1997 Toyota T100 Steering Problems

“While making a left turn the steering wheel won't return to center upon completion of the turn. I understand there was a major safety vehicle recall for this truck however two dealers in merced and modesto, california have told me there is no safety recall. The 1995 to 1998 recall was for total loss of steering due to a broken steering rod. I bought this truck in california one year ago and we know for certain that it was originally sold in texas.”

“While backing out of the driveway consumer heard a loud noise, and then loss steering control. Consumer inspected the vehicle, and found that the tie rod broke. Vehicle was towed to the dealer, and they confirmed that tie rod broke. Consumer had the parts available for analysis. The consumer was told by the dealer that the steering rod broke. The consumer stated that the cast iron rod broke just above the brake.”

“While driving 25 MPH, the vehicle started veering to the left, the vehicle then hit an embankment and turned over. The tie rod was severed through. The manufacturer stated that the tie rod broke when the vehicle tipped over.”

“Mechanically this truck is very sound, but the frame and many parts are rusting excessively. When I first bought the truck I had it undercoated. This didn't last long and I've had to replace the control arms, the load sensing proportioning valve and was recently told that I am at risk of not being inspected in july due to the rust on the frame. The vehicle only has 153,000 miles on it and it should still run strong, but the frame may make it impossible to get my value out of the vehicle. I feel like I wasted my money on a Toyota product that used to have a good reputation.”

“Received a safety recall notice for a specific part (steering relay rod); took vehicle to dealership for replacement; dealership refused to replace the recalled part, unless we agreed to have a couple other bad parts replaced & paying over $1,000 (those parts also pertained to the steering. We did not have the money for the other parts to be repaired at that time, & the dealership refused our recalled replacement... (although he did give us an oil change.) unsure of exact month & day (guessing), but was in 2006, just after receiving the first recall notice .”