I have a 2002 Prius that is in dealer for the death shudder with power steering. Here is issue, they replaced ECU and tell me that the new steering rack must be compatible with ECU? Anyway, I decided to order one online and was wondering if it will work? How can I be sure that part will be compatible with new ECU?
View 11 RepliesOn a long trip from home, my 2002 Prius, 130K miles, threw up an error code, followed by a message that said "error corrected". It did this a few more times, every 5 to 15 miles, until the error stuck. The error message indicated a PS error, which I am guessing means Power Steering, as the power steering went out. Turning the car off and restarting fixed it. I did this a few times.
View 14 RepliesI have a 2002 Santa Fe 6cyl automatic GLS w/ 170k on it - great car - never a problem until about 20k miles ago, I started experiencing a shudder (like driving over a washboarded road) at 38-42 mph. If I accelerate quickly through this mph range (from 3rd to 4th gear), I can avoid it. Similarly, if I downshift back into 3rd, accelerate through and then upshift to 4th again at about 45mph, I can avoid it. It happens at a much lesser extent around 55-60mph. It has been to a reputable transmission shop that doesn't think its a tranny issue. Its been 4 days at a good mechanic and they can't find the problem. Its not throwing any codes and no other part of the vehicle seems to be affected. It has new tires/alignment less than 5k ago. I have suggested several things (ignition coil, torque converter, throttle control sensors) and they have checked these and more and don't find the problem.
View 9 RepliesMy wife's having trouble with her '02 Explorer 4x4 V8 XLT.
Today I experienced a violent steering wheel shudder that I would describe as the old "death wobble" you hear about on solid axle trucks, Early Broncos, Jeeps, etc.
At 55mph, in a slight right hand turn, a little bit of a bump in the road triggered it. I held on to it as the steering wheel was rotating left and right a few degrees (maybe ~10deg) and it wouldn't stop until I slowed down to around 35mph.
I crawled underneath and didn't see anything obviously bad (tie rod ends, ball joints, etc).
Then I noticed when turning the steering wheel (with the engine running, but parked) I could feel it shuddering slightly as I turned it.
The PS pump makes quite a bit of noise so I wonder if its on the way out.
Only had this car for about a month and 1200 trouble free miles. Really in great shape but with 276K miles on it. Really runs great and feels like a new car inside and out.
Yesterday, a cool morning, 38 deg.. Started at the Ready, backing out of my car port and cut the wheel partially to turn 90 deg. to enter the street. Came to full stop and shift lever is still in Rev, before I could shift to Drive. The steering wheel shutters like I was going over a rough. Jerking slightly from left to right about 2-3 degrees. Stopped within about a second and I still had normal steering response. I continued onto the street and made a ran a 300 mile round trip on freeway and surface streets without any further problems.
I know the power steering is electric assist over mechanical linkage and can only imagine that there was a power glitch in the power convertor and I was feeling pulses from the feed back in the power steering drive. No hydraulics to blame, I don't think.
So here's a stinker that apparently has my mechanic puzzled. A few days ago I brought in my 2002 Jetta wagon in for a headlamp bulb change and a oil change. I pull out, but by the time I get home the check engine light is on. The manual says it's an emissions issue. I plan to make a garage visit on Thursday. they call me and say that they have my hubcaps...for some reason. OK, well, the next day, I am accelerating to get onto the highway, and suddenly, there is a big power drop and shudder. I pull over, call AAA and they take me into the garage where I got the oil change. Today, they say that a number of the spark plugs were out, but that it was strange because the corrosion made it clear that they had not been disturbed or pulled off in any way. They said that the spark plugs accounted for all of the car's symptoms. But we could not figure out how multiple spark plugs came out.
View 10 RepliesFrom time to time when I come to a stop at light the car will shudder...about a minute or so....that's it no noise.
View 10 RepliesI have a 2001 Prius with almost 224,000 miles. It has never had any power steering problems during the 7.5 years that I have owned it. About 10 days ago during a heavy rain, I parked it nose down on a driveway that was steeply inclined. The next morning when I started it there was no power steering. I find that the un-powered steering is not all that bad to drive. About like a 1939 Ford. Correction requires replacing the entire steering system, including the rack. Can I use the steering system from a 2003 to avoid recurrence of the problem? If so, does the replacement process differ from using a 2001 system?
View 3 RepliesIt feels like its catching, or its off and then comes back on ?? No codes, none.
View 11 Replies2 wks ago, my 2001 Prius with 113,500 miles suddenly failed...no power steering, no acceleration, engine seemed to die. I coasted into a parking lot. Dash warning lights were dire...triangle of death, red car w/ !, main battery, power steering. After powering the car off and on 3 times, everything reset and it drove fine. Took it to dealer next day...ICE not getting fuel and 12v reading low. Cleaned throttle, replaced 12V...things ran perfectly over Christmas weekend...over 400 miles driving all types of roads/conditions other than snow. Dealer had said there was a power steering recall...so I took the car the next week for that work.
Car failed within 7 miles...same warning lights but an entirely different feel to the failure...felt like the transmission was bumped into neutral...no acceleration...but retained PS and was able to steer car easily to a pull-off spot as engine(s) didn't die. Restarted w/ no problem...we limped home, having to stop and restart car 2x in 20 miles as the feeling of transmission in neutral returned. Returned car to dealer next day...they say hybrid battery has failed. I can drive the car short distances but every few miles, I must stop and start it...almost like re-booting a computer...so I'm driving it very little. I do not have the codes from the 2nd failure...I was too shaken up to ask...but will get them ASAP.
