIC BEHAVIOR OF ELECTRIC POWER STEERING. UNCONTROLLABLE SHAKING OF STEERING WHEEL. AN UN SAFE CONDITION. THERE HAS TO BE A LOT THESE PROBLEMS BECAUSE REPLACEMENT STEERING RACKS ARE ON BACK ORDER AND NO PREDICTION OF WHEN THEY WILL AVAILABLE. WITH NO PARTS AVAILABLE AND CAR UN SAFE THEN CAR IS USELESS. *TR

I CURRENTLY OWN A 2003 TOYOTA PRIUS WITH ABOUT 76,000 MILES. I AM ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY CURRENTLY STATIONED IN GERMANY. I HAVE ENCOUNTERED A STEERING PROBLEM WHERE THE STEERING WHEEL SHUTTERS AND SHAKES AS IF YOU ARE DRIVING ON ROUGH TERRAIN. IT USUALLY OCCURS BETWEEN 5 MPH AND 30 MPH WHILE IN A TURN. WHEN THIS OCCURS YOU TEMPORARILY LOSE CONTROL OF THE STEERING AND POTENTIALLY, THE CAR. AFTER DOING SOME CURSORY RESEARCH ON LINE THIS APPEARS TO BE A RECURRING PROBLEM WITH THE TOYOTA PRIUS (HTTP://PRIUSCHAT.COM/FORUMS/CARE-MAINTENANCE-TROUBLESHOOTING/36358-03-POWER-STEERING.HTML ) I THINK IT HAS ALSO BEEN AN ISSUE WITH THE 2001-2002 MODELS THAT HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR THIS PROBLEM BUT NOT FOR THE 2003 AND BEYOND. I BELIEVE THAT THIS DOES AFFECT THE ABILITY FOR THE CAR TO BE DRIVEN SAFELY. WE TOOK IT IN TO A DEALER HERE IN GERMANY AND THEY GAVE AN ESTIMATE OF 2500 EURO FOR REPAIR, WHICH EQUATES TO ABOUT $3800 US DOLLARS. THE CAR IS ONLY WORTH APPROXIMATELY $10,000. BECAUSE OF THE EXTREME COST, I CONDUCTED RESEARCH ON THE PROBLEM AND THEN CALLED TOYOTA TO SEE IF THIS WOULD BE COVERED BECAUSE THIS IS A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT WITH THE ENGINEERING. TO MY DISMAY, TOYOTA INFORMED ME THAT IT WAS NOT COVERED AND TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, THAT THEY WOULD NOT COVER THIS VEHICLE REGARDLESS BECAUSE I AM STATIONED OVERSEAS. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 TOYOTA PRIUS. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH AND ATTEMPTING TO SLIGHTLY TURN THE STEERING WHEEL TO THE LEFT, THE STEERING COLUMN BECAME STUCK IN A FIXATED POSITION. THE CONTACT COULD NOT COMPLETE THE TURN. SHE PULLED TO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE TO RESUME NORMAL OPERATION. THE FOLLOWING DAY, THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP AND THE STEERING MAIN SHAFT ASSEMBLY, TILT COLUMN ASSEMBLY, AND BOLT WERE REPLACED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER AND IT IS CURRENTLY BEING REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 36,000. UPDATED 10-07-08 *BF THE CONSUMER STATED SHE HAS NOT EXPERIENCED ANY MORE FAILURES SINCE THE REPAIR WAS DONE. UPDATED 10/15/08. *JB

2003 TOYOTA PRIUS WAS PROCEEDING WEST ON I-40 NEAR KNOXVILLE, TN WHEN THE TREAD SEPARATED FROM THE LEFT REAR TIRE AND WRAPPED ITSELF AROUND THE AXLE CAUSING THE DRIVER TO LOSE CONTROL. THE CAR VEERED TO THE LEFT THEN TO THE RIGHT, HIT A GUARDRAIL AND THEN HIT A SEMI HEAD-ON. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED, THE DRIVER SURVIVED WITH A CONCUSSION AND A HEAD WOUND. *TR

