2007 Toyota RAV4 Steering

AS SOON AS I BACK UP OUT OF THE GARAGE, THERE IS A CLUNKING NOISE AS I TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. IT IS MORE PRONOUNCED WHEN I TURN THE WHEEL, MORE SO TURNING TO THE RIGHT. I TOOK IT INTO HAVE IT CHECKED OUT AND HAD 2 EMPLOYEES DRIVE IT. THEY BOTH AGREED IT WAS COMING FROM THE STEERING COLUMN, POSSIBLY A BRACKET. WHEN I TURN IT ALMOST FEELS LIKE THE WHEEL DOESN'T WANT TO GO ANY FURTHER, MAKES THIS LOUD CLUNKING SOUND THEN LETS GO. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR THE LAST FEW MONTHS AND THE TIGHTNESS IN THE TURN HAS WORSENED.

WHEN PULLING OUT FROM STOP SIGNS HEARD CLICKING NOISE WHEN TURNING RIGHT OR LEFT. CAR WAS REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY. NOW IN MARCH 2015 NOISE IS THERE AGAIN. THERE IS A LITTLE OVER 80000 MILES ON VEHICLE. BAD ENOUGH IT WENT BAD ONCE.NO IDEA WHAT COST WILL BE TO REPAIR SHOULD BE RECALLED. *TR

MY 2007 TOYOTA RAV4 HAS DEVELOPED A LOUD CLUNK AND SLIGHT BINDING WHEN THE STEERING WHEN TURNING AT SLOW SPEEDS. THE DIAGNOSIS FROM TOYOTA APPEARS TO BE A WORN INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT. IN MY OPINION, THE STEERING SHAFT ON THIS VEHICLE DOES NOT RESEMBLE THOSE ON OTHER CARS IN THAT STARTS CONNECTED TO THE STEERING WHEEL AND THEN RUNS VERTICALLY DOWN THROUGH THE DASH AREA CHANGING DIRECTION ABRUPTLY. OTHER VEHICLES HAVE A GENERALLY STRAIGHT STEERING SHAFT IN LINE WITH THE STEERING WHEEL AXIS AND NO ABRUPT CHANGES IN ALIGNMENT. THERE APPEARS TO BE SIGNIFICANT DISCUSSIONS ON TOYOTA RELATED WEBSITES OF SIMILAR RAV4 STEERING SHAFT PROBLEMS. IS TOYOTA AND THE NHTSA AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM AND PREPARING AN INVESTIGATION OR REMEDY. *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN THE BRAKES WERE ACTIVATED, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT DIAGNOSED THAT THE STEERING RACK INTERMEDIATE SHAFT AND THE WATER PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 37,000. UPDATED 3/18/15*CN UPDATED 8/18/2015*JS UPDATED 10/19/2015 *JS

THERE ARE MULTIPLE KNOCKS COMING UP THE STEERING SHAFT AT LOW SPEEDS WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL. *TR

STEERING INTERMEDIATE SHAFT CLUNKS AND IT IS GETTING WORSE. TOYOTA HAS NOT RECALLED THE COMMON PROBLEM. *TR

WITHIN APPROXIMATELY 2 YEARS OF THE PURCHASE OF OUR NEW 2007 TOYOTA RAV4 WE NOTICED A "CLUNKING" SOUND AND FEEL IN THE STEERING AT SLOW SPEED. THE PROBLEM WAS REPORTED TO THE DEALER, GETTLE TOYOTA OF BRADENTON, FLORIDA, AND WAS REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY. THEY REFERRED TO THE PARTS REPLACED AS INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT/ STEERING SHAFT ASSY. (THE SERVICE WRITER SEEMED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS). THE SAME APPARENT PROBLEM APPEARED AGAIN IN APPROXIMATELY JUNE OF 2013 AND IS WORSE NOW IN JANUARY 2014. IT HAS BECOME QUITE ANNOYING AND NOW BOTH MY WIFE AND I WONDER IF THIS WILL BECOME A SAFETY CONCERN, I.E. LEADING TO A STEERING FAILURE. OUR ORIGINAL DECISION TO BUY THE RAV4 WAS PRIMARILY BASED ON A VERY HIGH SAFETY RATING AFTER WE WERE INVOLVED IN A SERIOUS INJURY CRASH WHICH DESTROYED OUR PREVIOUS VEHICLE. WE ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE DISAPPOINTED WITH TOYOTA QUALITY IN GENERAL AS OUR RAV4 APPROACHES ONLY 75,000 MILES. I WOULD REQUEST THE RECALL OF THIS VEHICLE FOR MANUFACTURER-SPONSORED REPAIRS TO FOLLOW THE ALREADY HISTORICAL TSB OF 2008 FOR THIS SAME PROBLEM IN '06 AND '07 RAV4S. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION. *TR

