About the steering recall

Got my notice about the Prius steering shaft defect and recall. >:o(

Says the dealer will "Inspect and replace if necessary."

So my take is they will look to see if it is broken, and if not, they won't mess with it. However, they will bill Toyota for the 1 hour anyhoo.

Since the steering wheel hasn't fallen off yet, maybe it's a "why bother if they aren't going to do anything now anyway" inspection? Just wait until an oil change and let them do an "inspection" then?

B~

Reply to
B. Peg
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I was going to bring the steering wheel in but I guess they want the whole car, huh? Several of my friends have asked me if my Prius was recalled, as if recalls were unique to the Prius. I just sigh and remind them it could be worse if I owned a GM Yukon. Like you, I'm waiting for the next oil change. I did that with the first recall too, and wouldn't you know.... my dash lit up like a Christmas tree the week before it was time to change.

Reply to
Bill

"In addition, the dealer will inspect the sliding yoke and the intermediate extension shaft and replace them as necessary..."

So my take is that the recall is on the one specific part, the Steering Intermediate Shaft, and everyone will get that replaced. Then, in addition, they'll replace the other two parts if necessary.

No, there's definitely something they'll do now, but for me it's moot since I'm up for my 45K service real soon anyway, so I'll take care of it then.

Reply to
Mike Rosenberg

That's my read as well. However, the "Inspect" and "As necessary" are the parts that leads me to "Maybe they will. Maybe they won't."

I can see the dealer doing nothing but an "Inspection" and saying "Looks good enough to us" and billing Toyota accordingly. Not that any dealer would be so brazen as to do that.

It says nothing about "The dealer *WILL REPLACE* the part." (regardless if Toyota has "At no charge to you" in it).

Maybe an oil change inspection will suffice.

Side note: Friends at work who carpool to lunch with in my Prius have said: "You got insurance in case that there steering wheel falls off and kills us all?" Like it's really funny! >:o(

B~

Reply to
B. Peg

The "maybe they will, maybe they won't" deal definitely applies, but only to the sliding yoke and the intermediate extension shaft. The dealer WILL replace the Steering Intermediate Shaft, as stated in the first phrase. There's no mention of inspection or "as necessary" in that phrase.

Oh, but it certainly does:

"Any Toyota dealer will replace the Steering Intermediate Shaft at NO CHARGE to you."

The words "will replace" are right there.

Reply to
Mike Rosenberg

So there's two parts? One "may get replaced" and the other "will get replaced?"

Gotta go back and read the fine print.... I thought there was only one thing that cracked?

...back again.

Yep. You're right. There are "two" parts in the recall.

The *Steering Intermediate Shaft* is a "will replace" part.

The *Sliding Yoke* is an "inspect and maybe replace" part.

Thanks for the update.

B~

Reply to
B. Peg

Three.

Yes.

Yes, along with the *intermediate extension shaft*, so it sounds like the one part is faulty, and when it breaks, it can sometimes take the other two along with it.

Reply to
Mike Rosenberg

I had this recall d> B. Peg wrote:

Reply to
Jerry Keller

Jerry, How long did you need to leave your car at the dealer for it to be done? I've heard it takes about an hour, but my last oil change took over 4 hours (they decided to balance the wheels as well which made the bill $90 or so for the 10K service).

Fwiw, I know they balanced the tires as it rode smoother than ever and I recently discovered the little silver trim-covers were bent in various places from the wheel weight tab over the edge of the rim (cannot get them flat or flush with rim with the weight's tab). I don't think there were any weights on the original wheels as the trim-covers were flush with the wheel before they did it. Seems there are some heavy weights on my rims now. At least it doesn't seem to bounce around and off the I-5 autobahn in California when speeds exceed 100 mph.

B~

Reply to
B. Peg

I just had mine done this week when I took the car in for a malfunctioning multi-purpose display. As near as I can tell, it took a couple of hours (my dealer is within walking distance of my office so I just left it while I went to work). The multi-function display problem turned out to be an eye opener however. They want $4,600 for the part and $200 for labor to replace it (covered under 36,000 mile / 3 year warranty but I have 42,000+ miles on the car). I did some research and found out that there is a service bulletin out on the problem so I called the Toyota 800 number and asked what hey could do for me. The folks there were very helpful and Toyota is going to provide the part gratis, while I pay for the labor. Incidently, without the display, the navigation system is inoperative, the climate control system controls can't be accessed, bluetooth doesn't work (but the phone connects and won't let go), and the sound system cuts in and out.

Kari

Reply to
kari

I read all of these messages with interest, but I'm still wondering: does this recall apply to all years, or is it more specific? We have an early '06, but we have yet to receive a recall notice.

Reply to
EZ NZGAS

It applies to all 04s and 05s, and to some early 06s.

Reply to
Michelle Steiner

I haven't gotten my notice yet, even though mine is an '05. Of course, it could have gone to the neighbors, who would never see that it got to the addressee. :-( BUT I am probably going to schedule my 15K maintenance for the end of next week (ideally it would by July 3rd, but I question the wisdom of that), so I will see if I can get that work done then.

Reply to
Jean B.

Jerry Keller writes:

The actual work took one hour. I added an oil change. so I was at the dealer about two hours.

Reply to
Jerry Keller

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