NHTSA Complaint #10220823 — 2003 TOYOTA PRIUS

I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK ON A FRIDAY EVENING, TURNED RIGHT, AND THE STEERING WHEEL LOCKED. I SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES TO AVOID HITTING A PARKED TRUCK, AND SPENT THE NEXT SEVERAL MINUTES TRYING TO REGAIN STEERING CONTROL. THE NEXT DAY I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO MY LOCAL DEALERSHIP, AND WAS TOLD THE ELECTRONIC STEERING RACK HAD FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, AT A COST OF APPROXIMATELY $2000 (AS THE STEERING SYSTEM WARRANTY ONLY EXTENDS TO 3 MONTHS OR 36,000 MILES.) MY CAR HAS JUST OVER 69,000 MILES ON IT. I HAVE ADHERED TO THE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE, AND ALWAYS BRING IT TO THE DEALER. THERE IS NOTHING I COULD HAVE DONE TO PREVENT THIS FAILURE, AND I AM SHOCKED THAT THERE WERE NO WARNINGS OR REDUNDANCIES IN PLACE TO DETECT THE FAILURE OF SUCH A CRITICAL SYSTEM. I LIVE IN LOS ANGELES, AND IF I HAD BEEN ON A FREEWAY OR CANYON ROAD WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED, I WOULD LIKELY HAVE BEEN KILLED. THERE HAVE BEEN TWO ISSUES RELATING TO THE PRIUS STEERING SYSTEM (RECALL #18732/NHTSA # 00V285000 AND TSB # 0403/NHTSA # 10008428), BUT I WAS TOLD THAT NEITHER OF THESE APPLIED TO MY VEHICLE. I PICKED UP MY CAR TODAY AND WAS TOLD THE WORK IS COVERED BY A 1 YEAR, UNLIMITED MILEAGE WARRANTY. I FIND IT UNACCEPTABLE THAT TOYOTA PROVIDES SUCH A SHORT WARRANTY ON SUCH A CRITICAL PIECE OF EQUIPMENT. IF THIS PART EVER FAILS AGAIN, I AM EXTREMELY LIKELY TO BE HURT OR KILLED. I AM HAPPY TO HAVE MY CAR BACK, BUT AM PRETTY TERRIFIED TO DRIVE IT, OR ANY TOYOTA, AGAIN. I UNDERSTAND THAT CARS DON?T LAST FOREVER, AND I AM GENERALLY VERY HAPPY WITH HOW MY PRIUS HAS HELD UP. HOWEVER, I ALSO THINK THE MANUFACTURER HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO DO EVERYTHING IT CAN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ITS CUSTOMERS. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT SYSTEMS ARE IN PLACE TO PREVENT THIS PART FROM FAILING AGAIN, WHAT TOYOTA WILL DO IF IT DOES FAIL AGAIN, AND WHAT TOYOTA HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE FAILURE AND INCREDIBLY HIGH PRICE TAG OF A SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN RECALLED IN OTHER MODELS, AND COULD HAVE COST ME MY LIFE. *TR