2001 Toyota Camry Steering Problems

After getting your wheels aligned, your steering wheel doesn't sit straight and your car pulls to one side of the road when you try to drive straight. When you took it back for another alignment, the pulling switched to the other side. Additionally, when parked, your steering wheel can spin a full 360 degrees and gets stuck or catches at certain points during turns. The shop will need to re-inspect and correct the wheel alignment and check for potential damage to steering components from the initial alignment work.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2001 TOYOTA CAMRY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE ENGINE SPUTTERED AND THE ENGINE RPMS WOULD INCREASE AND DECREASE. IN ADDITION, THE POWER STEERING, BRAKES, AND ENGINE FAILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING, BUT WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 95,000.

NOTICED A VIBRATION IN THE STEERING WHEEL SINCE THE FIRST MONTH OF PURCHASE HAVE HAD MANY FRONT END ALIGNMENTS AND WHEEL BAL PLUS CHANGED TIRES THREE TIMES. STILL HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM TO THIS DAY. *TR

IT WAS RAINING VERY HARD AND THE TEMP OUTSIDE WAS AROUND 70. I MAY HAVE DRIVEN THRU A PUDDLE JUST BEFORE I TURNED MY CAR , AS I TURNED MY STEERING FROZE UP, LIKE I LOST POWER STEERING ONLY WORSE, I COULDN'T TURN THE WHEEL TO STRAIGHTEN OUT MY CAR SO I HAD TO STOP MY CAR. AFTER A FEW SECONDS I WAS ABLE TO GET CONTROL OF THE STEERING AGAIN. AFTER DRIVING FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES THE STEERING PROBLEMS WENT WAY. THIS STEERING PROBLEM CONTINUES TO OCCUR WHENEVER IT'S VERY WET OUTSIDE, WHEN IT'S RAINING HARD. I BROUGHT MY CAR TO A AUTO MECHANIC WHO CHECKED THE BELTS AND STEERING FLUID AND SAID EVERYTHING LOOKED NORMAL. *TT

I'VE OWNED MY 2001 SOLARA SINCE I PURCHASED IT NEW IN APRIL 2001. I HAVEN'T HAD ANY REAL PROBLEMS WITH IT (I'VE HAD ALL OF THE NORMAL MAINTENANCE, WEAR & TEAR STUFF DONE), UNTIL ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO. MY WIFE & I WERE OUT OF TOWN AND WERE TURNING AROUND AT A STRIP MALL SHOPPING CENTER WHEN THE STEERING LOCKED UP. IT HAD JUST RAINED EXTREMELY HEAVILY AND THERE WAS A LOT OF SURFACE WATER ON THE ROAD. I JUST ASSUMED THAT PERHAPS THE POWER STEERING DRIVE BELT GOT WET AND WAS SLIPPING (ALTHOUGH I DIDN'T HEAR ANY SQUEALING). AFTER THAT THE STEERING SEEMED OK. THEN ABOUT A YEAR AGO, I STARTED NOTICING THE PROBLEM MORE REGULARLY, MOSTLY WHILE "UN-PARKING" THE CAR FROM A PARALLEL PARKING SPOT. I CAN BACK UP OK, BUT WHEN I STEER THE CAR TO BEGIN DRIVING, THE STEERING LOCKS UP & I HAVE TO STOP, BACK UP AGAIN, & "STEER OUT OF IT." ANYONE ELSE HAVE THIS KIND OF STEERING PROBLEM? I HAVE 125,000 MILES ON THE CAR. I KNOW THAT TOYOTA HAS DONE A RECENT RECALL ON CRACKED STEERING BOXES ON CERTAIN MODELS. I HAD A '76 CELICA ONE TIME THAT DEVELOPED A CRACK IN THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION CASTING AT ABOUT 80 OR 90,000 MILES. *TR

I OWN 2001 CAMRY LE. FORTUNATELY NO ACCIDENTS HAPPENED BUT I'M TIRED OF FIXING IT'S WHEEL ALIGNMENT PROBLEMS. THE CAR PULLS ON LEFT. I REPLACED EVERY POSSIBLE PARTS SUGGESTED. I DID THE ALIGNMENT FROM SEVERAL PLACES SUCH AS SEARS, FIRESTONE. THEY DON'T FIND ANY PROBLEM IN THE ALIGNMENT REPORT BUT WHEN I DRIVE, THE CAR HEAVILY PULLS ON LEFT SIDE. I HAVE TO REALLY HOLD THE STEERING TIGHT TO KEEP THE CAR ON ROAD OR IN A LANE.. *TR

2001-TOYOTA CAMRY: THERE IS A BURNING ODOR WHEN CAR IS OPERATING. THE IGNITION DOES NOT ALWAYS START THE CAR UPON INSERTING AND TURNING THE KEY. MANY TIMES WHEN TURNING THE KEY, THERE IS A HIGH SCREECHING LOUD NOISE AND THE CAR REMAINS NON-OPERATIONAL FOR A FEW MINUTES WHICH OCCURS EVERYDAY. AFTER THE CAR IS RUNNING FOR APPROXIMATELY 20-MINUTES DOWN THE ROAD, THERE IS A BURNING SMELL SIMILAR TO BURNING RUBBER. THE INSIDE OF THE CAR NEAR THE FLOOR ON DRIVER SIDE AND PASSENGER SIDE WILL BECOME WARM. IT APPEARS HEAT IS GENERATED FROM THE ENGINE INTO THE INSIDE OF THE CAR THUS RESULTING IN BURNING ODOR. UPON ACCELERATION, THE CAR HAS A JERKY, PROPELLING MOTION FORWARD. STEERING COLUMN HAS SOME STIFFNESS AND AT OTHER TIMES IT HAS LOT OF PLAY WITH TURNS. THE POWER/ELECTRIC WINDOWS, CLOCK, AND CD/RADIO PLAYER DO NOT WORK PROPERLY. THESE DEFECTS/FAULTS OCCURRED APPROXIMATELY 6 MONTHS AFTER USED VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED. AS VEHICLE WAS SOLD AS IS, I DID NOT RETURN TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR REPAIRS. CAR WAS TAKEN TO LOCAL MECHANIC AND FOUND NOTHING WRONG. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE DAILY IGNITION/START PROBLEM, OTHER PROBLEMS DESCRIBED ABOVE, HAPPEN APPROXIMATELY FIVE TIMES A MONTH. REGULAR SCHEDULED SERVICE MAINTENANCE ARE PERFORMED HOWEVER ALL ABOVE PROBLEMS CONTINUE TO CONCERN ME. *TR

