Steering Wheel Shake

November 9, 2007

I drive a 2000 imported prius and so far I have only done about 250 mls in it but on 2 ocassions the steering wheel started shaking quite hard and the car pulled to the left for a second only.

The first time I tought that I hit a bigger stone or something that I didn't see on the road(no bodies left behind- I checked :P ) but the second time I didn't see anything as I had a look in the mirror behind me.

Anybody experience that in the Classic Prius?? Any ideeas?

November 13, 2007

No experience of the Classic Prius but this is usually a balance problem. The stone may caused a weight to come off the wheel, or it may be coincidence, balance problems often occur at a specific speed due to resonance.

Start off by getting your front wheels balanced from scratch (ensure they remove all weights and start again), at almost any tyre centre.

The problem of pulling to one side is more likely to be wheel alignment. This can be checked by looking for uneven tyre wear across the width of the tyre, or cheaply at tyre centres, but for reliable answers you'll need a more expensive check at a specialist.

November 14, 2007

No experience of the Classic Prius but this is usually a balance problem. The stone may caused a weight to come off the wheel, or it may be coincidence, balance problems often occur at a specific speed due to resonance.
Start off by getting your front wheels balanced from scratch (ensure they remove all weights and start again), at almost any tyre centre.
The problem of pulling to one side is more likely to be wheel alignment. This can be checked by looking for uneven tyre wear across the width of the tyre, or cheaply at tyre centres, but for reliable answers you'll need a more expensive check at a specialist.

The shake and pulling to the left only happened for a second. The tracking is perfect( stright on) all the time and I did the ballance on the wheels only short time ago.

I think the steering system is electricaly assisted and I was wondering if it didn't get a wrong signal for the split of a second enough to give me the simptoms above.

It would take a specialist some time to figure the fault as it occured only at random on 2 ocasions.

I taught that maybe someone else had experience that and might have some clues.

November 4, 2008

2002 Prius 73k miles:

I have had the steering shake violently on three separate occasions. The first time while backing up in my driveway the wheel shuddered quite violently then stopped. The second time was late one night while making a left hand turn off an off ramp at a full stop.

Both times I thought I had perhaps run over some debris.

The third time was last night while driving on I95 in MA at about 65mph at a slight curve in the road. The wheel shook quite violently, the information display showed a warning message, the caution light lit up on the speedometer panel, and the power steering failed completely, the car pulling hard to the left where thankfully the passing lane was empty and the left shoulder wide enough for me to regain control.

A MA State Trooper was behind me following my wild ride into the left lane, first asking me if I was alright and how many I had to drink. He then noticed the master caution light and asked if I had a problem, to which I said yes explaining that my power steering system had malfunctioned. After checking things out under the hood the trooper saw no obvious issues and sent me on my way.

However, before taking my car into the shop I would like to know what would cause this so technicians aren't sent on a goose chase.

November 4, 2008

Since I initiated this post I didn't get anymore of the above symptoms. I never got any warnings on my display monitor either.

But in your case actualy it might be helpfull because those messages get stored in the car's computer and when you go to a Toyota specialist they can plug into your car's computer and read the diagnostic. It will be easy enough for them to check the code of the fault and from theyr manual to identify your problem.

I will like to know more if you get any results in relation to your incident. I suggest you get it checked ASAP either way so you won't chance your luck again. Take it as a free lesson and address it.