The power steering on my 2003 Toyota Prius has been slowly deteriorating (very difficult to get out of parallel parking spaces, for example) until in suddenly cut out all together as I was turning in a parking lot two days ago. I put the car in reverse to try to straighten out, and the problem was immediately solved. The car was fine for the next 12 hours (and ten miles) until the same thing happened again... and fixed itself again.
I realize the 2001 was recalled because of power steering issues... but this does not seem to apply to the 2003.
I have just won a Mk 1 Prius on eBay and hope I have made a good choice - not having seen the car! There is an error code: 1554 which apparently is why the power steering isn't working
View 8 RepliesI've been having this problem where as i'm driving (mostly highway) all of a sudden I get the feeling like i've let go of the gas pedal but I haven't. The mpg meter goes from about 40 to 100 as if its on straight battery power and I have to really press the pedal down to get any decent acceleration. Once in awhile i'll get the big orange triangle warning and the little pic of an exclamation point in an outline of a car. But after a day it may go away.
One time it didn't and I brought it in. I spent 80 bucks for them to find nothing wrong and say the alert had something to do with an oxygen sensor (its was awhile ago, i dont quite remember exactly)
After 12,000 kms of trouble free motoring on my replacement Treg (first one a lemon) it seems to have developed an unusual problem. The best I can describe this prob is that when I go into almost full turning lock (obviously at snail pace speed) the car shudders quite noticeably. The problem occurs intermittently however as of late at least on 50% of occasions. Seems to be worse after reversing uphill a short distance.
View 24 RepliesGot an issues with my 02 Santa Fe. Shaky steering wheel at all speeds during straight driving more than in turns. 130k miles on the vehicle.
The tires are worn, and need replacing. No missing wheel weights that I saw. No issues with braking.
At slow speeds it feels like the front end is swaying back and forth. I am planning to have the tires replaced, but I feel that this is more than just the tires.
I suspect ball joints / tie rods are the culprit. Is there a good way to check these components from home verses going to a shop and having them diagnose the issue.
With ball joints / tie rods, I am confident that I can change them on my own.
2010 Camry LE 4 Cylinder (~76,000 miles)
I purchased new tires for my Camry at a mileage of about 70,000 (~11/2015). I do mostly city driving. A few months ago I sometimes started noticing a steering column shudder upon braking when traveling at higher speeds (~50+ mph). I read on the web that this type of shudder is typically caused by warped rotors.
I was considering getting a front brake job (new rotors + pads), but decided to get a tire balance/rotation. It was reported that the right front tire was out of balance and that now all four tires are in balance. After the Balance/Rotation, the problem was still there but not as bad (Shudder reduced by at least 50% over what was experienced before the balance/rotation).
I went to a brake shop and discussed the problem and they said that they suspect that there may still be a problem with proper tire balancing. They recommended a second opinion on whether or not the tires were properly balanced. They did not explain 'second opinion' so I went to where the tires were balanced two weeks earlier (Discount Tire) and they did a free balance check and reported that all four tires are still balanced.
Basically, I have no detectable shudder at less than ~50 mph. All rotors and pads are the original ones that came with the car when it was new.
2002 2wd, 4dr has a power steering fluid leak. I am losing fluid in the resevior and there is a mess at the bottom around the steering box, lines and sway bar and it's hard to find the origin. it is not leaking at rest with or without the engine running. What are the more common leak points in this system?
View 6 RepliesI have a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Truck. The other day, I lost all power steering, and traced it to a loose hose connection, which let all of the fluid out. I tightened the connection, refilled the reservoir, and then bled by turning lock to lock several times. when I am sitting still, or low speed parking, it feels like there is no power steering. If I am rolling, even a little bit, it is as normal, and engine speed does not seem to affect the problem, as I have raced the engine at low ground speed, and it is still really stiff. When driving, turns are easy in both directions. The way the effort required does not change with engine speed confuses me.
View 5 RepliesThe 98 camry has steering wheel shudder after the new tires have been put on. Do I need alignment. will that work now that my tires are scalloped? The guys at the tire shop balanced the tires. the shudder was there on the old tires too, which were severely scalloped. or pitted. Can i do alignment myself?
View 8 RepliesI got a 2006 Solara SLE. while braking from highway speeds, the steering wheel shakes VIOLENTLY. city driving its not noticable. cruising the car is silky smooth. The one front caliper was sticking and i replaced pads, pins, rotor. Still shakes. i tried swapping pins as one pin has a sleeve at the tip and i didnt remember which one went where. i did notice the pin with no sleeve fits loosely. the rotor is AZ Duralast brand. the car has 200k trouble free with no suspension work ever done.
I am lost what to do and need to make a long trip coming up. I was going to try in order- replace other rotor, spin the one rotor and replace guide pin with a sleeved one, then do lateral run out test/lathe, alignment, then if that dosnt work a stick of dynamite. Iheard a bad tie rod or ball joint can cause this, i find it unlikely as it would probably shake all the time. Other small issue is a loud thunk in the rear when it hits bumps. Rear swaybar mounts?
I replaced the pads and rotors on the front end of my 2002 maxima (it had a shudder when braking from speed). By mistake, I did loosen the spindle nut, but re-tightened it. Braking is smooth, but I am plagued by noise. Used CRC on the back of the pads, have pulled the tires/wheels 3-4 times looking for looseness, mistakes, etc…. This is a pretty simple job – right? Even had the front wheel off my other 2002 (yes – I have 2…love this year/model) and compared them.
Did I cause an issue with the loosening and re-tightening of the spindle? Is this just a spline? I have it “wrench” tight and it had not loosened up even with 500 miles driving. There is not any play in the wheels mounted to the axle… What do I need to look at next?