Aurion intermediate shaft spline

[CONROD]

- And what appears to be the infamous 'clunk'.

...

They have told me that the problem was a loose engine mount - I think not - nothing has changed since they torqued that up.

UPDATE: They have (after four visits), replaced the intermediate shaft and presto - problem gone!

Cheers,

SkyHigh.

:o

Hi All, after reading about all these steering issues which seem to be quite common,I started to notice a slight thud noise coming from the LH side whilst going over slight irregularities in our street, so I got the wife to rock the steering wheel back and forth quickly with the engine off and stuff me drunk the LH steering rack end (rod coming out of the convaluted boot) is knocking like a bitch.So I rang the service department this arvo and asked them whats this issue I hear regarding Aurions steering and he replied, Oh you mean the knock involving the intermediate shaft,(so dont let them fool you into believing the problem does not exist)I said well mines got it and when I told him our ZR6 is only 6 mths old and we bought from his dealership he said that it should already have the updated shaft.Anyway he wants to have a listen to it, check to make sure it is it ,order in whats needed.

But to be honest to me it only sounds like the steering rack rod wants tightening up or if they are like other rack and pinions a nylon bush replaced at the joint nipped up to the correct torque.

Can any one of you who have had this knoking noise help pin point whether it is the intermediate shaft or the rack rod making the noise in our MY10 ZR6.BY the way the cars only got 16000 ks on it

never hit a pot hole

Read replies 23 & 24 in this thread.

Took the car into toyota yesterday and the service manager came out and inspected the knocking in the steering and informed us after checking toyota released bullitins that our car due to its manufacturing date already has the updated shaft in it and he will order in a new rack.I assumed it was only the L.H side knocking but when he got me to turn the wheels all the way to the right and rock the steering wheel back and forth, the knock is worse than the L.H side. AS I stated to him the car tracks beautifull on the road,no pulling left or right,

any way I will keep you all informed of the outcome,as it might help some of you out with similar problem

[Silver-Aurion]

- And what appears to be the infamous 'clunk'.

...

They have told me that the problem was a loose engine mount - I think not - nothing has changed since they torqued that up.

UPDATE: They have (after four visits), replaced the intermediate shaft and presto - problem gone!

Cheers,

SkyHigh.

:o

Hi All, after reading about all these steering issues which seem to be quite common,I started to notice a slight thud noise coming from the LH side whilst going over slight irregularities in our street, so I got the wife to rock the steering wheel back and forth quickly with the engine off and stuff me drunk the LH steering rack end (rod coming out of the convaluted boot) is knocking like a bitch.So I rang the service department this arvo and asked them whats this issue I hear regarding Aurions steering and he replied, Oh you mean the knock involving the intermediate shaft,(so dont let them fool you into believing the problem does not exist)I said well mines got it and when I told him our ZR6 is only 6 mths old and we bought from his dealership he said that it should already have the updated shaft.Anyway he wants to have a listen to it, check to make sure it is it ,order in whats needed.

But to be honest to me it only sounds like the steering rack rod wants tightening up or if they are like other rack and pinions a nylon bush replaced at the joint nipped up to the correct torque.

Can any one of you who have had this knoking noise help pin point whether it is the intermediate shaft or the rack rod making the noise in our MY10 ZR6.BY the way the cars only got 16000 ks on it

never hit a pot hole

Read replies 23 & 24 in this thread.

Took the car into toyota yesterday and the service manager came out and inspected the knocking in the steering and informed us after checking toyota released bullitins that our car due to its manufacturing date already has the updated shaft in it and he will order in a new rack.I assumed it was only the L.H side knocking but when he got me to turn the wheels all the way to the right and rock the steering wheel back and forth, the knock is worse than the L.H side. AS I stated to him the car tracks beautifull on the road,no pulling left or right,

any way I will keep you all informed of the outcome,as it might help some of you out with similar problem

Interesting, I think I will try that full lock to the right and wobble steering.

Good luck with everything.

[Alonso]

hi there,

I have the exact same problem i.e knock after moving off and slight wobbles.