THE INTERMEDIATE SHAFT ON THE VEHICLE IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY. IN SOME STATES THE TOYOTA HAS CHANGED THEM FOR NO COST AFTER THE WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED, BUT KNOW THE DO NOT. THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS AMOUNT OF CLAIMS IN REGARD TO THIS ISSUE ON THIS MODEL, BUT CONTINUES TO BE IGNORED. ON FRIDAY 03/08/2014 I TOOK MY VEHICLE TO HAVE IT CHECKED BECAUSE OF THIS, AND WHAT THEY TOLD ME WAS THAT IT WAS MY STRUTS. WELL AFTER GETTING THEM CHANGED IT TURNS OUT IT WAS THE INTERMEDIATE SHAFT AND THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME AN ADDITIONAL 502.00 FOR THIS. THIS IS AN ON GOING ISSUE WITH NUMEROUS CLAIMS ABOUT THE INTERMEDIATE SHAFT AND TOYOTA IS NOT REALIZING THE SAFETY ISSUE IN WHICH IT PLACES IT CUSTOMERS. *TR

VERY CLUNKY AND NOISY STEERING RESULTING AN A VAGUE, UNSAFE SENSE OF CONTROL OVER THE VEHICLE. TOOK TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS REPAIRED (REPLACED INTERMEDIATE STEERING COLUMN). SUBSEQUENT RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT THIS IS A COMMON AND WELL KNOWN DESIGN FLAW. *TR

THE STEERING COLUMN BINDS TO ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER SUCH THAT THE VEHICLE NEVER STEERS STRAIGHT AHEAD. THE SITUATION CAUSES THE VEHICLE TO ALWAYS WANT TO STEER OUT OF THE INTENDED LANE CAUSING DRIVER FATIGUE AT BEST AND AN UNSAFE CONDITION WHEN THE VEHICLE IS CONSTANTLY HEADING OUT OF ITS INTENDED PATH TOWARD OTHER VEHICLES. *TR

THE ELECTRIC POWER STEERING WOULD NOT WORK. IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE. THE LAST TIME WAS JULY 28, 2014. WE SHUT THE CAR OFF, AND RESTART IT, AND THEN IT WORKS OK. WE ARE AFRAID THAT IT MIGHT HAPPEN WHILE WE ARE DRIVING IT AND WE WILL HAVE AN ACCIDENT. FROM ONLINE I HAVE LEARNED THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF OCCURRENCES OF THIS. I'M SURPRISED THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL, I THINK IT IS A REAL SAFETY CONCERN! *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA RAV 4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER STEERING WITH THE ENGINE AND VSC LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE REGAINED POWER STEERING ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER BUT THEY COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 106,000.

WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL YOU CAN HEAR A CLUNK OR A THUD. *TR

AS DAUGHTER WAS ENTERING FREEWAY STEERING FAILED, REAR-ENDED BY 18 WHEELER. *JS

CLUNKING SOUND IN STEERING AT LOW SPEED. *TR

NOTICED KNOCKING/CLUNKING NOISE FROM STEERING AT LOW SPEED AS DESCRIBED IN T-SB-0318-08 STEERING INTERMEDIATE SHAFT NOISE' DATED OCTOBER 20, 2008. TOOK THE CAR TO A TOYOTA DEALER TO REPLACE THE STEERING INTERMEDIATE SHAFTS AS DETAILED BY THE T-SB. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION THE TECHNICIAN REPORTED THAT BOTH THE INTERMEDIATE SHAFT AND THE STEERING RACK HAVE PLAY IN THEM AND RECOMMENDED THAT THEY BOTH BE REPLACED. THE SERVICE ADVISOR STATED THAT THIS WILL BECOME A SAFETY ISSUE IF NOT REPAIRED AND CAN LEAD TO LOSS OF STEERING. THE ESTIMATE FOR THE REPAIR WAS $2700 SINCE THE EXTENDED WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED TWO MONTH PRIOR TO TAKING THE VEHICLE IN. GIVEN THAT THERE IS A SAFETY CONCERN, I OPTED TO HAVE THE RECOMMENDED SERVICE DONE AND PAID $2731.77 FOR THE REPAIR. A QUICK INTERNET SEARCH SHOWS THAT THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH THE TOYOTA RAV FOR MODEL YEARS 2006 - 2008. GIVEN THAT THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND THAT SOME DRIVERS MIGHT NOT ASSOCIATE THE NOISE WITH A SERIOUS ISSUE, TOYOTA MOTORS SHOULD: 1.INSTATE A RECALL TO INSPECT ALL PARTS RELATED TO THE STEERING MECHANISM IN EFFECTED MODELS. 2.REPLACE ALL EFFECTED PARTS AT NO COST TO THE OWNER 3.REIMBURSE DILIGENT OWNERS WHO NOTICED THE ISSUE, REPORTED IT TO THE DEALERS AND PAID TO HAVE THE REPAIR DONE. BEST REGARDS. *JS

