2011 Toyota Tundra Steering Problems

Your power steering system is leaking fluid, which caused you to lose steering power while driving. You've temporarily fixed it by adding more fluid, but the leak hasn't been addressed. A mechanic will need to inspect the power steering system to find and repair the source of the leak.

While driving downhill at 40-50 MPH, your power steering suddenly stopped working with no warning light. You noticed an oil leak coming from the steering gear on the passenger side. The dealer diagnosed that your steering rack had failed and needs to be replaced, but they said it's not covered under warranty. Without power steering, your truck will be much harder to steer, especially at higher speeds or when parking.

Your steering rack and pinion is leaking oil, which can reduce steering fluid and potentially affect steering responsiveness over time. You may notice fluid spots under your vehicle or hear noise from the steering system. The fix will likely involve replacing or resealing the steering rack and pinion assembly.

Your steering wheel became very difficult to turn when you started your truck, with no warning light appearing. A mechanic found that your power steering gear was leaking oil into its protective boot, which caused the hard steering. The dealer was unable to diagnose or fix the problem when you brought it in.

The contact owns a 2011 Toyota Tundra. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the steering wheel was difficult to turn with an unknown warning light illuminated. In addition, the contact noticed that the power steering fluid was leaking out on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired however, a power steering fluid leak recurred. The vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic to be diagnosed; however, the contact was unaware of the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.

Horn siren is not being activated when pressed by center switch on steering wheel. After researching many tundra message boards, this appears to be a frequent problem amongst tundra owners. Incident: vehicle in front of me at drivethru backed into me when they thought they were in drive after repositioning themselves for mic. I was not able to beep my horn and warn them. Luckily no damage occurred.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA TUNDRA. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THERE WAS AN ABNORMAL WHINING NOISE COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL. AFTER A FEW MOMENTS, THE STEERING SEIZED WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT MANAGED TO DRIVE TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE STEERING PUMP AND BELT FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE PUMP AND BELT WERE REPLACED; HOWEVER, THE RACK AND PINION NEEDED TO BE REPAIRED BY A DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO PEORIA TOYOTA (7401 N ALLEN RD, PEORIA, IL 61614, (309)-354-3894) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE RACK AND PINION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS CURRENTLY BEING REPAIRED BY THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT NO WARRANTIES WERE AVAILABLE AND THE TSB HAD EXPIRED. THE MANUFACTURER PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 1910213072. THE CONTACT REFERENCED TSB NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10134363. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 83,694.

I WAS FINISHED DOING MY OIL CHANGE AND NOTICED MY RACK AND PINION BOOT HAD AN OIL LEAK ON THE PASSENGER SIDE, I WIPED IT OFF AND IT SEEMS LIKE A SMALL LEAK FOR NOW. THE TRUCK ON HAS 73.2K MILES ON IT AND IT'S COMPLETELY STOCK, NO MODIFICATIONS AT ALL. IT'S A DAILY DRIVER AND IS STRICTLY STREET DRIVEN, NO OFF ROADING. THE RACK AND PINION SHOULDN'T LEAK AT ALL WITH THIS LOW MILEAGE AND BEING STOCK.

RACK AND PINION FAILED,MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER WHILE I WAS DRIVING. FORTUNATELY I WAS IN A RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOOD AND WAS DRIVING SLOW.

THE STEERING IS VERY DIFFICULT AT TIMES AND FEELS LIKE SOMETHING IS BINDING. THERE IS NO STEERING WHEEL RETURN. NO FLUIDS ARE LEAKING AND THE FLUID LEVEL IN THE POWER STEERING RESEVIOUR IS NORMAL. THIS HAPPENS WHEN THE VEHICLE IS MOVING AND TURNING. GOING DOWN A STRAIGHT ROAD BINDING CAN BE FELT WHEN YOU MOVE FROM SIDE TO SIDE IN YOUR LANE BY MOVING THE STEERING WHEEL LEFT OR RIGHT.

POWER STEERING FLUID DRAINED OUT OF THE RESERVOIR AND INTO THE RACK AND PINION BOOT. THERE WERE NO EVIDENCE OF FLUID LEAKS UNTIL THE RACK AND PINION BOOT EXPLODED ON THE DRIVER SIDE. THE VEHICLE WAS IN PARK AND WHEN I TURNED THE STEERING WHEEL COMPLETELY TO THE LEFT IS WHEN THE BOOT EXPLODED.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 TOYOTA TUNDRA. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME DIFFICULT TO MANEUVER. THE CONTACT PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE STEERING COLUMN FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.

RACK AND PINION SEAL FAILED, LOST ALL FLUID, LOST POWER STEERING ON HIGHWAY.

RACK AND PINION SEALS FAILED CAUSING THE POWER STEERING FLUID TO LEAK INSIDE THE BOOTS ON THE END OF THE RACK AND PINION ASSEMBLY THEREFORE NOT LEAKING ONTO THE GROUND SO THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF A PROBLEM UNTIL THE POWER STEERING FAILS TO WORK PROPERLY WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. TOYOTA IS AWARE OF THE DEFECT BUT REFUSES TO ADMIT THERE IS A FAULTY PART OR DESIGN PROBLEM.

WHILE DRIVING MY POWER STEERING BEGAN TO FAIL. AFTER INSPECTION A POWER STEERING LEAK WAS DISCOVERED ON THE DRIVERS SIDE RACK AND PINION UNDER THE BOOT.

POWER STEERING RACK SEAL IS BLOWN AFTER BACKING INTO DRIVEWAY. TRUCK IS STOCK, NO MODIFICATIONS.