I told my dad about it before the next service was due, so then he went to toyota explaining it all and they told him it was simply the noise of the abs checking....

however reading this thread, i was defs that it was the shaft spline problem..i insisted dad to return but he wouldn't, saying "what you want toyota to make a car exactly for you", so i replied "well the hilux has abs too why doesn't it make that noise too" bam!!!

Being only 17 yrs old i expected toyota to not take me seriously, though going in with a "not going to loose attitude" i came on top.

In 4-5 weeks the parts coming from japan to repair the problem will arrive.... fingers crossed it works out.

Edited April 11, 2010 by J.ALonso

[mc223_2]

Ok, i have the same problems with the clunking coming from the LH front wheel when rolling slowly and applying the brakes....

What would be a good phrase to say to the toyota team when i call them?... as in, its there a technical part i should ask to be replaced etc....?

You assistance appreciated.

Just tell them there's a knock, from the steering area. Mention the intermediate shaft. Await the response.

Yep had my service done, and asked for the noise to be looked at... i have reported the noise for the last 4 service intervals (i get them done each 7500km)

Toyota response, "There is a small amount of play in your left hand rack, its nothing to worry about"

Hmm.. The noise is still there, and i cant say that im in an way happy..?

My Aurion is a 2006 Sportivo sx6, and such is out of warranty.

Any thoughts for aftermarket assistance... suspension company? or steering company?

Thanks

[boxerboy]

Ok, i have the same problems with the clunking coming from the LH front wheel when rolling slowly and applying the brakes....

What would be a good phrase to say to the toyota team when i call them?... as in, its there a technical part i should ask to be replaced etc....?

You assistance appreciated.

Just tell them there's a knock, from the steering area. Mention the intermediate shaft. Await the response.

Yep had my service done, and asked for the noise to be looked at... i have reported the noise for the last 4 service intervals (i get them done each 7500km)

Toyota response, "There is a small amount of play in your left hand rack, its nothing to worry about"

Hmm.. The noise is still there, and i cant say that im in an way happy..?

My Aurion is a 2006 Sportivo sx6, and such is out of warranty.

Any thoughts for aftermarket assistance... suspension company? or steering company?

Thanks

When did you first report it? It's obviously a known issue and despite the out of warranty situation if you can show you reported the problem when it was still in warranty then maybe they have a case to answer?

[budgoi]

If you have reported it for the last 4 services then there are 3 observations I can make:

1. Your concern regarding the noise will be on file and evidence of this will be easy to obtain from your service provider.

2. 4 servioes ago for a 2006 Sportivo must have meant your car was still under warranty, based on an average timefrrame between services.

3. No knock, however small or large, is something that any consumer pays for and must not be tolerated or accepted, no matter what the monkey at tthe service desk tells you.

Put the 3 of these together and you have a case for rectification at no cost.

Don't deal with monkeys, deal with the organ grinders. Go directly to the servioe manager and explain what the issue is and how you want it resolved, be firm and don;t ack down from what you want.

If the service manager is a bloody minded fool and sticks to his/her guns, go directly to the dealer principal and do the same again, this time advising him/her that your hard earned dollars will not be spent at his dealership next time due to this incident.

I bet you get want you want (if they value your current and future business)

Good Luck

Edited April 15, 2010 by budgoi

[httttt]

My spline is now on order.

I went into my local Toyota Service Department at 10am after the initial buzz of car drop offs and told a friendly staff member about my problem, he then organised another friendly chap to go for a drive with me. We drove for 5 minutes without any issues then while parking it happened.

The driver was reluctant to do anything about it as he said we should wait and see if it gets worse. I asked if the problem could be documented so if I come back it is noted I complained within warranty and I informed him that my warranty was running out in 2 months and I would rather not (which is incorrect as I have extended warranty). All the driver said to the service dude was "spline" then walked off and now one is on order for me.

TOOO EASY!

This was the first time I had complained about it.

FYI on letting drivers drive your car. They don't care about your car! Inform them if it is lowered!!!! Most of his test consisted of him driving fastish over speed humps even after I told him it was only noticable when going slow and at least half lock turn.

