820 Miles, and in the shop already :(

[kclundy]

We've had our '07 Solara SLE convertible for 2 1/2 weeks, and today we took it back to the dealer; a clunking / rattling in the steering column. They have to replace the steering shaft. Service Advisor indicated that the '06 Solara and Camry both had a TSB on this, but this was the first '07 they'd seen with the same problem.

Anyone else had to have the intermediate steering column replaced? Did that take care of the problem?

Starting to review the Lemon Laws for our state.... hope I don't need them...

[MCOjerry]

We've had our '07 Solara SLE convertible for 2 1/2 weeks, and today we took it back to the dealer; a clunking / rattling in the steering column. They have to replace the steering shaft. Service Advisor indicated that the '06 Solara and Camry both had a TSB on this, but this was the first '07 they'd seen with the same problem.

Anyone else had to have the intermediate steering column replaced? Did that take care of the problem?

Starting to review the Lemon Laws for our state.... hope I don't need them...

I have an 06, and have never had such a problem.

I think it's a bit premature to be talking lemon law at this point.

[TW85]

My '04 had a clanking noise whenever I turned the wheel, starting about a year after I got the car. Ended up being a bad u-joint and in a quick search, I read it is a fairly common problem with the Camry, Solara, Lexus ES, etc.

One thing I have noticed about Toyota is that mechanically, they're reliable and they use good quality materials with low tolerance joints /seams but they have many little problems that add up to one big irritation. Rattles, clunks, ticking noises, crappy transmission and throttle programming, sunroofs that sound like they're going to break when you open them (and the TSB Toyota has for this does not fix the problem), etc. Enjoy your '07!

BTW, I agree it is premature to even think lemon law right now. It is not uncommon for a car to slip out with a bad part straight from the factory.

[superlara]

sorry to hear about that, it is really annoying when ur brand spankin new cars got a problem so premature. But yea people make the cars and you cant say you'll never have a problem with atleast one out of a hundred...you just had the unlucky one. hope things turn out for the best.

[NeFaRiOuS_SLE]

Hope that's your only problem... I had a 2004 Sentra 1.8S that had the check engine light on at 500 miles (for what I don't remember) and went downhill from there, which I didn't consider Lemon Law until I needed to have it towed (8th repair?). As far as that is concerned, like a couple of people said, it is far too early to judge a book by its cover.

[steve-o]

Hey. Toyota came in @ 114 problems per 100 cars. Give them a chance. My '96 'Coupe had a bumb IAC/Throttle body @ 45k. I had the extended warranty. A few throttle bodies and IACc's latter then a new CPU, still no good. Took it to another dealer, replaced the timing chain got 255k on it and only replaced a couple of o2 sensors and normal maintanence on the way. Give them a chance.

[HID04V6]

Mine is in the shop for the same thing right now, c'ept mine is an 04. I do agree that it is a bit early to start thinking about the lemon law- nothing is perfect. Give it a chance, i'm sure you'll love your car as much as the rest of us do.

[Down2TheC]

Seem to be the Toyota achilles heal. They recalled 1million plus trucks (my '95 4Runner included) for a steering linkage that was breaking.
No probs with the Solara, 3 Camry, 2 Corolla, 2 Avalons, and the Celica that have been in the family. So I think they're doing pretty well.

[PXLpainter]

Wow - I've never heard this one and I've tried to keep up on all the 2006 TSBs - hope you get it taken care of quickly!

[DocJohn]

We've had our '07 Solara SLE convertible for 2 1/2 weeks, and today we took it back to the dealer; a clunking / rattling in the steering column. They have to replace the steering shaft. Service Advisor indicated that the '06 Solara and Camry both had a TSB on this, but this was the first '07 they'd seen with the same problem.

Anyone else had to have the intermediate steering column replaced? Did that take care of the problem?

Starting to review the Lemon Laws for our state.... hope I don't need them...

Yes, I had this same problem in my '04 and it has been corrected.

See: http://www.solaraguy.org/viewtopic.php?t=20810

TSB ST001-06 (Steering Intermediate Shaft Noise) addresses this issue. I would have thought the re-designed intermediate shaft would have been used in the '07 Solara.

[kclundy]

Well... the TSB-prescribed replacement of the intermediate steering shaft did not correct the problem. So, it is back in the shop today. The dealer is being very, very good about it; they actually sent a driver to our office (20+ miles away) with a loaner car, and swapped cars so they could drive the Solara back to work on it. This saved us from having to drive back out to the dealership again.

I totally understand that no matter how much QC you have, problems will arise with new vehicles. So, I am trying to be patient, and for now am satisified that the dealership is doing what they need to do to minimize my inconvenience. But I gotta tell you; I'm still bummed about having to deal with this.....

[MCOjerry]

When it comes down to it, we'd all be upset. I, for one, would be.

I'm glad there seems to be one good dealer out there, though...at least they aren't giving the run around, and they are trying to inconvenience you as little as possible.

[HID04V6]

Well... the TSB-prescribed replacement of the intermediate steering shaft did not correct the problem. So, it is back in the shop today. The dealer is being very, very good about it; they actually sent a driver to our office (20+ miles away) with a loaner car, and swapped cars so they could drive the Solara back to work on it. This saved us from having to drive back out to the dealership again.

I just got mine back today from the dealership- they had to replace the intermediate steering shaft, and it did not fix the problem. They ended up replacing the entire rack and pinion steering system, which solved the problem. However, during the replacement of the rack and pinion steering system, they damaged some VSC sensors and something with TRAC, so it took a few days longer to get parts in for that. All in all, its great now- no clicking or catching in the steering wheel when turning.

[steve-o]

>>Well... the TSB-prescribed replacement of the intermediate steering shaft did not correct the problem. So, it is back in the shop today. The dealer is being very, very good about it; they actually sent a driver to our office (20+ miles away) with a loaner car, and swapped cars so they could drive the Solara back to work on it. This saved us from having to drive back out to the dealership again.<<

Sounds like the dealership cares, I'm SURE they'll fix it.

<<All in all, its great now no clicking or catching in the steering wheel when turning.<<
A happy ending. This is good. A good dealership can make all the difference in the world. Hope that's all for a while. Enjoy!

[scottct1]

I sure hope my convertible doesn't have this issue. However, if it does I hope my dealer is as good as yours

2 weeks to go until delivery, but then again, I have heard that before.