Rattle clunk from front end

Over the last few months I've noticed a clunking/rattling in the front end somewhere -- probably started at around 60,000 miles. Maybe the "warranty expired" bit got set in the MFD or something. Anyway, I've considered T-SB-0300-08, but it can range from a clunk-noise to a metallic clank-noise, and is often felt on smallish bumps. Sometimes I can feel a knock in the steering wheel, especially at very low speeds. I get the distinct feeling that the front wheels might be wobbling a bit as things clunk going over small bumps. Predominately a left-side thing, but not exclusively.

The steering shaft Special Service Campaign "60C" was done years ago, and at the 65000 mile service the dealer couldn't find anything, but it's a fairly subtle thing, and is definitely getting worse. I'm attracted to the front struts idea, but not attracted by the price. Is this something a moderately handy guy could do myself? One PriusChatter said his local Shell station did it, which is encouraging. Anybody know a good mail-order parts place offhand? A recommended supplier list might be a good sticky.

 

Wow. Great in and of itself, with some good leads as well. I found Evan's thread earlier, still trying to figure out why I didn't see yours. Thanks...

Mike

 

Thanks for the tips. Whatever it is, my clunk is getting worse. I wondered about how to confirm the struts were the problem, and the necessity to dsassemble the car to get at these things. Looking forward to hearing how your trip to the dealer went, especially the cost. I've got the wrench and the air, so I'll see if I can squeeze it in there.

Mike

 

Nope, not fixed yet, but the dealer claims that a) it's the motor mount TSB, b) it's a $400 fix, and c) it can be ignored, so I'm going to ignore it for now. I'm not completely happy with this diagnosis, or the front struts idea, because of the hard-knock feel in the steering wheel when it happens. It's not getting any worse, for whatever that's worth. Haven't tried lightly applying brakes, but I'll head over to my favorite diagnostic test area (a rough RR crossing) and give it a shot next week.

 

I'm still convinced (sorta-kinda) that it's in the steering somewhere, because of the pronounced hard, metal-to-metal feeling "clunk" or "clatter" that can be clearly felt in the steering wheel. The steering TSB was done early in its life, and the dealer has twice failed to find any other possible cause other than the engine mount TSB. For that matter, the dealer has never been able to reproduce the problem by driving around his parking lot, and shows no interest in driving to a RR crossing a couple of miles away where the problem is very pronounced. Time to try another dealer, methinks, or a small independent who I have a lot of confidence in.

 

Finally resolved, maybe. I'm sitting in the Courtesy Toyota (Orlando) waiting room (best I've ever been in in dealer), waiting. They claim that even though the struts themselves are fine, the rubber bushings holding the upper end of the strut into the frame are hardened, wallowed out, and misshapen, allowing the strut to wallow around and make all kinds of noises. They also said the tires are starting to cup a little, and it may have an affect on the steering as well. They say that I could change just the bushings, but the major cost is in the labor, and since you've got to remove the struts to replace the bushings, well.... A little over $650 to change them both ($$), which they recommend and I guess makes sense. That requires alignment, of course ($), and as long as it's up in the air, they'd love to service the rear brakes ($).

I'll let you know how it works out after I get home. There's one short stretch of road which can reliably produce the problem on the way home. (Fingers crossed.)

I've spent far too much money here this month: New Prius v for my wife, first major service on my '05 (96,000 miles); hope I'm done for a while.

 

I think that did the job. I have one more test road to try, but the trip home from the dealer was promising. I requested all the old parts when I signed the service order, but of course they ignored that, as most dealers do in my experience. But I pressed the issue and they went back into the shop and produced a set of old struts for me that, as expected, looked fine, although they were pretty soft. I asked where the bushings were, and he said, "Oh, you wouldn't wnt those -- they disintegrated when we took them out." Why don't they get it? But, I'm pretty sure it's fixed and all in all I"m pretty happy with the "service experience."

 

That definitely fixed the major clunking problem, There's still some minor clunking and steering clattering going on, but they said, "Oh, that's just the intermediate steering shaft." So I guess I just wait until it fails altogether? Seems to be a common problem that no one is terribly concerned about.

 

My records show that Service Campaign 60C - Intermediate Steering Shaft - was done at 14,535 miles on 6/27/06. I didn't have any symptoms at that time, but I do now... I wonder if Toyota would like to do this again under the SC coverage?

 

After lunch, I had a chance to drive over the Bumpy Railroad Crossing from Hell, and I've still got a LOT of rattling coming from down there. The "clunk" part is truly gone, though, so I don't think replacing the struts was a waste. Now I've got to have a discussion with the Toyota folks to decide between T-SB-0300-08 (Engine Mount Assembly), or SSC 60C (Intermediate Steering Shaft), or both.

 

I don't think so, but others who have taken their own struts out may know better. I'm not even sure what "bushing" (my term) they were talking about when they said it just crumbled, but I'm thinking it might have been in the "Front Suspension Support Sub-assy" in the illustration. I'm hoping one of the guys who knows better will comment.