[good day]

I went to report the steering knock issue on Fri 03/04/10. One of their senior mechanics went for a test drive together with me and said it is not too bad but ended up writing a note and gave it to one of the service advisors (he wrote shaft spline). The shaft spline was replaced 10 days later and as expected the steering knock is now gone.

The service advisor asks me to book another appointment to have the oil line replaced as they don't have the parts in stock

[Silver-Aurion]

That is really weird how you guys had a bit of trouble getting them to move there ***** so they do something about it.

This is how mine went.

I pop by the dealer to get few things looked at. Then I remember about the knocking sound and said: "There is a knocking sound coming from the steering, can you fix it". Guy straight away said yeah its the shaft. Came back in the afternoon with the guy saying the new parts on its way.

So far I haven't really had any issues with them being hesitant to fix something.

I even got my rocker cover and gasket replaced without any hesitation from them. And those parts are damn expensive, at least thousands of dollars of expense for free.

Edited April 20, 2010 by unique

[TheMirror]

I didn't have any "knocking" as such, but there was a humm noise at low speeds, and a grinding noise upon turning sharply on a cold start. Sent it to Toyota to inspect. They found the A/T steering fluid had leaked, and replaced the whole steering rack. Also replaced the VVT-i hose and re-aligned the wheels. Was under warranty so free, but they said approx. $2000 normally..all done within 2 nights :) Car has done 43 000km. Quite happy

[httttt]

Sorry if this is already stated........ but.....

What exactly do they have to take off the car to fix this?

Are they going to take my front wheels off? Are they going to pull apart the dash?

[DJKOR]

^ If it's just the intermediate shaft, they can access it from under the dash by removing the drivers side door sill, the kick panel, and the trim underneath the steering wheel.

[dennis r.]

I had mine replaced under warranty. It lists as a $400+ job otherwise.

Symptoms: very slight knock noticed at very low speeds, when moving off, or turning slowly.

The fellow at the parts/service counter said it was due to the manufacturing process, the splines weren't right when made.

First I've heard of it.

My Aurion started this knocking noise at 42.000 kilometres, it was mainly when parking or when starting to move from stop. It felt like the there was a lot of free play in the steering. It took Toyota about 4 weeks to aquire the Interemdiate shaft and two hours to fit it. I cant notice any difference in the steering sensitivity but the noise is gone.I was assured by Toyota that the car was safe while waiting for the part to arrive.

[CONROD]

- And what appears to be the infamous 'clunk'.

...

They have told me that the problem was a loose engine mount - I think not - nothing has changed since they torqued that up.

UPDATE: They have (after four visits), replaced the intermediate shaft and presto - problem gone!

Cheers,

SkyHigh.

:o

Hi All, after reading about all these steering issues which seem to be quite common,I started to notice a slight thud noise coming from the LH side whilst going over slight irregularities in our street, so I got the wife to rock the steering wheel back and forth quickly with the engine off and stuff me drunk the LH steering rack end (rod coming out of the convaluted boot) is knocking like a bitch.So I rang the service department this arvo and asked them whats this issue I hear regarding Aurions steering and he replied, Oh you mean the knock involving the intermediate shaft,(so dont let them fool you into believing the problem does not exist)I said well mines got it and when I told him our ZR6 is only 6 mths old and we bought from his dealership he said that it should already have the updated shaft.Anyway he wants to have a listen to it, check to make sure it is it ,order in whats needed.

But to be honest to me it only sounds like the steering rack rod wants tightening up or if they are like other rack and pinions a nylon bush replaced at the joint nipped up to the correct torque.

Can any one of you who have had this knoking noise help pin point whether it is the intermediate shaft or the rack rod making the noise in our MY10 ZR6.BY the way the cars only got 16000 ks on it

never hit a pot hole

Read replies 23 & 24 in this thread.

Took the car into toyota yesterday and the service manager came out and inspected the knocking in the steering and informed us after checking toyota released bullitins that our car due to its manufacturing date already has the updated shaft in it and he will order in a new rack.I assumed it was only the L.H side knocking but when he got me to turn the wheels all the way to the right and rock the steering wheel back and forth, the knock is worse than the L.H side. AS I stated to him the car tracks beautifull on the road,no pulling left or right,

any way I will keep you all informed of the outcome,as it might help some of you out with similar problem

Interesting, I think I will try that full lock to the right and wobble steering.

