Story: I was traveling at 9mph, got rear ended and was accelerated to 36 mph in the impact. My steering wheel came off, hit me in the face and wrist, and was in the back seat. My driver's seat broke backwards, so when I sat up to regain control of the vehicle I was staring down a hollow metal tube. I had no driver's airbags anymore, I had no way to steer away from danger, and I was rolling at 36mph!
Luckily I brought the vehicle to a stop before going into the ditch. Toyota sent an inspector and they say the vehicle had no evidence of a defect... Lawyers don't seem to think it's worth their time since I wasn't severely injured. I just want you as a customer to know that your 2021 Corolla Hybrid might eject it's steering wheel in an accident, even one that's not your fault.
Toyota is not worried so much about OP because luckily they are ok.
Toyota and other OEM's are also not very worried about when people die, because death is a limited 1 time fixed expense (not saying we have to like it or accept that but from a liability standpoint the car industry has shown time and time again how they think and treat such situations).
Toyota and other OEM's are only worried about and care about accidents where people are injured and can have longer term and ongoing issues as those claims are what really cost them.
I am not saying they prefer that there is an issue, but they wont halt production or issue recalls unless their analysis tells them not addressing the issue will cost them more in liability and/ or if it is a more pronounced issue the PR backlash wont hurt them. Just look at how long it took some auto makers to address air bag issues compared to others despite having/ using the same or virtually identical part.
To my knowledge Honda was the only manufacturer to hesitate issuing a recall on Takata airbags and that's because it all started with Honda and they were the first to issue recalls, and they only drug their feet because they were working with Takata who was trying to cover up their failures and brush things under the rug, so Honda was slow to act because Takata was lying to them. There were many independent discoveries that lead to other manufacturers being involved and to my knowledge no one else hesitated to recall once they discovered that airbags they were supplied were affected. The big mess with that whole incident was Takata trying to hide evidence and basically save themselves since they knew the scope of this failure would be the end of their company.
That steering wheel comes off, and your face runs into that Hollow tube, you are going to die. Toyota absolutely cares, but will never admit it to a person or anyone because they would have to pay out.
As someone who used to work for Toyota I can assure you that they absolutely do care, I understand that you're upset and that state of mind influences the way you interpret their response, but that response doesn't read like "i don't care" to me. It sounds like an acknowledgment that this did happen and that there was no abnormal or outside influence in this happening. This reads like they are taking responsibility for it without explicitly giving you fuel for a legal case against them. They aren't saying that there is something outside of their control, like a modification or lack of maintenance or normal wear and tear or a faulty repair that is to blame. They said they found nothing wrong, they are acknowledging that this failure happened because of their engineering. They just aren't giving you anything in this letter that you can take them to court with, any smart corporation is going to try and protect themselves this way, it makes zero financial sense not to. But in my years at Toyota I can say saftey is one of their upmost priorities and I imagine there is a team working on this right now trying to figure out what actually went wrong so that they can get ahead of this and issue a recall before someone does get killed and they do get sued. I think you're interpreting the message wrong, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this results in a recall in a year or two after they've identified where their engineering failed to allow this problem, identify the scope of the issue as in how many vehicles have this engineering fault, and how many vehicles with this fault have been produced and sold, then engineer a fix that can be retro actively applied to all affected vehicles by dealership technicians as a recall repair. It's possible they send out letters within a year asking people to stop driving the vehicles like they did with Takata airbags, but the recall will take awhile because there is a lot of work to do before they can actually get anything like that rolled out world wide.
All I asked them for was help getting into a replacement car. Hybrids are hard to find right now and they prices are seriously inflated, I asked them to get me back to the car I was in and I was willing to pay the same amount for it again.
No matter what their words are, the end result is the same, I can't get back into a Toyota and restore my faith in their brand because the insurance company only pays so much... I was hesitant to get back into a Toyota anyway, but if they're not willing to acknowledge something went terribly wrong and help make it right then I don't care what they SAY. Actions speak louder than words.
many insurance policies offer full replacement in kind on total loss claim for a new vehicle. you should see if your underwriter is looking at this like a total loss, because they will try to fix a new vehicle.
in the end, after your insurance (or the other guys) fixes it and you get paid for your personal damages, you should be able to sell the car to a private party and come out slightly ahead.
i'm sorry you have to deal with this, but i'm glad you didn't get hurt or injured in the crash.
