2013 Toyota Prius Steering Problems

The contact owns a 2013 Toyota Prius. The contact stated that after several days of torrential rainfall, the contact noticed there was water in the tire and 12-volt battery compartment. After having a routine oil change at an independent mechanic, while the contact was driving, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The power steering warning light illuminated after the failure. The driver was able to restart the vehicle and pull over to the side of the road. The contact called Roadside Assistance and was informed that there was a code for the hybrid battery system that needed to be checked. The contact noticed that water might have entered through the rear passenger’s side brake light. The contact removed the water with a sump pump. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who was unable to assist. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 119,000.

NHTSA ID

11581365

Incident

Apr 4, 2024

Mileage

119,000 mi

STEERING VIBRATES WHEN DRIVING ON SMOOTH ROAD BUT RATTLES LOUDLY ON SMALL BUMPS. TOYOTA INITIALLY SAID THERE WAS NO PROBLEM AND THAT IT WAS NORMAL. I THOUGHT IT WAS SUSPENSION BUT THE SUSPENSION IS STILL GOOD. ALL THE TIRES ARE GOOD. CONTROL ARMS AND ANYTHING VISIBLE IS GOOD. WHEN ELEVATED THE STEERING MAKES A BUT BUT NOISE WHEN TURNED.

NHTSA ID

11374543

Incident

Feb 7, 2015

MY TOYOTA PRIUS WAS INVOLVED IN A HIT RUN ACCIDENT. YARK COLLISION COMPLETED WORK ON VEHICLE. WHEN PICKING UP CAR FROM YARK MY CAR WOULD NOT START SPOKE WITH ONE OF THE MECHANIC HE SAID MY BATTERY DIED AND I EXPLAINED TO THEM I HAD NO ISSUES ,PRIOR TO BRINGING MY CAR TO YARK I HAD JUST HAD DIAGNOSTIC TEST DONE AT TOYOTA. VEHICLE SAT AT MY RESIDENCE OVER NIGHT AND VEHICLE HAD DIED AGAIN. I CONTACTED YARK TOLD THEM I WAS BRINGING BATTERY IN FOR THEM TO CHARGE BECAUSE I WAS NOT SURE AS TO WHAT WAS GOING ON SINCE WE HAD ALREADY REPLACED BATTERY. VEHICLE ALSO HAD MY SKID PLATE IN TRUNK PRIOR TO DROP OFF AND NOW I AM HAVING ELECTRICAL ISSUES MY HORN NOW DOES NOT WORK AND I HAVE CHILDREN .I DID NOT RECEIVE MY CAR UNTIL 1 MONTH AND HALF DUE TO INSURANCE NOT GETTING BACK TO US . VEHICLE HAS BEEN NON DRIVABLE SINCE PICK UP.

NHTSA ID

11374173

Incident

Aug 24, 2020

Mileage

133,425 mi

TOYOTA DEALERSHIP REFUSED ON RECALL BASED ON DEFECTED STEERING SHAFT WHICH WAS BOUGHT BY ME AND FIXED BY MECHANIC. IT WAS CRITICAL ISSUE AND RECALL IN OTHER MODELS AS WELL. ALSO, TOYOTA DOES NOT FIX DEFECTIVE PISTON RINGS BASED ON EXCESSIVE OIL CONSUMPTION -HTTPS://ATTACHMENTS.PRIUSCHAT.COM/ATTACHMENT-FILES/2019/04/165269_T-SB-0169-16.PDF. PLEASE HELP ME AT LEAST RECOVER SOME MONEY FOR THE PART AND FINALLY LET THEM BE RESPONSIBLE FOR BURNED OIL IN ENGINE!