Good luck with everything.

Hi all,well its been around 3 weeks now and this arvo we finally got the phone call we were waiting on to inform us our steering rack has been deemed as faulty and a new one approved by toyota to be fitted.Cant believe how long it took to get the nod from some Big Wig to release the new steering rack for warrany reasons,now all we need to do is make a booking to have it installed,around 4 hours they reckon, in other words we will be there all day;;;;

I will keep you posted of the outcome,

Hoo Roo

[CONROD]

- And what appears to be the infamous 'clunk'.

...

They have told me that the problem was a loose engine mount - I think not - nothing has changed since they torqued that up.

UPDATE: They have (after four visits), replaced the intermediate shaft and presto - problem gone!

Cheers,

SkyHigh.

:o

Hi All, after reading about all these steering issues which seem to be quite common,I started to notice a slight thud noise coming from the LH side whilst going over slight irregularities in our street, so I got the wife to rock the steering wheel back and forth quickly with the engine off and stuff me drunk the LH steering rack end (rod coming out of the convaluted boot) is knocking like a bitch.So I rang the service department this arvo and asked them whats this issue I hear regarding Aurions steering and he replied, Oh you mean the knock involving the intermediate shaft,(so dont let them fool you into believing the problem does not exist)I said well mines got it and when I told him our ZR6 is only 6 mths old and we bought from his dealership he said that it should already have the updated shaft.Anyway he wants to have a listen to it, check to make sure it is it ,order in whats needed.

But to be honest to me it only sounds like the steering rack rod wants tightening up or if they are like other rack and pinions a nylon bush replaced at the joint nipped up to the correct torque.

Can any one of you who have had this knoking noise help pin point whether it is the intermediate shaft or the rack rod making the noise in our MY10 ZR6.BY the way the cars only got 16000 ks on it

never hit a pot hole

Read replies 23 & 24 in this thread.

Took the car into toyota yesterday and the service manager came out and inspected the knocking in the steering and informed us after checking toyota released bullitins that our car due to its manufacturing date already has the updated shaft in it and he will order in a new rack.I assumed it was only the L.H side knocking but when he got me to turn the wheels all the way to the right and rock the steering wheel back and forth, the knock is worse than the L.H side. AS I stated to him the car tracks beautifull on the road,no pulling left or right,

any way I will keep you all informed of the outcome,as it might help some of you out with similar problem

Interesting, I think I will try that full lock to the right and wobble steering.

Good luck with everything.

Hi all,well its been around 3 weeks now and this arvo we finally got the phone call we were waiting on to inform us our steering rack has been deemed as faulty and a new one approved by toyota to be fitted.Cant believe how long it took to get the nod from some Big Wig to release the new steering rack for warrany reasons,now all we need to do is make a booking to have it installed,around 4 hours they reckon, in other words we will be there all day;;;;

I will keep you posted of the outcome,

Hoo Roo

Well the new rack and pinion steering assembly was installed today,and as they said it did take 4 hrs so somehow I dont think I was the first to have it done,nor will I be the last,plus it took 1/2 hr for the wheel alignment to be done(only the toe in-toe out needed doing as per computer printout Not done at Toyota by the way,I drove it just up the road to a steering/suspension specialist.All covered under warranty inc Alignment. All seems good the slight knocking noise when you drove over bumps on the road have all disappeared and the car still tracks straight as a dye.

While I was waiting they had a Camry in for the intermediate shaft replacement.Sorry fellas I meant to ask what the new rack was worth

[budgoi]

Has anyone had any issues after getting the new shaft spline installed.

When the car is stationary and I turn my steering wheel (most of the time to full lock either way) there is an almighty grinding sound like the steering is going to sieze. It doesn't happen all the time, but it does definitely happen and it wasn't there before the new spline was installed.

I have my mechanic looking at it on Friday.

Edited June 23, 2010 by budgoi

[Silver-Aurion]

Has anyone had any issues after getting the new shaft spline installed.

