This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Tacoma. While driving various speeds, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. The contact had to apply force to the steering wheel in order to steer the vehicle. In addition, over time, the steering wheel became extremely loose. The contact had to steer the vehicle in excess to keep the vehicle in position. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 75,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Steering is difficult, as if no power steering exists. I checked online and saw others had the same problem. I lubricated the lower part of intermediate steering shaft, and it seems to work ok for now. If the part is rusted, I'm afraid the steering will go out altogether and cause loss of control. This is a safety issue. The frame has been replaced due to rust. Is this more of the same problem?
Steering got very stiff and I had trouble operation the vehicle. I was almost was in an accident due to this. Once I got the truck to the roadside I checked for a flat tire, broken power steering belt and the power steering fluid level and condition. Everything was ok, but the steering wheel was still very had to turn. I had the trucks steering checked out and the U joint at the bottom of the steering column had sized up. Toyota part number 4520304020 intermediate steering shaft. This is a very dangerous problem and Toyota should do a recall to cover this. The problem comes on suddenly and you lose the ability to control the vehicle.
I had complete failure to my rack and pinion steering due to excessive corrosion to the component. I was pulling into a business doing about 10 mph and the steering locked up completely. I checked the power steering fluid in the reservoir and it was completely empty. I checked under the truck and on the ground was a puddle of steering fluid. The vehicle was taken to a local garage and when he examined the truck to see what had happened, he stated that the rack and pinion had completed rotted out and broke. I also had him check the frame on my truck, since I received a tsb bulletin about the excessive corrosion due to not enough frame undercoating being applied in cold states. He found a large hole behind the catalytic converter in the frame. The mechanic checked the rest of the frame and found some smaller perforations as well. My questions is if the frame is beginning to rot and they are selectively replacing the frames or vehicle if they are a danger, why are no other components that are attached to these failing parts covered as well and failing due to excessive rot or rusting. If any of these components failed during normal driving conditions on the highway at normal speed the results could have been devastating to all involved, possibly leading to severe injury or death. Something more needs to be done to bring attention to the Toyota motor company not standing behind their vehicles they produce and the safety of the people who own and operate them. Toyota needs to stop playing the "its not covered or applicable" game and take ownership and fix it before someone does get killed. I have owned 5 Toyota's previously and felt very safe up until now, now I am not to sure!
Less than one year after purchase the rear leaf springs failed on both sides. Two dealers plus Toyota headquarters refused service, so I had to pay for a private spring shop to replace them. They have since been recalled but to date I have not received reimbursement. In 2014 the steering shaft had to be replaced and at the same time the frame was determined corroded beyond repair. Toyota made promise to replace the frame under recall in Nov 2014 but to date has not delivered and has not indicated when I can expect the repair to be made. For over six months now I have been left with an unsafe vehicle that I can't sell or replace.
- Waikoloa, HI, USA
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The contact owns a 2005 Toyota Tacoma. While driving at approximately 40 mph, the brakes failed and the steering wheel vibrated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. Also, the contact stated that the front passenger side tire wobbled. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 139,152.
The steering in my Toyota Tacoma began to bind suddenly when turning the steering wheel to the left or right. Upon inspection by the dealership, the intermediate steering shaft and steering yoke both needed to be replaced. The replacement part appears to be an updated part with a rubber boot to prevent corrosion of the shaft joints. I believe the failure of the original part was due to poor design, causing the part to begin to fail. If not replaced and the shaft or shaft joint had broken at speed, this certainly would have caused a crash.
When turning the steering wheel in either direction I have extremely stiff steering. It seems to stick and is not fluid when turning. I am concerned that this can cause an accident while driving. I have checked the steering power fluid level and it is at the correct level.
The steering seemed to seize up almost instantly as if the power steering was going out. Once I realized that the problem wasn't a tire issue; I.e. under- inflation, I began to make arrangement to have Toyota identify and correct the problem. The Toyota dealership did agree to diagnose the problem for $100+ but this diagnosis charge wouldn't be applied to the repair. This, method of service seemed odd to me so I used another auto repair service center that promptly identified the problem and schedule the repair. It was identified as the lower steering column with a near frozen U-joint. This problem resulted in a very erratic steering pattern. Most of the time the steering wheel wouldn't return to the neutral position after making a turn and at other times it would return to the neutral position resulting in over steering. The anticipated lack of return to the neutral position caused me on occasion to attempt to steer to the neutral position resulting in the over steering. This issue should be brought to others attention and possibly have any vehicles suspect for a similar steering issue inspected so repairs can be made before an accident occurs.
I have 2005 Tacoma 4X4 with a frame that cracked and collapsed into its self were the left motor mount is welded to the frame. The motor came to rest on the steering shaft knuckle @ the rack and pinion making it difficult to steer. I called Toyota service center they told me it was the first time they had heard about this problem. Upon researching the problem on the web there are well over 200 complaints same problem. It is such a problem that a fabrication company dmz makes a gusset repair kit to repair and reinforce the frame. It's a bout a 10 hour repair. dmzfab.com/product/Tacoma-motor-mount-gusset-kit/. Toyota should contact them for the cure.