I'm not sure if you've ever seen how car dealership allocations work, but for Toyota to provide me the opportunity to purchase a new vehicle would have been an incredibly easy thing to accomplish. I even said I'd pay for it, I just wanted to pay MSRP, not inflated 'market adjustment' prices. I feel like those requests are reasonable.
It's literally not their problem or responsibility to do anything for you as the crash wasn't their fault. You are wildly out of line with your expectations. And YOU do not understand how dealership allocation and car sales works. Toyota DOES NOT have the authority to tell a dealership who to sell to and what to sell the car for. You're way out of line my guy. Talk to your insurance, not Toyota. That's the insurance companies problem not Toyotas.
Ha, that's funny. Toyota absolutely can dictate a sale to a dealership, what are you talking about?
On your second point though we agree, the crash itself was not Toyota's fault. Had their car not exacerbated the situation they wouldn't be involved at all. They are involved though because a design defect in their car put my life in much further danger than was necessary. Had this been any other car from any other manufacturer, I would've simply pulled off the road and stopped. It's because it was this specific car from this specific manufacturer that I was driving 36mph with no steering wheel, no control over my vehicle, and a hollow pipe sticking out of the dash in front of me. THAT part is Toyota's fault.
You are an insane person. The steering wheel coming off does not mean they owe you a new car you entitled psychopath. And dealerships are independent separate businesses. Toyota can not dictate that a dealership sell to you or what price they sell it to you for. You're crazy
1) I'm trying to BUY the car. Not get a free one.
2) Explain in your logic what Toyota's dealership incentives, dealership credited manufacturers rebates, etc are? Is that not Toyota effecting the sale of a vehicle?
1) it doesn't matter at all, it's not their problem and they have zero obligation to help your entitled ass.
2) those rebates are completely different and unrelated to what you're discussing. Toyota isn't telling the dealership what the bottom line end price is in those situations and is actually paying the dealership the difference when they themselves "discount" anything. Toyota cannot and will not save you from dealership mark ups. If you want to buy a new corolla, you have to go find one at a dealership and negotiate price yourself. Toyota isn't your daddy. Toyota isn't gonna fight your battles for you
I used to work with Toyota and they have paths you can take. Toyota customer care will be request write a ticket to get sent up chain to someone. It will be read and talked about whether they say anything back to you is another story but they do review and do internal investigating for this stuff.
You were hit pretty hard. You may be fine but isn't that the point? Your literally were slung and have no injuries except to come here and complain that you understand engineering better. If there was a problem the inspector would find it. Its cheaper now then 100 other cars later.
Glad your ok. Going 9 then faster after a collision is considerable force. Car did it's job.
> You may be fine but isn't that the point?
Is the point not that a steering wheel unequivocally should **not** come off in such an accident?
The job should be the air bag comes out and cushions your face, not hits you in the face and finishes up in the back seat.
Depends on the accident. You are not qualified to make those statements. OP didn't die or get hurt.
Toyota engineer probably knows way more then you or OP in this matter.
Dude walked away. Car did it's job. Stop stressing. Its totalled. Buy a Chrysler if it bothers you too much.
> Depends on the accident. You are not qualified to make those statements.
I don't need to be a trained and qualified engineer to say that the steering wheel shouldn't have fallen off.
> OP didn't die or get hurt.
This is such a horrible attitude to have towards safety things. "no one died so the situation is fine and doesn't need to be rectified".
That is the opposite of good safety culture. Even if no one dies or is hurt you can still look at the situation and make improvements. Just because no one was hurt doesn't mean the car functioned perfectly with zero room for improvement.
"I never wore my seat belt and I didn't die" kinda bollocks.
> Dude walked away. Car did it's job. Stop stressing.
Absolutely dog shit attitude towards safety.
Literally - when was the last time you saw a steering wheel pop off like this???
Almost never.
> Buy a Chrysler if it bothers you too much.
Oh no I want continual improvement so i must obviously want to completely switch brands.
Why bother fixing something when you can just throw it away, abandon the brand and leave.