When the car is stationary and I turn my steering wheel (most of the time to full lock either way) there is an almighty grinding sound like the steering is going to sieze. It doesn't happen all the time, but it does definitely happen and it wasn't there before the new spline was installed.

I have my mechanic looking at it on Friday.

No, but have you checked your power steering fluid? I was once on low power steering fluid on my old camry and I did not know until it made a grinding noise when I turned the steering. When I checked the oil it was almost empty, after topping it up the noise was instantly gone.

Edited June 23, 2010 by unique

[waterflyer]

just had my car servied at 45000 kms, I noticed the noise recently, got it checked at service, dealer said it is shock at intermediate steering wheel shaft, my car warranty ends on 1 june, it is only 26 days after warranty! it will cost 430 dollars to replace the part! but the dealer said they will submit an out of warranty consideration to the headquarter to see if they can fix it for me for free!

very sad, I never thought such problem could happen to a 3 years old Toyota with only 45,000KMS. is toyota really reliably nowadays?!

Oh What a Feeling - Toyota!

[moggillsx6]

well everyone I had mine replaced today and noticed an immediate difference. The knock wasn't bad but it was there. Moment I drove it out of the dealer I noticed a sharper turn in and the steering felt a lot more responsive and solid.

Thanksfully still under warranty so I got it fixed for nothing :)

I've got 10mths of warrantly left so i've got my fingers crossed everything that might go wrong goes wrong now :)

[httttt]

well everyone I had mine replaced today and noticed an immediate difference. The knock wasn't bad but it was there. Moment I drove it out of the dealer I noticed a sharper turn in and the steering felt a lot more responsive and solid.

Thanksfully still under warranty so I got it fixed for nothing :)

I've got 10mths of warrantly left so i've got my fingers crossed everything that might go wrong goes wrong now :)

Good to hear!! You must have had it particularly bad if you can notice it straight away.

My car always feels more responsive when I get it back from the dealer. But then again, my car feels more responsive and faster after I clean it as well.

[Silver-Aurion]

well everyone I had mine replaced today and noticed an immediate difference. The knock wasn't bad but it was there. Moment I drove it out of the dealer I noticed a sharper turn in and the steering felt a lot more responsive and solid.

Thanksfully still under warranty so I got it fixed for nothing :)

I've got 10mths of warrantly left so i've got my fingers crossed everything that might go wrong goes wrong now :)

Good to hear!! You must have had it particularly bad if you can notice it straight away.

My car always feels more responsive when I get it back from the dealer. But then again, my car feels more responsive and faster after I clean it as well.

LOL!

I love placebo effect.

I also noticed an immediate difference, but this is because my shaft was absolutely knackered. It would clunk at every chance it had.

I'm so amazed that Toyota are not recalling this even though now almost every Toyota is experiencing this same problem. Unbelievable. Someone needs to speak up

[DJKOR]

I'm so amazed that Toyota are not recalling this even though now almost every Toyota is experiencing this same problem. Unbelievable. Someone needs to speak up

You can only keep dreaming with that one. It doesn't surprise me at all that this is not a recall item. If you notice, recalls are only typically done for safety related issues. This issue does not affect the steering ability of the car and therefore does not fall into the recall category. It is therefore treated on a repair as required basis.

[Silver-Aurion]

I'm so amazed that Toyota are not recalling this even though now almost every Toyota is experiencing this same problem. Unbelievable. Someone needs to speak up

You can only keep dreaming with that one. It doesn't surprise me at all that this is not a recall item. If you notice, recalls are only typically done for safety related issues. This issue does not affect the steering ability of the car and therefore does not fall into the recall category. It is therefore treated on a repair as required basis.

Damn, that is unfair to the people who experience this issue after warranty. Shame on Toyota though to not fess up and continue to let people drive around with a faulty shaft, safety issue or not.

[waterflyer]

Good News, I called service department this morning, they confirmed they will replace the steering shaft for free although my car is out of warranty, i think i am just lucky!

haha, waiting for the part to come now

[juvenile]

Iam booked in for replacement intermediate steering shaft next week for my 08 Corolla..Finally