Prius (Gen 1) :: Steering Shaking Only At Low Speed When Cold
Aug 13, 2012
I purchased a second hand 2000 Prius for my wife about a year ago and the car has been awesome. A few months ago she started experiencing a steering vibration only at low speed when cold and steering wheel turned sharply.
It got worse till you could feel a slight vibration when even going straight, I tried to scan the OBDII for faults but my scanner would not even work on the Prius.
I search online and bought a U380 OBDII scanner but since it would take a while to get to me I decided to disconnect the 12v to reset the computer (and fix my map lights while disconnected) when I reconnected the 12v the car started ran for about 10 seconds then cut out with the red triangle showing. I thought maybe I had done something wrong and the immobilizer had cut the engine, went inside to check my manual I had bought(cd version) on my computer and google search but found nothing.
Went out and disconnected the battery again and reconnected with same results. After some more searching went to car and it started right up no triangle. Here is the strange part, for the next several days the steering was great no shake at all and even the slight vibration was gone. Over the next few weeks it has slowly been coming back again but still not near as bad as it was, I finally got my scanner and scanned it but it shows no codes. I have not seen anywhere if successfully repaired this type of problem without replacing the whole steering rack but maybe I am missing something, anyway I have a couple of questions in my quest not to replace the rack.
1) Is it possible that it has the zero adjust error and my scanner is not reading it?
2) My repair manual(although it does not seem very good) shows resistors with some kind of contacts in with the torque sensors, is it possible these contacts just need cleaning?
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Lately my 2007 GX470's steering wheel has a shaking/vibrating problem whenever I apply the brake at speed above 50 mph or so. Without braking or with braking at slower speed, there is no problem at all -- everything is glass smooth.
1. I assume the front brake rotor is warped?
2. Will I need to change the rotor or is there a way to fix the warp (it that's the problem) without changing the rotor?
3. Approximate part & labor cost?
I plan to bring to dealer for a check up but would like to know ahead of time what to expect.
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Just replaced a badly worn Hub on my 98 AWD Explorer. The grinding noise is gone but now the steering is binding/shaking during stopped or low speed turns. What is going on or what I might have done wrong?
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I'm sensing a light steering wheel shaking when reaching 70mph. Also during the process of increasing the speed from 25-30mph and above I can hear a sort of beating noise which becomes more consistent when increasing the speed. Car goes straight (no left - right wandering). Now I'm assuming it may be something related with the bearings, but I guess the only way to find out is by sending it to a repair shop to understand if the noise come from one or two bearings and from front or the rear bearings?!
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I bought my 2012 Prius v with 99,000 miles. It started running rough at around 110,000. Time for new spark plugs.
I installed new OEM plugs. Still rough. New ignition coils, Still rough. My car was shaking & jerking at any cruising speed, fast or slow. It seemed to have trouble switching between the ICE (engine) and electric motor. It made a continuous click click click noise at slow speeds. I would get up to speed and let off the gas a little and it would start going chug, chug, chug until I gave more gas. I hated driving my car. The shaking was giving me a headache. I investigated every posibility; Motor mounts, ECU, trans, changed the trans fluid, cleaned the EGR tube, CV shafts, torque limiter, VVT, sluging, tried fuel injector cleaner. I took it to the dealer. They said there was a misfire on #4 cylinder. I told them the ignition was all new but the #4 spark plug was discolored when I replaced it the second time. The mechanic said "That's it! It must be the fuel injector!" New injector installed, $488, still ran rough, still the chug chug chug and click click click. A few days ago, it ran so bad and so weak, it used up all the battery power and could barely stay running. I stopped for gas. I thought " maybe it's the EGR. I should just unplug it." BINGO !! It runs great !!!!! Smooth !!!!!! Better gas mileage. No chugging! No clicking!
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My car has shaken from the start but I thought it was because it was a small car that was a great price so this is how it ran. Today it started shaking so badly up through the steering wheel that I was afraid to drive it. Still am. I got the tire pressure checked, the wheel balancing checked - all ok. Took it into the dealership (car is still under warrantee) and they think it's likely the drive train/drive shaft.
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Currently working on a friends 2011 Prius with roughly ~340,000 miles (!!!!!) that was used as a taxi, until now, he bought it from the taxi company and converted it his own daily.