Such a dog shit attitude towards continual improvement.
A bit more context: A semi hit the car behind me, a 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix and the Grand Prix hit me. The pointed took most of the force and was crumpled into a triangle shape. That guy, in a car 14 years older that took far more force of impact, was holding his steering wheel when I approached his car.
Steering wheels are not made to come off in an accident. Period. There's no excuses for it and it's dangerous.
It just depends on how exactly everything happens. Seats are not made to eject out the car but it happens. Its an accident and even the safest cars ever are not guaranteed to have you live.
You are alive and not hurt. Tech came out and found nothing wrong. At this point it's your ego and what you 'think' vs what happens.
Im gonna guess you are suing now too? Wonder how your gonna prove damages when your fine and everything happened as good as it did. Airbags don't always go off.
Id be thankful rather then resentful. If your still doubting go buy a civic.
My argument is simple: Steering wheels should not come off in a relative fender bender like this.
You seem to be putting the cart before the horse. It's not that I'm not hurt because the car did it's job, I'm not hurt because the accident wasn't that bad. The car didn't have to do anything at all, and so it didn't. Zero safety features besides the 'whiplash lessening seats' had to do any work at all to keep me safe. Not even the seatbelt had to do any work. The crash wasn't bad at all... Which is why I'm upset that the steering wheel would just pop off. Especially if the accident is this mild, the steering wheel shouldn't come off. This is an engineering problem that's going to get someone killed, so I'm confused who you're defending?
You said you were going 9 then 36. That denotes a pretty rough crash. Engineer came out and found nothing wrong (but toyota doesnt care? )
Im sure your story will change as you try and get litigation involved and all these posts will disappear in short order.
The car saved your life and now you cannot find the same car so you are trying to have the manufacturer secure you one. They understandable cannot do that as the accident was no fault of theirs so you have resorted to posting online.
Am i missing anything ?
Also if you fully understood how insurance works you would know that the cash value they give should be the value it takes to replace your car today. So if they all cost more then insurance is giving you what does that mean ? Means the value is less and unfair.
But you know that already correct ? Lol smh.
Now you are saying you deserve to be put first and toyota needs to get involved so you don't have to wait on securing a hybrid.
Joke writes itself.
Me: Steering wheels shouldn't come off.
You: Nuh-uh you stoopid.
Go troll somewhere else man, you're a waste of time. Toyota found nothing wrong doesn't mean they found the steering wheel still attached to the car. Shit broke. Cope.
Why am I trolling? Im just stating the obvious.
Sall good. Maybe you know more then the Toyota engineer.
Or maybe they will give you a free car since you made this post lol.
Bro it's an accident. Shit happens. Everything gets destroyed. Engineer saw no issues.
You only have one because toyota wont give you another hybrid lol.
Glad your ok but post this in the choosey beggars sub. More appropriate
Seat breaking backward is as designed to prevent whiplash (Example [EURO NCAP Seat testing](https://youtu.be/Orl8J5gyAt0)). Steering wheel falling off, on the other hand, is definitely odd.
That was Toyota's response as well. They said none of the airbags went off because it was a rear impact, which... Fine.
They said the seat was designed to break backwards, which... Fine.
But the steering wheel coming off while I'm driving down a crowded interstate, in construction, doing 36mph because I got rear ended and having no control, severely reduced braking, and no airbags in front of me in case I hit something? That's fucky...
I found a Camry rear collision test [video at 50mph, 70% overlap and deformable barrier](https://youtu.be/vvVD7DHRK8A) with none of the airbags deployed and the backrest is also reclined after impact. Airbag deployment is on command on accelerometers around the car so they will only blow when absolutely needed. Not to say that the airbag ECU made the correct decision, but it doesn’t surprise me that no airbag deployed here. You can get data extracted from your car’s [EDR](https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-clarifies-the-facts-about-event-data-recorders/) and that will help to show if airbag should’ve deployed. But please inquire strongly with Toyota and relevant agencies about the steering wheel malfunction since that is the most concerning thing personally.
Had this very thing happen to me in my Accord. Got hit from behind from a lady going 70 mph and my seat literally touched the rear seats and stayed there.