DROVE A SHORT DISTANCE AND PARKED CAR. STARTED CAR 10 MINUTES LATER AND HAD NO POWER STEERING. PS WARNING LIGHT ON DASH WAS NOW ON. WITH A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT, THE CAR COULD BE DRIVEN ABOUT A MILE BACK HOME. WHEN READING THRU THE OWNERS MANUAL, IT BECAME EVIDENT THERE WERE DIFFERENT POSSIBLE FAILURE CONDITIONS, EACH REPRESENTED BY DIFFERENT WARNING LIGHT STATES. A FLASHING LIGHT THAT WENT OFF AFTER A FEW SECONDS, A FLASHING LIGHT THAT STAYED ON, A FLASHING LIGHT THAT STAYS ON IN CONJUNCTION WITH ALL DASH WARNING LIGHTS BEING ON AT THE SAME TIME, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE STEADY LIGHT AND COMPLETE FAILURE OF ASSIST SYSTEM. I BELIEVE IT WAS SIMPLY THE LUCK OF THE DRAW THAT OUR FAILURE OCCURRED IN A PARKED CONDITION. I WAS RAISED ON A FARM DRIVING MONSTROUS OLD TRUCKS WITH NO POWER STEERING. THEY WERE TOUGH STEERING, BUT THIS SMALL SUV TOOK AN EXTREME AMOUNT OF EFFORT TO TURN. FAILURE IN TRAFFIC OR HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS COULD BE CATASTROPHIC. I DO NOT BELIEVE MY 82 YEAR OLD MOTHER COULD SAFELY CONTROL THE CAR, IF THE FAILURE UNEXPECTEDLY OCCURRED IN MANY OF THE DRIVING CONDITIONS SHE EXPERIENCES IN HER DAILY DRIVING. LANE CHANGES, MERGING TRAFFIC, 90 DEGREE TURNS, PULLING OUT TO PASS, ICY ROADS, AND HYDROPLANE CONDITIONS COULD ALL QUICKLY BECOME LIFE THREATENING WITH THIS PARTICULAR FAILURE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA RAV4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. THE FAILURE OCCURRED ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER WHERE THE STEERING WHEEL SHAFT WAS REPLACED BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER A SECOND TIME WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRIC STEERING COLUMN FAILED BUT THE REPAIRS WERE NOT PERFORMED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.

LOST POWER STEERING WITHOUT WARNING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. P/S LIGHT CAME ON AT THE SAME TIME. BARELY AVOIDED COLLISION WITH LARGE TRUCK. STARTED ENGINE AFTER 20 MINS., P/S LIGHT OUT & STEERING NORMAL. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER WHO FOUND CODE C1524 (LOW VOLTAGE IN POWER STEERING). IN ORDER TO FIND ROOT OF PROBLEM I NEED TO PAY $200 FOR DIAGNOSTIC, WHICH I REFUSED. THIS IS NOT A WEAR/TEAR ISSUE BUT EITHER A DEFECT OR MALFUNCTION. CALLED TOYOTA, ASKED THEM TO PAY FOR DIAGNOSTIC & TOYOTA REFUSED SINCE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRENTY. GUESS TOYOTA COULD CARE LESS ABOUT CUSTOMER SAFETY EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE NUMEROUS VEHICLES WITH SAME COMPLAINT! *TR

NO CRASH INVOLVED. NO LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. DURING ROUTINE MAINTENANCE, WAS INFORMED THE RACK ASSEMBLY WOULD HAVE TO BE REPLACED TO DEAL WITH A CLUNKING NOISE THAT A TECHNICIAN HAD NOTICED. I CHECKED AND FOUND THAT WHILE PARKED AND IDLING, PULLING THE WHEEL IN EITHER DIRECTION DID PRODUCE THE CLUNK. AFTER ADDITIONAL ESTIMATES, SETTLED ON A SPECIFIC REPAIR VENUE AT ALMOST $1700. ALSO INFORMED BY ONE OF THE ESTIMATORS THAT THE STEERING COLUMN WOULD SOON NEED REPLACED. NOT SCHEDULED FOR REPAIR AT THIS TIME. I WAS INFORMED BY ONE OF THE ESTIMATORS THAT MOST VEHICLES WOULD NOT HAVE REQUIRED A WHOLE RACK REPLACEMENT (OR AS MUCH MONEY) FOR A PROBLEM SUCH AS THIS, BUT RATHER THE 2007 DESIGN WAS INTEGRATED RATHER THEN MODULAR. *TR