I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK ON A FRIDAY EVENING, TURNED RIGHT, AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED. I SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES TO AVOID HITTING A PARKED TRUCK, AND SPENT THE NEXT SEVERAL MINUTES TRYING TO REGAIN STEERING CONTROL. THE NEXT DAY I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP, AND WAS TOLD THE ELECTRONIC STEERING RACK HAD FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, AT A COST OF APPROXIMATELY $2000 (AS THE STEERING SYSTEM WARRANTY ONLY EXTENDS TO 3 MONTHS OR 36,000 MILES.) MY CAR HAS JUST OVER 69,000 MILES ON IT. I HAVE ADHERED TO THE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE, AND ALWAYS BRING IT TO THE DEALER. THERE IS NOTHING I COULD HAVE DONE TO PREVENT THIS FAILURE, AND I AM SHOCKED THAT THERE WERE NO WARNINGS OR REDUNDANCIES IN PLACE TO DETECT THE FAILURE OF SUCH A CRITICAL SYSTEM. I LIVE IN LOS ANGELES, AND IF I HAD BEEN ON A FREEWAY OR CANYON ROAD WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED, I WOULD LIKELY HAVE BEEN KILLED. THERE HAVE BEEN TWO ISSUES RELATING TO THE PRIUS STEERING SYSTEM (RECALL #18732/NHTSA # 00V285000 AND TSB # 0403/NHTSA # 10008428), BUT I WAS TOLD THAT NEITHER OF THESE APPLIED TO MY VEHICLE. I PICKED UP MY CAR TODAY AND WAS TOLD THE WORK IS COVERED BY A 1 YEAR, UNLIMITED MILEAGE WARRANTY. I FIND IT UNACCEPTABLE THAT TOYOTA PROVIDES SUCH A SHORT WARRANTY ON SUCH A CRITICAL PIECE OF EQUIPMENT. IF THIS PART EVER FAILS AGAIN, I AM EXTREMELY LIKELY TO BE HURT OR KILLED. I AM HAPPY TO HAVE MY CAR BACK, BUT AM PRETTY TERRIFIED TO DRIVE IT, OR ANY TOYOTA, AGAIN. I UNDERSTAND THAT CARS DON?T LAST FOREVER, AND I AM GENERALLY VERY HAPPY WITH HOW MY PRIUS HAS HELD UP. HOWEVER, I ALSO THINK THE MANUFACTURER HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO DO EVERYTHING IT CAN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ITS CUSTOMERS. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT SYSTEMS ARE IN PLACE TO PREVENT THIS PART FROM FAILING AGAIN, WHAT TOYOTA WILL DO IF IT DOES FAIL AGAIN, AND WHAT TOYOTA HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE FAILURE AND INCREDIBLY HIGH PRICE TAG OF A SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN RECALLED IN OTHER MODELS, AND COULD HAVE COST ME MY LIFE. *TR

THIS COMPLAINT CONCERNS THE FAILURE OF THE POWER ASSIST OPERATION OF THE ELECTRICAL POWER STEERING SYSTEM. THE POWER STEERING WARNING ICON IS DISPLAYED ON THE CENTRAL PANEL AND THE DRIVER EXPERIENCES AN ABNORMAL STEERING EFFORT. *TR

2003 TOYOTA PRIUS WITH ENGINE PROBLEMS. CONSUMER STATES THAT THE TRIANGLE AND ENGINE LIGHTS WOULD ILLUMINATE UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE. MECHANIC STATED THAT THERE WAS OIL IN THE AIR INTAKE AND ON THE SENSORS. *KB THE CONSUMER STATED TWICE WHILE HIS WIFE WAS DRIVING, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF, WHICH LEFT HER DRIVING WITH JUST THE ELECTRIC MOTOR. *JB

AFTER A SERIES OF PROBLEMS WITH THE PRIUS ENGINE THE LOCAL TOYOTA DEALER INFORMED ME THAT I NEEDED TO HAVE THE CAR'S TRANSMISSION REPLACED. NATURALLY THE VEHICLE IS NO LONGER COVERED BY ITS WARRANTY. BACK GROUND: 2003 PRIUS, ODOMETER READING 116,289. ON 12/22/2008, I STARTED THE CAR AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED. I WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME THAT THE GASOLINE ENGINE SHUT DOWN AND THE BATTERY RAN OUT OF POWER. THE DEALERSHIP COULD NOT REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM. ON 12/27/2008, I STARTED THE CAR AND THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT APPEARED AGAIN. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE TOYOTA DEALER. THE DEALERSHIP DISCOVERED OIL IN THE INTAKE MANIFOLD AS PER A TSB. THE DEALERSHIP DID NOT CHARGE ME FOR PART OF THE REPAIRS. ON 01/04/2008, I WAS DRIVING WHEN AN INTERMITTENT GRINDING NOISE BEGAN ON BOTH BRAKING AND ACCELERATION. I FOUND THAT THE NOISE DISAPPEARED IF I BRAKED AND ACCELERATED EXTREMELY GENTLY. I IMMEDIATELY DROVE TO THE DEALERSHIP. WHEN I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP, I WAS TOLD THAT THE PROBLEM COULD BE AS SIMPLE AS A SHIM IN THE BRAKING SYSTEM THAT MAY HAVE SLIPPED OUT OF POSITION. I AUTHORIZED AN ESTIMATE OF $52.52. THE FOLLOWING DAY, A SERVICE PERSON OF THE DEALERSHIP CALLED AND TOLD ME THAT THE BRAKES WERE FINE BUT THAT THE PROBLEM COULD BE RESOLVED BY CHANGING THE SPARKPLUGS. I ORALLY AUTHORIZED AN ESTIMATE OF ABOUT $150.00 (I DON?T REMEMBER THE EXACT AMOUNT.). THE SERVICE REP CALLED ME LATER THAT DAY (1/5) AND EXPLAINED THAT MY PROBLEM WASN'T?T REALLY THE SPARKPLUGS BUT THAT THE CAR'S TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE ESTIMATE FOR THE PARTS AND LABOR FOR THIS REPAIR WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY $2,000. THE SERVICE REP INFORMED ME ON 1/6/2008 THAT A MISTAKE WAS MADE AND COST OF THE NEW TRANSMISSION ALONE WOULD BE $5,000, WITH OTHER PARTS, LABOR, AND THE COST OF A RENTAL CAR, THE FINAL ESTIMATE FOR REPAIR WAS AROUND $7,000. *CN