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Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Camry Hybrid Toyota Camry Hybrid Safety Concerns
40 messages, Last post on Sep 24, 2008 at 4:14 AM
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Replying to: gc77584 (May 29, 2008 3:08 pm) Having an electric motor over heat should not cause you to have to replace the entire rack and pinion. Something else failed. If electric motors overheat, the computer shuts them down. When they cool down, the computer lets them run again. Electric boosted power steering is needed because the HSD shuts down the engine while the vehicle is running - and you wouldn't want to lose steering boost at those times!
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Replying to: stevedebi (May 30, 2008 10:13 am) According to the service guy, it wasn't the electric motor itself that the computer chip said overheated. The computer chip "thought" the rack & pinion steering assembly overheated. Sorry if I wasn't clear on that point. The car started and ran fine (and I did turn it off and on several times to see if it would "reset") - it just had no steering capability. And I say "thought" in quotes because it seems totally ridiculous to me since the car had been sitting in the off position for over five hours, and this failure occurred less than 2 minutes after starting it - I had barely backed out of the parking space. Personally, I don't think anything overheated. I think the computer or computer chip or whatever the heck controls the steering thing had a glitch and gave an erroneous reading. However, the service guy does what the diagnostic computer tells him to do, whether it makes sense or not, and as long as it's not on my dime, I'm not terribly concerned that he's replacing an expensive part that may not need replacing. Nor is he since it's under warranty and I assume Toyota winds up paying for it, not the dealership. |
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Replying to: stevedebi (May 30, 2008 10:13 am) ...[snip]... This is one time I'm glad I bought an extended warranty..." I'd like to point out that based on time and mileage, this repair would have been covered anyway under the car's 3-year/36,000 mile basic warranty.
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Replying to: tbone0526 (May 30, 2008 2:17 pm) MY point is that Toyotas are known for their reliability, and having driven four different Camrys over the past 12 years (not as long as you, I'm sure) and NEVER having anything that "catastrophic" go wrong, whether within the basic warranty period or out of it, it came as quite a shock for something like this to occur. Given that it DID occur on a 2 year old car with less than 24k miles, it makes me wonder what else might go wrong down the road since at the time my car came off the boat in May 2006, it was a brand new model ... thus the comment about the extended warranty. Obviously it was pointless to post on this forum since you obviously know everything and nobody else's input is correct or necessary. I won't bother again.
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Replying to: gc77584 (May 30, 2008 4:19 pm) "Q Dear Tom and Ray: I was driving home in my beloved 2003 Toyota Prius on Friday. I turned right a few blocks from my house, and the wheel froze in the turned position. I had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting a parked truck. With all my might, I forced the wheels straight enough to get it home. I had it towed to a dealer, and they say it's an electrical connection between the steering column and the rack and pinion, and will cost about $2,000 in parts and labor. I'm at about 70,000 miles -- way past the 36,000-mile warranty. I know there was a recall having to do with the steering system on Priuses made just after mine, but the dealer says it doesn't apply. Do I have any recourse? -- Rebecca A RAY: I'm afraid the dealer is right, Rebecca. The later steering recall is for a different issue entirely, so it wouldn't apply to your car. TOM: And he's right that what you probably need is a rack and pinion, which will cost you two grand. RAY: Welcome to the world of new technology! One of the many ways the Prius saves fuel is with electric power steering. TOM: It works by using sensors in the steering column that tell a computer how far, how hard and how quickly you're turning the steering wheel. The computer then sends an appropriate amount of electrical "boost" to the electric power-steering motor. RAY: This electric system saves fuel by being smaller and lighter, and by running off electric power only when that power is needed, instead of off the gasoline engine all the time. The disadvantage of it is that it's new, and apparently it can fail catastrophically. TOM: So, you're a guinea pig, Rebecca. RAY: You can try asking to speak to the dealer's zone manager. You can make your case to him or her, and ask whether he or she will help you with the cost of the repair, since you almost died -- and now that you're still alive, if he or she treats you well, you'd be around to buy more Toyotas." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052902217_- pf.html
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Replying to: lzc (May 31, 2008 6:40 pm) |
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We purchased a new 2007 Camry Hybrid when they first came out. We have owned the car for two years and have 20,000 mile on it. We have followed the recommended service scedual and taken it to the same dealership we bought it from. Two months ago we heard a strange clicking almost cracking noise in the front end when we turned the car to the left or right when moving from a parked position or slowing down to turn. The noise could be felt in the steering column when the clicking occured. We took it to the dealership and after several hours was told there was a rock sitting on the brake caliper. Having worked on the brakes of all my privious Toyotas the diagnosis sounded strange but I was assured the problem was resolved so I drove off. Within 15 minutes of driving and parking the noise came back and it was even louder then before. I called the dealership and took the car back. We were unable to duplicate the sound with a tec so I took the car home. Pulling in to my driveway the sound was there again so I made an apointment to have the car examined over several days. The car was kept for several days and the sound would not duplicate itself so I picked my car up. Soon enough the sound was back. I took the car back in and test drove it with the lead Tec and was able to duplicate the sound. I left the car for repair. I was informed that the there was actually an alert from Toyota about the clicking noise and it requiered the intermediate steering column be replaced. In the mean time the service manager called to say that Toyota had reengineered the grease and that was the problem. I called toyota and was informed no grease had been reengineered to resolve the issue. Crossed wires between service manager and service guy we were dealing with would account for this information. We picked our car up and after 40 miles of mostly straight driving we heard the noise again as we turned into a parking lot and it was even louder then the first time. I called the dealership and was told it might be the brake pads. We are having them changed tomorrow. I am not sure what to make of all of this. We enjoy driving our Hybrid, however, feel somewhat comprimised in driving it. We have been told it is not a safety issue but I am not so sure about this. Anyone out there have any thoughts on this or experianced something of this nature please advise.
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Replying to: dan143 (Sep 23, 2008 2:35 am) |
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Thanks for the info about the intermediate column steering problem. The deal is, I don't believe they changed the column to begin with because when I asked to see the part and was told I could see the part I was informed it was sent back to Toyota. I asked to see the invoice that the part even came in and was told they could not provide the invoice that the invoice belonged to Toyota. This will be our 5th attempt at resolving the problem. We feel that the car could be unsafe to drive because the original problem was never honestly resolved. Does anyone know if the intermediate steering column requiers grease to function properly?
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Replying to: dan143 (Sep 23, 2008 6:28 am) |
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