Avensis Steering Shaft Recall Failed

[marcus allen]

This is my first post on this forum. I have a 53 plate Avensis, which I think means Feb 2004. I bought it used in August 2005, with about 12k miles on the clock. My wife drives the car mostly, and we take very good care of it. It's gets all the regular services at the Toyota dealership (which are quite expensive in my opinion) but done nonetheless. The recalled steering shaft was replaced and fitted in July 2006. Now I have generally been pleased with the car until recently having an extremely scary experience. We first started to hear a loud click sound while turning in the afternoon last Friday, then after we got home, we decided to call a tow truck to take the car to the dealership as it did not seem safe to drive. Upon turning the car around in our driveway the steering on the car completely went!!!! The steering wheel just spins around, and the wheels don't move!!!! Thankfully for us, this did not happen on the road!!...I have a small child, and as you can imagine am extremely shaken by this....Keep in mind that the recalled steering shaft had already been replaced 1.5 years ago.!! This means that whatever recall was done on the 1,000,000 cars globally potentially did not fix the problem. (see attached article) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13046349/

The dealership was shocked to see the new steering shaft, which they put in, completely stripped inside.....They say this is the first time something like this has ever happened. I am very concerned. Now what am I to do...They've offered to replace the shaft and fix all other issues again, but that really does not make any sense to me, since this will happen again. Can you imagine if you lost the steering while on the motorway or at an intersection!! Needless to say, I will never feel safe in this car again...I am waiting to speak to the head office to find a solution. They should at the very least give me another Avensis or similiar which is not in the Recalled batch from 2003-2005....If they don't take responsiblity for putting our lives at risk, I will be forced to take this further. I am sure Toyota would not be too pleased if I spoke with the press..........I .Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Parts-King]

Toyota will be VERY concerned with your experience and will no doubt be looking for the dealer to send the parts back to them, they may even send an engineer to look at the car. I would suggest you contact them and ask that this happens. When they are in possesion of the full facts they will be able to make a judgement on where to go next. Hope you can sort it out to your satisfaction

Kingo

[marcus allen]

Toyota will be VERY concerned with your experience and will no doubt be looking for the dealer to send the parts back to them, they may even send an engineer to look at the car. I would suggest you contact them and ask that this happens. When they are in possesion of the full facts they will be able to make a judgement on where to go next. Hope you can sort it out to your satisfaction

Kingo

Thanks...The dealer has contacted the head office contact to try and resolve the situation. I have not had direct contact myself with the head office, but I assume I will have to at some point...They are supposed to be calling me back today, but I still have not spoken with them. I am not sure if the parts have actually been sent back to the main office either. I was told that pictures were taken of the shaft and sent to them however. I am waiting for a resolution from Toyota, which does not involve simply replacing the shaft again......

[qpwoeiruty999]

Hi! Hope you can sort it out.

I'm having also a problem with my 2004 Avensis for the last year. Steering seems not "exactly" under my command, and i occasionally get clicks (not very loud though) when steering returns to center, just after taking left turns(especially deep turns). I'm experiencing lots of bumpsteer, lack of center (constantly correcting direction), extreem following of road camber and much more. Generally i'm not feeling safe in that car also. Toyota tried to convince me that this is normal, after all 7-8 visits i made. We replaced wheels, had geometry 3 times, and the problem is still there!

I'd be glad if you can sort it out. Please keep us posted!

[marcus allen]

Hi! Hope you can sort it out.

I'm having also a problem with my 2004 Avensis for the last year. Steering seems not "exactly" under my command, and i occasionally get clicks (not very loud though) when steering returns to center, just after taking left turns(especially deep turns). I'm experiencing lots of bumpsteer, lack of center (constantly correcting direction), extreem following of road camber and much more. Generally i'm not feeling safe in that car also. Toyota tried to convince me that this is normal, after all 7-8 visits i made. We replaced wheels, had geometry 3 times, and the problem is still there!