I did a regular oil change on his Prius, and decided to change the spark plugs as at the time there was some sort of occasional shaking/rattle at cold startups. The shaking was gone after changing the spark plugs. This was all done back in March. Yesterday, he was driving, and all of a sudden, the knocking came back, a check engine light, and white like cloud smoke appear. Check Engine lights were P0300, P0301, P0303 (misfire cylinder). I told him to bring it over, I took a look, and his invertor engine coolant was all the way down (he told me he filled it up to top just two weeks ago). I originally thought maybe it was the ignition coils (for shaking), but the white smoke didn't make sense. So I purposely filled the coolant above the full line, and took it out to drive for about half a mile, and just as I suspected when I opened the hood, the coolant level decreased, at least by an inch.
I did not see any oil leaks, and the oil levels were just fine. The car just seems to shake/rattle at startup and when accelerating at low speeds (roughly 8 - 15 MPH) and than goes away, and drives normally. It still does blow off that white/cloud smoke when accelerating hard on the engine though. As for the smell of the smoke, I can't really tell, it is definitely not sweet, but it kind of smells foul/bad.
At this point, I am pretty sure this engine is gone, and the gasket/seal is blown.
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We have had a few mornings (in garage) where it would seem to not really id say a knock but maybe a clicking sound and it would quit right away. This morning that did not happen so i shut the car off and checked oil it was low.
Got under the car and can not see any leaking no oil on ground. So i had a QT i put in and that seems to quiet it after a few seconds.
I called local TOY dealer and they said its common for 2010 to use some oil and not much they can do. I thought what is a little it was at the end of the dipstick.
They said they can only fill it up and then have me come back in 1400 miles and see how much is used.
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I've got 2 identical 01 models with 150-200k miles that are having issues with the steering wheel chattering and shaking occasionally, like a pump is gravitating or something. I've only noticed it at low/no speed when turning the wheel. It shakes for a second or two, then quits. No fault lights on, and no codes pulled with mini vci...
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Years and years ago, I had an issue with my trusty '02. The steering wheel would shake VIOLENTLY back and forth. I went round and round with Toyota, but at the end of all the angry phone calls and emails the issue never got fixed, but they paid for an after market steering rack. I wasn't about to pay the 4-5K to get the issue fixed, so I just pulled the PS relay, and have been driving merrily along with no power steering for about 90K miles. I'm now at about 195K.
About a month ago, I noticed some symptoms.
1) some play in the steering.
2) when I went over some bumps, I could really feel the bounce, and it felt like metal bumping into metal.
3) when I punched the accelerator, there was a delay and a "thunk" feeling.
I was coming up on a major servicing, so I took it in to the dealership. They sorted out a few things that I knew were overdue (wheel bearings, battery coolant, transaxle lube), and came to the decision that the steering problem was that I needed a new rack. I told the gobsmacked mechanic that I just happened to have one, and they put it in, and they recalibrated the steering sensor paddles so that I would again have power steering. When I started the car up in the dealership lot, VIOLENT SHAKING. They took it back in, and declared that was because my ignition battery was marginal (which it was), and that a new battery would sort this out. I thus spent far too much money on a new battery. Two days later, wheel starts shaking, and again I pull the relay. All is normal again.
The questions are these:
1) Can that kind of shaking be repaired?
2) Could it really have been a battery issue? (the battery reads a nice even 12.6 and has a wonderful warranty)
3) Was my issue just tie rods the whole time?
In the meantime, I'm going to get 238K (distance from earth to moon) if it kills us all.
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This summer, my steering rack failed, and I had it replaced with a remanufacutured steering rack. All went well, until a few weeks ago I started feeling a pulsing effect when turning, usually when turning right. On a few occasions, the shaking has become severe. It is a back-and-forth effect, about three times a second. It is bad enough that it has triggered a power steering error on two occasions. I took it to the garage who installed the rack, asking them to have a look at it, and they found nothing. Because the effect is regular, I am assuming that I am feeling the 12V power assist malfunctioning or reacting to faulty input.
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I bought a new 2010 (Gen III) Prius IV one week ago. I have driven it less than 200 miles. Last night, I experienced a few seconds of steering wheel shaking while driving at highways speeds. I assumed I had hit uneven pavement. At no point was it difficult to turn the wheel. But after the shaking, the car seemed to sometimes drift to one or the other edge of the lane. I chalked that up to unfamiliarity with the car and to rain and darkness. Today, I read Forum posts that described the lighter touch that usually works and the importance of wheel alignment.
