Steering column issues?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Terry H Randall, Aug 14, 2025 at 8:56 PM.

  1. Terry H Randall

    Terry H Randall Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 23, 2021
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    Location:
    The Woodlands, Texas
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    I recently had to trade in my 2013 Prius 4, at 177,000 miles because of a blown head gasket as well as needing 2 rear wheel bearings...
    dealership quoted $7000 in repairs...to start. I found a 2015 Prius 5 with 60,000 at another dealership the following weekend, and traded in the old for the newer model....3 months ago I had to replace part of the steering wheel shaft on my 2013 Prius. On this 2015 Prius 3 weeks after purchase, I started hearing a similar clunking sound down my the brake pedal...the service department at the dealership said the steering column is starting to fail on this one as well, at a cost of $4300.... the 2015 steering wheel doesn't have any slop or play... like my 2013 Prius did. Currently there's 66,000 miles on my new car. Thoughts? I checked for any tsb's or recalls on the Toyota website.
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2013
    16,713
    8,541
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    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Did you get a 1 month warranty on the car? Your 2013 probably had a intermediate shaft replacement. If your 2015 doesn't have any play or slop, it might just be a suspension related problem. Clunking noises can come from worn endlinks or worn bushings on lower control arms.

    Did you run a carfax to make sure the mileage on the 2015 is original mileage?