Aurion intermediate shaft spline

[DJKOR]

I'm wondering that as well. It might be a mixed bag. Some people who have reported the issue may have the original problem mentioned here, others may have the one I do.

The way I narrowed it down was to jiggle the wheel lightly with the car off. I stuck my head down in the footwell area then listened. The sound definitely wasn't coming from the steering shaft. The whole assembly on mine looked rock solid as well.

I then got outside the car with the window down and did the exact same thing. I could easily hear it coming from the wheel area.

Just another note, this is most certainly a knocking you can feel. You can feel it when you go over a bump, accelerate from a stop (or blipping the throttle while going 10km/h), and turning while rolling slowly.

[David the Viking]

They can be replaced on the car without the need to remove the steering rack.

Did you actually feel the movement in the ball joint through the rack end boot? The reason I ask is it is not just some free play between the rack & pinion? This can sometimes be adjusted.

BHSS is no longer at Albion, they have moved to Capalaba and are now called BHSS - TBS.

Edited September 16, 2009 by SupaTouring

[DJKOR]

They can be replaced on the car without the need to remove the steering rack.

Did you actually feel the movement in the ball joint through the rack end boot? The reason I ask is it is not just some free play between the rack & pinion? This can sometimes be adjusted.

BHSS is no longer at Albion, they have moved to Capalaba and are now called BHSS - TBS.

I just tried again then, and seriously can not tell. The rubber boot is seriously tough enough to make it hard to feel the joint underneath it. In the video, I just applied some upwards force against whatever I could.

By the way, are these ball joints made in such a fashion that with the say they sit on the power steering rack (ie. inserted from the rack side), they can't pop out given the right force? Just wondering if a hard corner is going to pop them out in the immediate future.

[David the Viking]

You may need to take it somewhere so it can be put on a hoist and the boots removed and have the rack inspected.

I think it is very ordinary that Southside decided it was easier to blame an aftermarket part rather then actually find the issue.

Edited September 16, 2009 by SupaTouring

[PaulMT]

Thanks for the investigation, DJKOR. I have the same problem in my SX6 which is now at 59k. It's exactly as you have described the knocking. Very easy now to reproduce, by breaking or at slow speed tappng the brakes. I spoke to my Toyota Dealer about it and suggested what I had read here previously about the intermediary shaft spline and he said they had a a couple of RAVs with this but had not had a V6 yet and that if it was that it would be a B&%$@ to get to and remedy. The would want the car for a day and maybe overnight and offered a loan Yaris.

Now, I am happy with their response and my car is going in for the 60k service next week, but having read your description of the investigating you have done, I'm not sure it is the shaft as earlier described. It is definitely a "clunk" albeit a very subtle to most, huge to me feeling in the steering column.

BTW, I do have camber bolts fitted now, but they were only done a month ago. I rang the Toyota agent not long after my last service at 45k after a long business trip away and said I was feeling something but it was subtle. It's now not subtle and always there!

Looking to see what your going to do DJKOR :-)

[DJKOR]

Well, just a quick update on this. I was busy working today so couldn't go around to a steering specialist for opinions of whether it can be remedied without changing the entire part... just yet.

I did however stop back at Southside Toyota and saw the service manager I was dealing with last night. I mentioned the problem I discovered, and not to my surprise, he started taking about the problem like he has dealt with it many times before.

He was saying how when they get cases of the knocking sounds, they either change the intermediate shaft or the drivers side steering rack end. He then proceeded to call the parts department to get a price enquiry. I could hear him on the phone mentioning the issue so it's definitely something they are aware of and it seems to be a known fault with these cars. He then mentioned how they had 15 cases of these etc, etc.

Anyways, he quoted me about $245 in parts, $110 in labour, and $69 for a wheel alignment.

Seriously, what kind of annoys me though is that obviously if he is quoting me the price for the parts and labour, this means that it's not covered by my limited warranty. So in that case, they had no reason earlier to blame the problem on something else (the 'aftermarket' bushes), because they aren't exactly trying to get themselves out of a warranty job.

[boxerboy]

PaulMT, they did mine between 09:30am-3:30 pm.