HAVE HAD A STEERING WHEEL VIVRATION SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW IN 2001. HAVE HAD WHEELS BALANCED AND ALIGH IN PAST AND PURCHASED NEW TIRES AFTER 18,000 MILES TO SEE IF THAT WOULD HELP. NOTHING HAS. STILL HAS VIBRATION. CALLED TOYOTA IN 2001 NO HELP RESOLVING PROBLEM. 8JB

WHILE DRIVING 31 MPH THE STEERING VEERED TO THE RIGHT AND THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED WITHOUT WARNING. AS A RESULT THE CONSUMER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND COLLIDED INTO A TREE. NO INJURIES REPORTED. THE CAUSE HAD NOT BEEN DETERMINED. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *JB

STEERING WHEEL HARD TO TURN, DEFECT IN RACK AND PINION. *JB

CAR STEERING DRIFTS LEFT, 8 TRIPS TO THE DEALER AND IT CANNOT BE FIXED (CASTER IS NOT ADJUSTABLE). WEB SEARCHES REVEAL THAT THIS HAS BEEN A PERVASIVE PROBLEM FOR YEARS WITH THE MANUFACTURER OFFERING NO RESOLUTION. *LA

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE DALLAS NORTH TOLLWAY, IT BECAME DIFFICULT TO STEER THE VEHICLE. IT STARTED TO PULL TOWARDS THE LEFT AT FIRST SLIGHTLY, THEN MORE VIOLENTLY CAUSING ME TO CRASH INTO THE CONCRETE MEDIAN THAT SEPARATES THE NORTH AND SOUTHBOUND LANES OF THE HIGHWAY. I SUSTAINED ACCUTE MUSCLE AND LIGAMENT SPRAIN IN MY BACK. THE VEHICLE WAS OPERATING FINE THE PREVIOUS DAY. *AK

AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, PARTICULARLY FROM 45 MPH TO 65-75 MPH, STEERING WHEEL ON 2001 CAMRY LE 4-CYL VIBRATES. TIRES AND WHEELS HAVE BEEN BALANCED MANY TIMES BUT STILL NO REMEDY. ALIGNMENT WAS ALSO PERFORMED MANY TIMES BUT WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. WENT TO TOYOTA DEALERSHIP 4 TIMES, WITH THE SAME CAUSE, DEALER TENTATIVELY FIXED ISSUE BUT RESTARTS (VIBRATES) AFTER A FEW MILES. STEERING WHEEL SEEMS LOOSE (ABOUT TO FALL OFF) AND MOVES THE CAR SLIGHTLY TO THE LEFT. VISUAL VIBRATE OF STEERING WHEEL IS SEEN AND OF COURSE FELT. THIS VIBRATE NOT SEEN IN MY PREVIOUS 1998 COROLLA AT THE SAME SPEED RANGE. ALSO, OTHER GENERATION 4 (1997-2001) CAMRY'S HAVE THE SAME DEFECT. POSSIBLE ENGINE MOUNT PROBLEM (ENGINE NOT HELD PROPERLY), OVER OR UNDER TORQUING OF STEERING WHEEL AND RELATED COMPONENTS. PROBABLY SUSPENSION FAILURE OR IMPROPER INSTALLATION OF STEERING AND SUSPENSION. NOTE: INCIDENT DATE IS TODAY'S DATE (02 MAY 03). INCIDENT HAS HAPPENED MANY TIMES IN NORMAL DRIVING. NOTE: NUMBER OF FAILURES IS MEASURED IN EVERY TIME I START THE CAR AND DRIVE AT THE ABOVE SPECIFIED SPEEDS. HOWEVER, THE NUMBER IS LESSER SINCE IT HAS BEEN AWHILE THAT I REPORTED THE PROBLEM TO TOYOTA. *NLM

WE PURCHASED A BRAND NEW TOYOTA CAMRY 2001 LAST WEEK (MAY 2ND). THE CAR HAS A DEFECT ON THE STEERING (STEERING IS LOOSE OR PULLS TO ONE SIDE) THAT THE DEALER SERVICE CENTER HAS BEEN UNABLE TO FIX AFTER THE THIRD ATTEMPT. CAR IS STILL AT SERVICE CENTER, EACH TIME THEY TRY TO GET THE CAR BACK TO US WHILE THEY KNOW THE PROBLEM PERSISTS. A TECHNICIAN AT THE CENTER MENTIONNED A FACTORY DEFECT. WE ARE VERY CONCERNED BY THE SAFETY OF THE VEHICLE WE PAID $20,000 FOR AND WOULD RATHER GET OUR MONEY BACK.*AK

Your car's year of manufacture was identified as 2000 instead of 2001 during a local DMV inspection, based on stickers found on the doors, hood, and other locations. This discrepancy was noted during the inspection process. You may need to contact Toyota or your local DMV to clarify your vehicle's actual model year.