2013 Toyota HIGHLANDER HV - Ratings, Complaints and Recalls

"when i turn the steering faster than a certain speed, it will lock up for a moment, either turning right or left. sometimes a light indicating a steering fault lights up on the dash cluster, sometimes not. when the turning of the wheel stops and locks up i cannot turn any more in that direction. i can turn the other way. this has been a problem for sometime and is becoming now worse. aside from the locking up, justing turning slowly, there is a bit of a whine or low level grind sound in the sound of the steering column. this is a mechanical noise, not the typical whine of the steering pump."

"- the car was purchased in 2015 used and the steering wheel has made a clunking sound when turning a hard sharp left or right since the day of purchase -while on a road trip of approximately 3,000 miles round trip in june 2021 the steering wheel was adjusted to accommodate my husband's height. it became very loose, with it finally dropping into my husband's lap on the last day of our trip-it was difficult to steer the car -we brought the car in to our dealership the following day where they confirmed we needed a new steering column-the car has not been involved in any accidents nor have the air bags employed -other than the "clunking" sound there has never been any previous warning that the steering wheel would disengage while driving."

"there are sounds when sometimes when turning, including poping or sometimes like a whirling sound. the steering is a bit stiff sometimes and not easy to turn the wheels, this does not happen at any specific speed. i do not have any picture or other document i can upload as this is not physical damage that can be photographed."

"intermediate steering shaft - noise began around 60k miles and has continued to get worse, now at 104k. if toyota knowingly made a design change and issued a new replacement part, recall should be issued."

"'thunk'/popping noise when turning the steering wheel left or right. was told to replace the intermediate steering shaft, and learned that a new one was developed to fix this problem in 2013 but no recall or safety notice was sent to owners."

"when i turn my steering wheel going very slow or stationary my steering wheel makes a popping sounds and my mechanic says it's the intermediate shaft. its getting worse as i'm putting miles on it. since it's a steering component, it's a very serious issue since if it fails i will loose complete control of my car."

"my steering makes a clunking sound, which you can actually feel in the steering wheel when it occurs, when turning either left or right. it is increasing in occurrence and intensity. it occurs at any speed. this has been going on for several months. i took it to the dealership and they lubricated something, saying there was no danger. should it become worse bring it back. it's going back!"

"tl* the contact owns a 2013 toyota highlander. while driving, a clunking noise was heard coming from the steering wheel. in addition, while making left or right turns or while the vehicle was stopped, the noise grew louder. the contact also stated that the steering wheel became difficult to turn when the vehicle had not been driven for a couple of days. there were no warning indicators illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, but a failure code could not be found. the vehicle was not repaired. the dealer and manufacturer were not notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage was 29,493."

"clunking noise from front end when turning wheels, appeared at approximately 60,000 miles. took to shop for repairs, and was diagnosed as intermediate steering shaft. mechanic said it was so loose he could manipulate it with his hand and was close to catastrophic failure."

"re: investigation ea18006. my car has been making a clunking sound in the steering column during slow turns to the right so i did an internet search and found numerous discussions and articles talking about a 'known' issue with the steering column. one article led me to your investigation. while at the dealer yesterday, i explained the issue and asked them to investigate. they said for $70 they can look into it. given i consider steering a critical system, i protested the service charge and their only response was they could do a 'visual' inspection for free but it should be looked at deeply to diagnose properly. i had them proceed and they came back with a suggestion that the steering column be replaced. i asked if it was a safety concern and was told 'yes it will be at some point'. obviously, i had them replace it but feel that if there is a safety issue here, they should be proactive and replace these steering columns on all affected products before someone gets hurt. i sent a concern to toyota as well but wanted to add this to your active investigation record."