NHTSA Complaint #11193497 — 2013 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER

I HAVE HEARD A KNOCKING NOISE WHEN TURNING MY VEHICLE EITHER WAYFOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. WHILE IN FOR REGULAR SERVICE TODAY, I ASKED DEALER TO CHECK THE NOISE. THIS IS A 2013 WITH 60K MILES ON IT; PURCHASED CERTIFIED USED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. SERVICE TECH TELLS ME IT IS RELATED TO THE STEERING COLUMN, WHICH WILL COST OVER $2000 TO REPAIR. HE CAN'T/ WON'T TELL ME THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS ISSUE, SAYING MAYBE IT IS "JUST A NOISE". WHEN I QUESTION THAT THIS SEEMS LIKE AN UNUSUALLY EXPENSIVE REPAIR AT 60K MILES, HE DOES NOT REALLY RESPOND. A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH REVEALS THAT THIS IS AN EXTENSIVE ISSUE IMPACTING MANY 2008-2013 HIGHLANDERS. TOYOTA HAS GONE SO FAR AS TO HAVE PUT OUT A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN REGARDING THIS ISSUE. IT ALSO APPEARS THIS ISSUE IS BEING "INVESTIGATED" BY SAFETY BOARD. STEERING IS A CRITICAL SAFETY COMPONENT OF A VEHICLE (OBVIOUSLY). NOT ONLY HAS THIS NOT BEEN MADE AN OFFICIAL RECALL BY TOYOTA, I WAS NOT INFORMED AT TIME OF PURCHASING THIS CERTIFIED VEHICLE OF THIS ISSUE, NOR WAS I TOLD TODAY BY SERVICE THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING ISSUE.