DJKOR, mine was warranty but the invoice that came with the job was just over $400...similar to your quote.

[PaulMT]

PaulMT, they did mine between 09:30am-3:30 pm.

DJKOR, mine was warranty but the invoice that came with the job was just over $400...similar to your quote.

boxerboy, I think they were quoting Toyota time not real world time! In any case I would rather they did this and planned on me having the loan car just in case.

DJKOR, is the wheel alignment required after either of the two fixes you've talked about?

This would be ironic because I have spent a little money and a lot of time to get the steering right, i.e. not pulling left.

It's still not quite there and I was going to have another visit to the alignment place but thought I would wait until after the repair.

It will be interesting to see if Toyota get it right.

Edited September 18, 2009 by PaulMT

[DJKOR]

DJKOR, is the wheel alignment required after either of the two fixes you've talked about?

This would be ironic because I have spent a little money and a lot of time to get the steering right, i.e. not pulling left.

It's still not quite there and I was going to have another visit to the alignment place but thought I would wait until after the repair.

It will be interesting to see if Toyota get it right.

It should only be needed for the steering rack end because they are un-screwing the tie rod from the part which plays a good part in wheel alignment.

You can get away with changing the intermediate shaft without doing a wheel alignment afterwards, but it's usually best to do it just in case.

In any case, for my own scenario I'd just be buying the part myself and getting Fulcrum to do a wheel alignment.

[Freddo]

got rid of my clunk...

had a service today.

it was a engine mount. they had to re-set it apparently.

[PaulMT]

**** UPDATE ****

Had my 60k service yesterday and today and the "clunking" in the steering looked at.

This had got worse, and the front right suspension was very noisy.

Anyway they have replaced the entire steering rack and it's now BRILLIANT!

I can't believe how straight the steering is now as it was wandering really bad and pulling to the left also.

This has all gone, the steering is straight, no pulling and no noise. Of course no clunk either.

I hadn't noticed how bad the steering had become. I was so focused on the noise and clunk of the steering I had

let the handling deteriorate.

All good now :-)

[DJKOR]

That's pretty good news there PaulMT. Very lucky they changed the whole rack as well. I haven't had any steering issues (yet), so I'm hoping I can hold it off for a little longer. I guess I will have to take the approach of changing the rack end. as it would work out the most cost efficient for me.

Big bummer it's not a warranty job for me, but I guess I can't complain really because of the price I payed for this car.

[SecaBoy]

im waiting for the part to arrive so my local toyota dealership can replace it...

im so happy for this forum though... its made all my services/warranty claims easier...

i tell THEM what to look at, and 98% of the time, its right... lol

[PaulMT]

im waiting for the part to arrive so my local toyota dealership can replace it...

im so happy for this forum though... its made all my services/warranty claims easier...

i tell THEM what to look at, and 98% of the time, its right... lol

Same here! :-)

Though in this instance I went in pre prepared with the Intermediate Shaft Spline and they found the Steering Rack was the issue.

That was also mentioned in this thread so I new they were on to it.

The way they explained it to me (and it seemed to make sense) If it was the spline, the "knock" could be forced by making lateral steering movements where-as the "knocking"

I had which could be forced by braking and then surging forward was more likely to be something in the rack. I use the "" because knocking is not really an accurate description of the feel it was subtle but noticeable to me because I am driving so much.

This forum certainly helps to keep Toyota dealers honest :-)

[DJKOR]

Just a quick update on this. I took my car in for a wheel alignment at the trusty Fulcrum at Hillcrest.

When I picked my car up, they said that I have a bit of play in my steering rack which is causing a knocking sound. He then said that they inspected it and found the steering rack mounts were pretty well worn which is causing it to have that play.

I mentioned about the rack end which is what I thought was the problem and he said that I would most likely find that it's due to these mounts.

I'm guessing when I tried to stop the noise as per my video before, I was only really just stopping the rack from moving within it's mounts.

This appears to be a more cost efficient method of repair and much easier as well. I will definitely look further into this before spending money to change a rack end that may not the the real fault.