I'd be glad if you can sort it out. Please keep us posted!

There is no way that is normal...I can't believe Toyota told you that. Was your steering shaft recalled? You need to go back to Toyota and find out. It sounds like it is one of the recalled ones, like mine. If I were you, I would not drive that car either, until it is sorted out. Steering control is no joke. You don't want find yourself on a highway going 70mph, when the road starts to bend, and the steering fails....Here is one of the many VOSA links regarding the recall:

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/s...025717F003D2705

Hope this helps...I am still waiting to hear from the Toyota head office......

[qpwoeiruty999]

Hi and thanks for your interest. Actually, my steering rack was replaced as a total, after 1 1/2 year i bought it, due to similar problem (noise was more apparent and car was unstable). Then, i had the recall of the shaft which i guess all had.

Now, the problem is slightly different, since noise appears only under certain conditions and it's different than the previous(i just get a slight click now as i described). I feel very tired on going to Toyota again, i avoid using the car on highways. I'm seeking for a specialist on steering problems, but i live in a small country and that's rare!

[Parts-King]

I am waiting for a resolution from Toyota, which does not involve simply replacing the shaft again......

What resolution are you waiting for? I think you should be making contact with Toyota rather than waiting for something to happen.

Kingo

[marcus allen]

I am waiting for a resolution from Toyota, which does not involve simply replacing the shaft again......

What resolution are you waiting for? I think you should be making contact with Toyota rather than waiting for something to happen.

Kingo

I have contacted Toyota. I call them everyday. I told them that I want another vehicle, which is not in this recalled basket. I don't expect a new car, although that should not be out of the question considering, our lives have been put at risk....If they don't give me the fair solution, I have told them that I will go to the press...

[Parts-King]

I have contacted Toyota. I call them everyday. I told them that I want another vehicle, which is not in this recalled basket. I don't expect a new car, although that should not be out of the question considering, our lives have been put at risk....If they don't give me the fair solution, I have told them that I will go to the press...

Sorry but a veiled threat of going to the press will not make anybody sit up. The press are not going to get you a new car.

You must put your worries in writing to Toyota and tell them what you want doing about it. They will then respond with a course of action. If it is not suitable, you can follow it up, with a legal letter if necessary. Make your concerns known in writing and wait until you have something back IN WRITING before going further

Kingo

[marcus allen]

I have contacted Toyota. I call them everyday. I told them that I want another vehicle, which is not in this recalled basket. I don't expect a new car, although that should not be out of the question considering, our lives have been put at risk....If they don't give me the fair solution, I have told them that I will go to the press...

Sorry but a veiled threat of going to the press will not make anybody sit up. The press are not going to get you a new car.

You must put your worries in writing to Toyota and tell them what you want doing about it. They will then respond with a course of action. If it is not suitable, you can follow it up, with a legal letter if necessary. Make your concerns known in writing and wait until you have something back IN WRITING before going further

Kingo

thanks Kingo....An "FTR" order has been place to recover the faulty parts, like you said. I am not really sure what FTR stands for though. My case has been escalated up to Jenny Shipley, who is the Regional Customr Relations Manager. Where would you send the letter or email? I guess she would be a good start.

[marcus allen]

Toyota will be VERY concerned with your experience and will no doubt be looking for the dealer to send the parts back to them, they may even send an engineer to look at the car. I would suggest you contact them and ask that this happens. When they are in possesion of the full facts they will be able to make a judgement on where to go next. Hope you can sort it out to your satisfaction

Kingo

I have sent an email to Toyota explaining our frustration, and have just spoke with Nellie Aroussy, at the Toyota head office. They are in fact, sending down an engineer, next week to inspect our vehicle. In the meantime, they are providing us with a courtesy car from Toyota rentals. This looks like this is going to take some time to sort out.

[Alberto Michelatti]

If this information could be useful, the 2006 recall steering shaft Toyota part number is "04005-72605".