Steering wheel noise

I'm throwing this recent 2015 experience into this 2013 pot in case anyone is doing "power steering" searches.)

Anybody else had the following experience with their Prius v?

At 46K miles my 2012 Prius v SUV recently developed a "knock" when moving the steering wheel. It's not a problem with the steering wheel itself; somewhere else in the system. The car handles & steers just fine as always.

Last week at 48K miles, I took it into my Toyota dealer.

Their first guess was the intermediate shaft might need to be replaced. However, when they actually checked out the problem (no $ charge), they determined the whole steering column needed to be replaced. Total cost $1,700 (!!; parts, labor, tax). I was in such shock at the dollars, I can't honestly say I even remember their description of the cause of the problem. Just that the cost is so high because the steering column includes an electric motor.

Two separate Service Advisors did assure me the repair was NOT safety related, so the decision to repair or not was simply a matter of my choice. It doesn't bother me $1,700 worth, so I continue to drive the car. Again, the car handles just fine without any issue other than an occasional "clunk" felt when turning the steering wheel.

(NOTE: They said they had an Avalon {year?} in that day for the same repair.)

 

If they say it's not a needed repair, and it doesn't bother you that much, I would just not do anything unless it gets worse. Save the $1,700!

 

Question: If you had purchased the extended warranty coverage from Toyota... would this have been covered?

/Jim

 

My 2012 Prius v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) developed the steering knock. It gradually got worse over the past 6 months. Decided to take a look and finally I fixed it by tightening one bolt. You need 1a 12 mm wrench and open the lower panned above the pedals held by two screws. I also applied some blue thread locker on the receiving end but was not comfortable to remove the bolt completely. Easy fix but very disappointing for a Toyota! Happy I saved some money, in NJ any dealership will have probably replaced the steering column.

 

Steering column U-joint bolt?