Thanks to Fulcrum Hillcrest though for that advise.

[Tofuboi]

I must say I feel really lucky not to experience this issue yet. Although I do have one issue that I notice on my day to day driving.

I notice this when I'm driving in my underground carpark at work. Doing about 10km/h I'm turning down the ramp and from the right drivers side around the wheel you hear this very fast paced knocking, but it doesnt feel like the knocking described here. It's more of a really fast clunkish sound, hard to explain in words.

I wouldn't be suprised if this IS what you guys are talking about. It rather confused me throughout the entire thread haha.

[DJKOR]

I notice this when I'm driving in my underground carpark at work. Doing about 10km/h I'm turning down the ramp and from the right drivers side around the wheel you hear this very fast paced knocking, but it doesnt feel like the knocking described here. It's more of a really fast clunkish sound, hard to explain in words.

I wouldn't be suprised if this IS what you guys are talking about. It rather confused me throughout the entire thread haha.

This is what Rowan was getting before. Sounds to me it's the intermediate shaft that's causing that noise. Probably the start of it. At least you have a heads up if it is.

[SecaBoy]

Just a quick update.

I got the shaft replaced today. No more knocking feeling/sound. But the steering feels a lot heavier. It could just be me, but it just feels different.

Anyone else experience this?

[Ingres]

Today went for the 75,000km servicing at Southside Toyota, told them about the same problem and they order the intermediate shaft parts which they say will likely take 2-4 weeks to arrive, they will fixed it for me once it arrives.. Nice.. !!

[David the Viking]

As my 60k service is getting close I dropped in to Motorama at Hillcrest to organise having the TRD checked so parts could be ordered if needed for the service. After a short conversation with the service advisor and the workshop foreman about the symptoms it also appears that I have the intermediate shaft spline issue. So parts are now on order and will hopefully be available by the time the 60k service is due.

[Silver-Aurion]

Weird, I never came across a noise like this in my 07 Prodigy. Guess its only a few cars with this problem. None the less, I'll look into it come morning and see if any noise comes.

So from what I understand, when the car is off, just turn the steering wheel left to right swiftly and there might be that noise as seen in the video?

[DJKOR]

So from what I understand, when the car is off, just turn the steering wheel left to right swiftly and there might be that noise as seen in the video?

The issue in my video is a completely different issue to the intermediate shaft. Mine is a steering rack issue which I thought is the steering rack end on the right side, but Fulcrum reckon its just the steering rack mounts (bushes)... which according to Toyota and the parts reference, can't be changed without replacing the entire rack.

Yeah thats true, but I've never in my life had this happen to me before and I would always service my cars and I would always make sure the lids are tight and thats never happened before. The mechanic that serviced this car must of used a torque wrench to tighten it then!

Even if that wasn't the case though, in the end it is a rubber seal. You can't expect rubber seals to be 100% lifetime, that's why o-rings are sold as replacement items.

Weird, I never came across a noise like this in my 07 Prodigy. Guess its only a few cars with this problem.

Probably because of this statement, the issue may not arise till later in it's life.

I treat mine like a new born baby while you go thrashing it about.

[David the Viking]

You will get the clunking noise when doing slow manuvers like parking, although I was starting to notice it at higher speeds.

I think that having wider tyres such as those fitted to the TRD will more than likely cause it to occur earlier in the cars life than those with narrower tyres.

[Silver-Aurion]

Okay, well I get that same clunking noise that DJKOR took a video of on youtube. I turned the steering wheel left to right and without even getting under that car I can hear it.

I just wonder though if this really is an issue or its meant to be like that.

And the noise when driving slow or over bumps, I didn't notice anything like that.

[DJKOR]

Okay, well I get that same clunking noise that DJKOR took a video of on youtube. I turned the steering wheel left to right and without even getting under that car I can hear it.

I just wonder though if this really is an issue or its meant to be like that.

The clunking should definitely not be there. If you get it, it will either be the intermediate shaft, the steering rack end, or the steering rack mounts. So far these seem to line up with what Toyota is doing to fix it in that they replace either the intermediate shaft, the steering rack end, or the entire steering rack.