After the shaking, another 45 minutes of driving, and a half hour parked, I headed home on a slower road. That is when my wife noticed that the Electric Power Steering warning light was on. We are both pretty sure it was off before that. This morning, I pulled out of the garage and back in, and turned the wheel both ways as it moved. The light did not come on.
I called the dealer to discuss what had occurred. I made a service appointment for Monday so they can check it out. Someone in a Gen II forum (where I mistakenly posted this at first) advised me to pull over and take an evidence photo of the light if it comes on again.
The PS warning light wouldn't be too surprising to see in a Prius driven tens of thousands of miles. If yours ever came on when your Prius had low mileage, I'd be curious to know the outcome. I misidentified a benign icon as the EPS warning light.
The mechanic became suspicious when he couldn't find any code or any trouble. We sketched the icon we remembered seeing for the service supervisor. He explained that it was the cruise control light. I either forgot I had turned cc on or I had pushed it accidentally when I operated the wipers.
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I recently took my car to the dealer as it is under warranty, 25000 miles on it... (I used to be a Toyota tech a while ago)
after a cold soak, the gas engine starts, but its very shaky, almost like a miss-fire. And at about 10-20mph when you go to accelerate lightly, to make the gas engine start, it starts vibrating again. but if you give it more gas, it smoothens out. Still sounds like a misfire to me...
But, there are no codes.
The dealer replaced all 4 injectors, performed a throttle body service, and an EFI Service, includes, fuel system cleaning, tank additive.
they told me the injectors for #1 and # 2 where not performing correctly and that they needed to be replaced. after opening a case with the infamous TAS (Toyota tech support)..
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After a cold soak, the gas engine starts, but its very shaky, almost like a miss-fire. And at about 10-20mph when you go to accelerate lightly, to make the gas engine start, it starts vibrating again. but if you give it more gas, it smooths out. Still sounds like a misfire to me...
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I found recently that my 04' Prius' engine easily goes higher rev than before (based on engine sound pitch). It happens mainly when cold start, go up hill. After warmed up and on flat road, it goes back to normal. Overall, still in great condition at 211K. MPG stays at 46 on meter when temp is around 45F with 50% highway drive at 100 miles/day. I suspect the serpentine belt slippery or something. What do you think? I think the belt is original. I bought it used at 104K.
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In tight corners exits off the freeway, usually speed limit is around 20 - 25, my steering wheel is to hard to turn just like there is NO power steering at all. Feeling the same when turning around my neighborhood. Mine is C4 just bought it last Sunday June 3rd: is it defective?
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I drove our 2007 Prius (79K miles) the other day and noticed a whirring or slight grating noise whenever I loaded up the left front wheel (by steering right) at speed. It's far from a hum or a howl at this point.
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Got my wheels balanced and an alignment and my car still shakes at highway speeds only on the seats and body ? I hear a grinding (wheel barring) sound once in a blue moon which is weird on my passenger front (American car ) wheel and a humming sound at the back only when i engine brake? Unfortunately i daily my r32 till i buy another car so this shake is really annoying and apparently my car is giving no symptoms of what it can be cause magically when i bring the car to the shop it doesn't grind so they think I am retarded and they say the shake can be an axle cv joint but they don't know which one so they said to start from one and go around and I am not down to spend 600$ for each, is there anyway i can figure out which is causing this or do u think it can be that wheel barring? The car does it in gear or in neutral so it definitely something around the wheels i have no engine lights or traction lights ( clean car ) !
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When I bought the Passat I told the dealer there was some "shaking" and they said they would take care of it. But so far they didn't and the problem seems to be intermittent but I can always feel the car shaking a bit. Sometime in the steering (un-balanced kind of thing) and sometime it's the whole body (since I can see my clothes shaking and feeling it in my back).
The problem seems to be worst when I released the gas pedal. But at any speed I can feel this "jumping" sensation which at lower speed it feels a bit worst. I can feel it more on new/even pavement.
Everytime I bring it in they check it but doesn't seem to show as much as when I drive it randomly.
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I filled up my car three day ago and ever since then its been shaking when I brake and when I speed up and pretty much any time the car is moving. Why its doing this I just had it in the shop two weeks ago for a full check up. What the issue could be?
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I have 2011 camry, which I drive at 30 to 40 mph some times its shaking. if I leave steering wheel it moving little left and right itself. (just little but going straight almost). what will be the problem is? current odometer 43K. no accident.
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