NHTSA ID

11271498

Incident

May 29, 2019

Mileage

77,000 mi

IN HEAVY RAINS BREAKING DOES NOT WORK WELL. EVEN AT 10 MPH IF YOU HIT A PUDDLE OF WATER. CAN CAUSE A CRASH. IT HAS HAPPENED ON A DIRT ROAD GOING AT LOW SPEED. BACK ROAD WHERE WATER RISES AND IN SOME HEAVY RAIN ON THE HIGHWAY

NHTSA ID

10871323

Incident

May 11, 2016

Mileage

20,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 55~60MPH, AND SUDDENLY THE POWER STEERING TROUBLE LIGHT INDICATOR CAME ON. I NOTICED THE STEERING WHEEL WAS A BIT HARDER TO TURN( LEFT OR RIGHT). I SLOWED DOWN AND TOOK THE FIRST EXIT, REDUCING SPEED TO 30~35MPH. AT THE STOP SIGN, ALL INDICATORS LIGHT CAME ON AND I COULDN'T TURN THE STEERING WHEEL (LEFT OR RIGHT). I WAS ABLE TO ACCELERATE OUT OF THE STOP SIGN, BUT THEN I FELT A "THUGH" IN THE ENGINE, AND NOTICE I DIDN'T HAVE ANY BRAKING POWER FOR A FEW SECOND. SO I PULLED OVER, I TURNED THE CAR OFF, AND TURNED ON AGAIN, I IMMEDIATELY DROVE INTO A PARKING LOT AFTER THE STOP SIGN, THE CAR JUST DIED; I COULDN'T BRAKE, NO STEERING, NO GAS POWER, NOTHING. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP. THIS WAS THE 2ND INCIDENCE WITHIN 3 WEEKS. THE FIRST TIME THIS OCCURRED WITH SIMILAR SEQUENCE OF FAILURE. THE CAR WAS TOWED TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE AUXILIARY BATTERY DIED, AND REPLACED IT FREE OF CHARGE ( CAR WAS 24,250 MILES AT THAT TIME). THIS SECOND TIME, I HOPE TOYOTA CAN FIND THE ROOT CAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. I DON'T THINK THE NEW AUXILIARY BATTERY DIED AGAIN. IT'S ONLY BEEN 3 WEEKS SINCE TOYOTA INSTALLED THE BATTERY. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY RISK. I'M AFRAID TO DRIVE MY CAR NOW. I THINK I WILL NEED TO SELL THE CAR. *TR

NHTSA ID

10633254

Incident

Aug 27, 2014

Mileage

24,250 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 TOYOTA PRIUS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE STEERING WHEEL PULLED TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS. THE CONTACT HAD TO USE EXCESSIVE FORCE TO STEER THE VEHICLE IN ITS APPROPRIATE LANE. IN ADDITION, THE DOOR LOCKS ACTIVATED INDEPENDENTLY AND FAILED TO UNLOCK OCCASIONALLY WITH THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL. THE DEALER ATTEMPTED TO CORRECT THE STEERING WHEEL FAILURE BY PERFORMING AN ALIGNMENT, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE DOOR LOCK FAILURE WAS NOT CORRECTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50. UPDATED 10/24/2014*LJ UPDATED 4/20/2015 *JS

NHTSA ID

10632791

Incident

Mar 1, 2014

Mileage

50 mi

I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH. THE STEERING BEGAN TO VEER BACK AND FORTH. I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE DUE TO AN UNEVEN ROAD. I SWITCHED LANES AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. IT BECAME VERY APPARENT THAT IT WAS NOT DUE TO AN UNEVEN ROAD. AS I BEGAN TO APPLY THE BRAKES DUE TO A TRAFFIC JAM, THE BRAKES WERE WEAK AND HAD TO EVENTUALLY SLAM ON THE BRAKES TO STOP ON TIME. I HAVE TO BEGIN APPLYING THE BRAKES AT ABOUT 50 YDS FROM A STOP SIGN TRAVELING AT 45 MPH IN ORDER TO STOP ON TIME. *TR

NHTSA ID

10564010

Incident

Feb 10, 2014

Mileage

1,200 mi