Hi, I have an open file with the Toyota corporation at 1-800-331-4331, my name is [xxx] and I live in fairbanks, Alaska. Case # [xxx]. in Sept. Of 2012 my truck was at 61,000 miles and I took my vehicle in for maintenance and they checked a recall on the spiral cable and told me that my truck didn't qualify for the recall because of the serial number on the part. I didn't mind I wasn't having any problems. However, at 65,000 miles it is now not working properly and they want to charge me to fix it. I've tried to reason with them and point out that its obvious there is something wrong when a truck with 65,000 mile, garaged year around and never in an accident would be having problems. I honestly thought safety systems had life time warranties. I am extremely concerned that they are working very hard to not feel obligated to fix the part and hope you can help me with this formal complaint against the Toyota corporation and the kendall Toyota dealership located in fairbanks, Alaska. I would like to know how many other people are experiencing this problem and how many other spiral cables are having problems that are not within the recall. Please feel free to call me with any needed additional information. My phone number is [xxx]. information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
Felt as if power steering quit. Going around corners the steering wheel did not return to straight position, but required me to manually pull the wheel back. We found it low on ps fluid. That was filled and it appeared that to pretty much solve the problem, though not completely. Two weeks later the problem is back and the ps fluid level is fine. It is very hard to turn into corners and almost impossible park in reasonable tight spots due to difficult turning the wheel.
Within a year of purchase, the rear leaf springs became soft and the truck bottomed out on bumps. I took it to a local dealer (haddads, pittsfield, MA) and they refused to service it claiming nothing was wrong. I later took it to a springfield dealership and received the same answer. I then took it to superior spring in pittsfield. They found both springs were broken and had to be replaced. I called Toyota and they refused to honor the warranty, claiming I had over loaded the truck. I had not ever carried more than a few hundred lbs in the bed of this 1/2 ton truck. I have owned the truck since new and been the sole operator. A few weeks ago the steering became sticky. My mechanic replaced the steering shaft at a cost of $400. He stated that Toyota should recall the vehicle for this because he sees this part fail often due to poor construction. Also, the frame on this truck has significant rust already and does not look like it will outlast the body and drive train. I'm not pleased.
My Tacoma was approximately four years old with less then 50,000 miles when the steering began to lock up upon making a turn. I researched and found other Tacoma owners having similar problems. The quick solution was to spray lubricating oil or put grease on the intermediate no.2 steering shaft at the universal joint - which I did repeatedly until now. The steering only degraded over time. The wheel became very slopping from failure of the universal joint that I had to replaced it last week at 95,000 miles. This appears to be a known problem with this shaft in the cold climates where road salt has been used along with the rotting frame issues.
The following is the dealer inspection report for my truck: "found extreme corrosion to frame. Tow hook and driver side sway bar mount unable to re-attach due to frame perforation front cross member missing (rusted off) found hole in left side of frame. Steering rack mounts extremely perforated, ready to detach. Do not recommend driving vehicle due to extreme damage to frame" truck purchased new, single owner, well maintained....updated 06/10/14
While driving steering suddenly got hard. Then it was normal again for a bit. I noticed that after making left turn it was hard to steer right and vice versa when turning right. Checked power steering and was good. Research on forums suggested a exposed knuckle on a part 45203A called shaft, steering intermediate, no.2. after lubrication to the knuckle area the steering has improved though not 100%. part should include at a minimum grease fittings for lubrication, preferably a type of protection from exposure to the elements such as a rubber boot. This loss of steering may result in the operator losing control of vehicle.
While turning into a mild corner, steering started binding up, had to really pull on the wheel, as if power steering went away. Steering wheel would not return, had to pull it back to straighten out. I know my wife would not have been able to pull it to get through corner.
2005 Toyota Tacoma first issue is the steering, on several occasions while turning the steering has "locked up", the steering gets extremity hard to turn in the middle of driving. After my own research I discovered the universal joint on the steering shaft will lock up or get extremely hard to turn if not greased. The joint is open to the elements and has no protective boot over it. There is no maintenance procedure from Toyota for the joint. This is extremely dangerous and could cause a crash. If the operator does not have the upper body strength to force the steering wheel to turn when the joint locks up it may cause an accident. This issue is often misdiagnosed by mechanics cause expensive unnecessary repairs (new steering rack). The second issue is frame rust. The frames are a poor design, have no protective coating and are made of inferior metal. A simple internet search for "Tacoma frame rust" will show plenty of horror stories of frames literally rusting away from the bottom of the truck. The oldest 2nd generation Tacoma (2005 production year) are now 9 years old, a frame on a 9 year old vehicle having rust issues is completely unacceptable. This is a serious safety hazard. Along with the frames rusting away all components attached to the frame can fail. (leaf springs, shocks, motor mounts etc). Toyota did the right thing with the 1st generation Tacoma that had this issue. They issued recalls and bought back trucks. Consumers were led to believe the frame rust issues were corrected on the second generation Tacoma but they were not. As of now Toyota is handling frame rust issues on a case by case basis. Some people are fighting to get new frames and some people are left with a truck that is rusting away with no help from Toyota. Frames rusting away to the point that a hole the size of a hand can fit is a major safety issue.
While driving I noticed the steering wheel would stick when rounding a curve. Then it would be ok. After further investigation and about 200 more miles the steering wheel had a lot of play in it moving from side to side without moving the tires. Further investigation showed the universal joint for the intermediate steering shaft had no bearings left in it. Scary..
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Waterloo, NY, USA