THIS SAFETY COMPLAINT RELATES TO THE "TILT LATCH MECHANISMS" OF A 2011 TOYOTA TUNDRA'S STEERING WHEEL, THE SET OF MECHANISMS USED TO RELEASE/SAFELY SECURE THE STEERING WHEEL IN PLACE. THERE WERE AT LEAST TWO PARTS AMONG THE LATCHING MECHANISMS, ONE BEING PLASTIC & THE OTHER BEING A METAL ALLOY, BROKE OFF AND INTO PIECES. IT WAS FORTUNATE THAT THE PROBLEM WAS FOUND WHEN I WENT TO LOWER THE STEERING WHEEL WHILE CLEANING MY VEHICLE. HAD THE PIECES SHATTERED AND FALLEN OFF WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION, A FATAL ACCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN RESULTED FROM LOSS OF STEERING WHEEL CONTROL. AT THE TIME OF THE FINDING, THE VEHICLE HAD 37118 MILES. SUCH SAFETY MECHANISMS OUGHT TO BE DESIGNED WITH SPECIFICATIONS SO THAT THEY WOULD LAST MORE THAN TWO OR THREE TIMES OF USE. I RECALL, AT LEAST ONCE, SEEING THE STEERING WHEEL DROPPED WITH THE LATCH LEVER HANGING DOWN HALF WAY WITHOUT ANYONE TOUCHING IT WITHIN THE FIRST 25000 MILES.BUT MY ASSUMPTION WAS THAT A TECHNICIAN MIGHT HAVE ADJUSTED THE STEERING WHEEL AND DIDN'T LATCH IT BACK PROPERLY. THE TECHNICIAN WHO WAS WORKING ON MY REPAIR HAD TOLD ME THAT MY VEHICLE WOULD BE THE SECOND VEHICLE HE HAD WORKED ON FOR THE SAME ISSUE. AND THROUGH ONLINE RESEARCH, I HAVE FOUND THAT WHILE THERE ARE NOT A HIGH VOLUME OF COMPLAINT OF THE SAME ISSUE, THERE ARE OWNERS REPORTING THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. AS THE TOYOTA DEALER HAD TOLD ME, THEIR TOYOTA REGIONAL SERVICE AND PARTS MANAGER HAD DECIDED TO COVER FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ENTIRE STEERING COLUMN AND EXPECTING ME TO PAY FOR THE LABOR COST. SHARING THE REPAIRING COST IS NOT AS MUCH OF A CONCERN AS THE MAJOR CONCERN OF SAFETY. AS I HAD MENTIONED ABOVE, THE OUTCOME FROM THE FAILURE OF LATCHING MECHANISM IS UNLIMITED, AND THE COST OF SUCH INCIDENT(S) COULD BE FATAL ACCIDENT AND/OR WOULD BE MANY TIMES THE COST OF REPAIRING THE VEHICLE. THEREFORE, THIS SERIOUS MATTER SHOULD BE THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED. *TR

BOUGHT TRUCK NEW WITH 99 MILES SHOWING,TESTDRIVE PULLED HARD TO RIGHT ,EXTREMELY HARD BROUGHT BACK TO DEALERSHIP 3 DAYS LATER TO PERFORM ITS FIRST ALIGNMENT,THEY DID SEVERAL THAT DAY , MORE THAN 16 ALIGNMENT AT THAT DEALERSHIP TRUCK STILL TRACKS RIGHT,EVERY DIP IN ROAD ,ANY BUMP ,TRUCK VEERS RIGHT, JULY 2012 I HAD LEMON LAW PROCEEDING ,THE MAN CAME OUT AND DIDN'T DRIVE ,JUST SAT IN PASS SEAT, DEALERSHIP HAD THE TRUCK OVERNIGHT ONCE IN JUNE2012 AND ONCE IN JULY 2012 BEFORE TO FIX ISSUE, WHICH DID GET BETTER, THEN WAS DENIED CAUSE IT IS UNDER WARRANTY, TRUCK HAD OIL CHANGE AROUND NOV2012 AND I COMPLAINED AGAIN ,ABOUT FRONT END DOG TRACKING ,THEY SAID ITS NORMAL AND NO FIX NEEDED ,BUT THE TRUCK WAS FIXED FROM DOG TRACKING BUT NOT PUT IN WRITING, STILL VEERS RIGHT,NOW THIS TRUCK HAS HAD PROBLEMS LIKE MAJOR VIBRATION, REPLACED DRIVESHAFT AT 2500 MILES,DEALERSHIP REPLACED WHEELS TWICE TRYING TO FIGURE WHERE ITS COMING FROM, WHILE BRAKING IT PULLED HARD TO RIGHT AND HAD TO FIGHT STEERING WHEEL ,NOW THIS IS FROM THE START IT COULD LITERALLY TAKE THE CAR OUT ON THE SIDE OF YOU,WITH A CROWN OR NO CROWN THE PULLING RIGHT IS EXCESSIVE,AND WAS ABOUT 80 % WORST BUT I WANT IT FIXED CORRECTLY,CAN ANYONE HELP ME GET THIS TRUCK TO ROLL STRAIGHT,IM AT 21,900 MILES ,YES I HAVE PAPER WORK . *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY TUNDRA WHEN I HEARD A LOUD NOISE. I THEN LOST MY STEERING ABILITY. IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO MAKE ANY TURNS. WHEN I WAS ABLE TO STOP, LOOKED UNDER THE VEHICLE AND SAW SOME TYPE OF FLUID LEAKING VERY FAST. I OPENED THE HOOD AND SAW I HAVE NO POWER STEERING FLUID. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID THE POWER STEERING SEAL BLEW CAUSING ME TO LOSE MY STEERING ABILITY. I WAS ALSO TOLD BY THE DEALERSHIP THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO AT LEAST 600 OTHER CARS. *KB