NHTSA Complaint #10558427 — 2005 TOYOTA CAMRY

A CONSISTENT GRINDING/KNOCKING/CLUNKING SOUND STARTED COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL WHILE STEERING AT LOW SPEEDS (0-30 MPH). ALSO, THE STEERING WHEEL FELT LOOSER THAN NORMAL AT ALL SPEEDS (0-65MPH). THE SERVICE ADVISER AT THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME THAT THIS WAS A COMMON ISSUE WITH A 2005 TOYOTA CAMRY, AND THAT THE INTERMEDIATE STEERING SHAFT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. HOWEVER, SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, I HAD TO COVER THE ~$660 COST. A GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALS SEVERAL SIMILAR ISSUES WITH OTHER LATE MODEL CAMRYS. TOYOTA HAS A TSB T-SB-0296-08 TO "GREASE" THE STEERING SHAFT FOR THE NOISE. HOWEVER, BOTH THE DEALERSHIP, AS WELL AS A GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALED THAT THE GREASE FIX WOULD BE TEMPORARY, AND DOES NOT LAST. THE DEALERSHIP ALSO INFORMED ME THAT THE NEWER REPLACEMENT STEERING SHAFTS ARE BETTER DESIGNED, ARE COMPLETELY SEALED, AND CANNOT BE GREASED. SINCE A TSB IS OUT, IT LOOKS LIKE TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THIS SAFETY ISSUE. HOWEVER, NO RECALL HAS BEEN MADE. *TR