I am petitioning Toyota and the NHTSA for to open an investigation regarding this steering wheel "click/popping" problem, and hopefully force Toyota to issue a safety recall to have it repaired. My car was under 60k miles when the problem began and I have replaced the intermediate shaft per the TSB, but now the problem has returned and I'm being told (at 75K miles) that my rack-and-pinion is bad. My car exhibits now signs of a bad rack and pinion, just the click/pop at low speeds or idle when slightly turning L/R. It is almost unheard of to replace a rack-and-pinion in any car under 150k+ miles. Please sign if you are fed up with this issue and truly concerned about your safety (as I am) with a significant steering problem... Everyone's voice matters, share the link!
I am petitioning Toyota and the NHTSA for to open an investigation regarding this steering wheel "click/popping" problem, and hopefully force Toyota to issue a safety recall to have it repaired. My car was under 60k miles when the problem began and I have replaced the intermediate shaft per the TSB, but now the problem has returned and I'm being told (at 75K miles) that my rack-and-pinion is bad. My car exhibits now signs of a bad rack and pinion, just the click/pop at low speeds or idle when slightly turning L/R. It is almost unheard of to replace a rack-and-pinion in any car under 150k+ miles. Please sign if you are fed up with this issue and truly concerned about your safety (as I am) with a significant steering problem... Everyone's voice matters, share the link!
I appreciate your effort, but your petition doesn't have a prayer UNLESS you can prove that the steering clunk is a safety problem and could cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash. Unfortunately, NHTSA doesn't usually act until people get seriously injured or killed in crashes.
Exactly. It must be a safety problem, not just an annoyance or financial inconvenience.
And from what I am seeing here, all it really needs is some additional lube. I bet your steering rack is just fine (you can tell how much faith I have in dealerships).
I agree with James and Steve. About the only way to get it considered is to submit a complaint through the NHTSA - https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/
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