We are considering getting rid of one of our Priuses for a mini S. There are a few problems with our prius that need some attention..which is why we are pretty much just gonna unload it and get a mini. however we have a question about a noise that you can hear from the steering area when going up our driveway for example, or going around a turn out of a drive way. its a cracking/creaking noise that sounds nothing but unpleasant. turns out the guy who we are looking at the mini from knows some about these priuses and hondas etc. and he was saying that priuses have an electronic steering component (rack I think he said...?) whereas minis, hondas, etc. are not electronic. he said this elderly lady had the same problem with her prius and steering creaking noises down the road from him and they had to pay almost $3,000 for the new electronic steering rack. perhaps Patrick Wong knows what this is lol, he's helped on a lot. anyone know what this is? thanks for replies
This sounds like a problem in the power steering column. It has an integrated 12v motor. This part is expensive and so is the labor, so yeah, if this is the problem, $3,000 is not out of the question at the dealer. Seems like you could remove the EPS fuse (in the engine compartment fuse box) and see if the problem goes away, but it may throw a trouble code.
In my case the periodic "Clunk" in the steering was fixed by replacing the upper steering column sub-assembly. $90 to diagnose and $800 to repair. My 2004 Prius had 180,000 miles when the problem surfaced. JeffD
On some years there was a recall from Toyota on a steering component that could cause play or creaking noises. This might be a safety issue, and it may be fixed free by the dealer.