THE STEERING MECHANISM MAKES A CLUNK WHEN TURNED. THE DEALER SAYS THE INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT NEEDS REPLACED. THERE ARE NUMEROUS ACCOUNTS OF THIS SAME DEFECT ON THE INTERNET. TOYOTA ISSUED A BULLETIN IN 2008 TELLING DEALERS TO REPLACE THE SHAFT ON CARS STILL ON WARRANTY BUT WILL NOT REPLACE OURS BECAUSE IT IS MORE THAN 3 YEARS OLD. A MECHANICAL FAILURE AT SUCH LOW MILEAGE SUCH AS THIS SHOULD BE REPAIRED BY THE COMPANY AT THEIR COST SINCE IT IS NOT CAUSE BY USE BUT BY POOR ENGINEERING OR ASSEMBLY. *TR

IN OCTOBER I NOTICED A CLUNK IN THE STEERING COLUMN. THIS IS MOST NOTICEABLE AT SLOW SPEEDS WHEN TURNING LEFT OR RIGHT. AFTER RESEARCHING THE INTERNET, IT SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH TOYOTA VEHICLES IN THE STEERING SHAFT. I RECENTLY HAD TO HAVE THE STEERING SHAFT REPLACED ON MY 2008 TACOMA, VIN. NO.: [XXX], WITH ONLY 37000 MILES, AND REPORTED THIS TO TOYOTA CUSTOMER REP., THEY SAID THEY WOULD GIVE ME A $350 CREDIT AT A TOYOTA DEALERSHIP FOR FUTURE WORK, HOWEVER, THE REPLACEMENT WAS CONSIDERABLY HIGHER. I FEAR NOW THAT MY RAV 4 IS GOING THE SAME ROUTE. I FEEL TOYOTA SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO HAVE A RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE IT COULD BE A SAFETY ISSUE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL THERE IS AN AUDIBLE CLICK ACCOMPANIED BY FEEDBACK THROUGH THE STEERING COLUMN. THIS IS CAUSED BY DEFECTIVE HARDWARE USED IN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE STEERING COLUMN. THESE WEAKENED COMPONENTS, WHEN COMPLETELY COMPROMISED, MAY LEAD TO A CATASTROPHIC LOSS OF THE ABILITY TO STEER THE VEHICLE. WHEN ASKED, THE TOYOTA DEALERSHIP ACKNOWLEDGED THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM BUT REFUSED TO REPAIR IT FREE OF CHARGE IN THE ABSENCE OF A SAFETY RECALL. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 TOYOTA RAV 4. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING SHE HEARD A LOUD NOISE IN THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THE TECHNICIAN STATED THE INTERMEDIATE STEERING COLUMN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT PAID FOR THE REPAIRS, AT HER EXPENSE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED ABOUT THE FAILURE. THE MILEAGE AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE WAS 52,730 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 54,134. UPDATED 5/27/14*CN UPDATED 08/04/14

I BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO AN AUTHORIZED TOYOTA DEALER BECAUSE OF ANNOYING RATTLE NOISE COMING FROM THE FRONT END WHEN TURNING LEFT AND RIGHT, AND WHEN STEPPING ON BRAKE. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE DEFECTIVE STEERING RACK MADE NOISE AND IT SHOULD BE REPLACED (ESTIMATED COST OF $1,984 INCLUDING PART AND LABOR COSTS), OTHERWISE THE VEHICLE COULD BREAK DOWN. I WAS ALSO TOLD BY THE DEALER THAT THIS TOYOTA WAS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE (OCCURRING IN PARTICULAR TO THOSE RAV4 2006-2008 PRODUCED IN SHOKKI, JAPAN) AND TOYOTA OFFERED THE REPLACEMENT OF THE STEERING RACK IF A VEHICLE IS UNDER THE 3 YEAR WARRANTY PERIOD. TOYOTA HAS DOCUMENTED THIS ISSUE--REFER TO T-SB-0308-08, OCTOBER 8, 2008. APPARENTLY MY RAV4 IS OVER 6 YEARS OLD (BUT ONLY RAN 31,400 MILES) AND NOT COVERED BY THE WARRANTY. I TALKED TO TOYOTA NATIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE ABOUT THE ISSUE AND TOYOTA DECLINED TO REPAIR THE PART AT THEIR COST. I DEMAND THAT NHTSA/DOT TAKE AN ACTION TO INVESTIGATE THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE SO AS TO PREVENT RAV4 DRIVERS FROM FACING FATAL ACCIDENTS ON THE ROAD. *TR