2015 Toyota Camry

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TOYOTA CAMRY. WHILE THE CONTACT'S DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING AT UNKNOWN SPEEDS, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO TURN. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT CALLED THE LOCAL DEALER (NEWBOLD TOYOTA, 1282 CENTRAL PARK DR, O'FALLON, IL 62269, (618) 628-7000) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V144000 (STEERING). THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 1808291305. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

I FILED A VEHICLE SAFETY COMPLAINT LAST MONTH IN REFERENCE TO MY ELECTRIC POWER STEERING SYMBOL CAME ON IN MY CAR. I DIDN'T DRIVE MY CAR FOR 2 WEEKS BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE A CHANCE ON HAVING A CRASH. SO ON AUGUST 18, 2018, I DECIDED TO DRIVE MY CAR AROUND THE BLOCK TO SEE IF THE LIGHT WOULD COME BACK ON AND THE LIGHT DIDN'T COME ON, BUT MY STEERING WHEEL PULLS FROM THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT IF MY HANDS ARE TAKEN OFF THE WHEEL FOR A MINUTE. AS I WAS DRIVING AROUND THE BLOCK THE WHEEL BECAME VERY LOOSELY TO THE TOUCH OF SLIGHTLY HOLDING IT. IT STEER IN THE DIRECTION OF LEFT AS I'M TRAVELING STRAIGHT UP THE ROAD.

I WAS FUELING UP MY CAR, AND UPON ME TURNING THE KEY TO START UP MY AUTOMOBILE, IT DIDN'T RESPOND. I NOTICED THE SYMBOL ON THE DASHBOARD THAT HAD A CIRCLE WITH A TRIANGLE DRAWN DOWNWARD WITH A CIRCULAR ITEM AT THE TOP OF THE TRIANGLE SYMBOL WITH AN EXCLAMATION POINT SYMBOL BESIDE IT. I ALSO INFORMED TOYOTA THAT MY SEATBELT DIDN'T BEEP TO LET ME THAT IT WASN'T CLICKED.I THEN NOTIFIED MY LOCAL TOYOTA COMPANY TO SEE IF I COULD BRING MY CAR IN FOR A INSPECTION. I WAS TOLD THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY APPOINTMENTS UNTIL THE END OF THE MONTH.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 TOYOTA CAMRY. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER STEERING ABILITY WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER STEERING MOTOR FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND DID NOT ASSIST SINCE THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN A RECALL. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 62,000.

TAKATA RECALL- I NOTICED THE LAST WEEK AS I'M DRIVING MY SPEED FEELS AS IF IT'S DECREASING BUT THE SPEED ODOMETER IS NOT DECREASING AND WHEN I TURN MY STEERING WHEEL ( LEFT AND RIGHT TURNS) IT MAKING SCREECHING SOUNDS, AT FIRST THE SOUNDS WAS LIGHT BUT YOU CAN HEAR IT BUT TODAY (8-3-18) AS I TURN IN THE GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT IT WAS VERY LOUD AND I BARELY WAS TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL. ONCE I GOT BACK INTO THE CAR, CUT THE IGNITION ON AND BACKED OUT THERE WAS NO SCREECHING SOUND BUT AS I'M DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE HEAD HOME THE SPEED STARTS BACK DECREASING A LITTLE, WHEN I TURNED INTO MY DIVE WAY THE SCREECHING SOUND STARTED BACK.

AT 25-40 MPR THE STEERING UNEXPECTEDLY VEERS RIGHT OR LEFT. WHEN MAKING A TURN, STEERING FREQUENTLY DOES NOT RETURN TO NORMAL. ON OCCASION, THE STEERING SLOWLY PULLS LEFT OR RIGHT AS IF THE TIRE HAS LOW INFLATION. I CONSIDER THIS TO BE A DANGER TO MYSELF AND OTHERS. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE NUMEROUS STEERING COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE 2015 CAMRY, THE DEALER SAID THAT OUR VIN# IS NOT ON A RECALL LIST. I WOULD APPRECIATE ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATION BY THE NHTSA.

CAR WILL PULL HARD LEFT ON OCCASION WHILE DRIVING. ONCE CAR IS STOPPED AND RE-STARTED, ISSUE GOES AWAY. PULL IS HARD ENOUGH TO FORCE CAR INTO ON-COMING TRAFFIC. ALL EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN CHECKED AND VERIFIED IN GOOD WORKING ORDER MULTIPLE TIMES. MECHANICS BELIEVE ISSUE MAY BE WITH ELECTRONIC STEERING CONTROL BUT CANNOT VERIFY AS ISSUE CANNOT BE DUPLICATED AND IS RANDOM. THIS HAS OCCURRED ON HIGHWAYS, PARKING LOTS, CITY STREETS, ETC. CONDITION IS NOT AFFECTED BY DRIVING SURFACE. LAST OCCURANCE WAS 7/7/18.