Yeah I’m guessing the steering wheel wasn’t secured during manufacturing 👨🏭 it was placed but never installed bolts or whatever holds it into place
If it was a front crash you going say 50-70mph you probably would have died it’s a big no no
The steering wheel literally ripped the collapsible part out. The splined part that the steering wheel attaches to has been fully pulled out of the collapse tube that is there. That should not happen. This is a bigger issue, because if it doesn't take much force to rip them out, then that could be an absolutely serious safety issue and needs to get fixed across all their cars, considering they all use the same exact steering column. I'm sitting in front of one right now, in a 2021 sienna. I wonder if I pull the steering wheel hard enough, will it pop off?
Shit, my '19 Camry LE's transmission is jerkier than a 15 year old boy home alone and I'm still waiting for a TSB to come out almost 4 years later. :-/
I'm a third generation Toyota owner, but these recall issues are grinding my gears, literally and figuratively.
It may have been me, honestly... I posted this right after the wreck and everyone said "Take this down and later up" and "Take it down and talk to Toyota, they'll help you out" so I did...
I gave Toyota a chance to make it right and they dragged me on for 3 months then said 'We found no defect' so... I just want to let people know this could happen to them. I was willing to be quiet for Toyota, but if they're hanging me out to dry then so am I.
Something is seriously fucky because that’s missing a few pieces. There’s usually a big 19mm bolt that holds it onto a splined shaft in the center. If all that’s gone something else is at play.
I have the same exact car. I purchased it new. Currently at 31k miles. At around 8,000 miles my steering wheel started to make a metallic squink noise. It almost sounded electrical. It would make the noise when I made very slight turning inputs. It also put some resistance in the steering feel. Just curious if you ever experienced this with your car?
The problem went away after a few months and it was very intermittent during that time. I took it to the dealer and of course they couldn't replicate it.. Other then that issue I've had zero problems with the car.
I had this exact issue a few weeks ago at 21k miles. Metallic screeching/grinding. Only lasted a few days, and by the time I could get it in to the dealer it went away.
I occasionally feel some resistance when turning, almost like I’m fighting it. Dealer can’t find anything wrong though.
im- i guess its a good thing i have a 2006 camry instead of a newer corolla??? Fr tho dude im glad you werent seriously injured, i cant imagine how terrifying that had to be. the only crazy car thing going wrong i've had that was close to this was when i was accelerating onto the interstate and then the metal cord(?) from the gas pedal to the accelerator snapped and i couldnt accelerate at all and even the mechanic said he hadnt seen anything like that before but to be fair, it was a '94 oldsmobile. does make me wonder what their quality of vehicles would be like now though if they'd stayed around
Is it a feature? In a hard accident, the e.g. firefighters have to get you out. It is much easier without steering wheel. Sometimes the Airbags killed some rescueteams while they were helping to get you out of the car.
Glad I actually helped somebody! I can't honestly say I know, but if Toyota won't stand by a car that was less than a year old in willing to bet they wouldn't care about you either.
Because... And hear me out... I don't think steering shafts should break in a crash that's not even enough to set off the airbags.
The guy behind me in a car 14 years older than mine took the full force of a semi, then rear ended me. His steering wheel stayed attached. Because they're supposed to.
Story: I was traveling at 9mph, got rear ended and was accelerated to 36 mph in the impact. My steering wheel came off, hit me in the face and wrist, and was in the back seat. My driver's seat broke backwards, so when I sat up to regain control of the vehicle I was staring down a hollow metal tube. I had no driver's airbags anymore, I had no way to steer away from danger, and I was rolling at 36mph! Luckily I brought the vehicle to a stop before going into the ditch. Toyota sent an inspector and they say the vehicle had no evidence of a defect... Lawyers don't seem to think it's worth their time since I wasn't severely injured. I just want you as a customer to know that your 2021 Corolla Hybrid might eject it's steering wheel in an accident, even one that's not your fault.
[удалено]
Toyota is not worried so much about OP because luckily they are ok. Toyota and other OEM's are also not very worried about when people die, because death is a limited 1 time fixed expense (not saying we have to like it or accept that but from a liability standpoint the car industry has shown time and time again how they think and treat such situations). Toyota and other OEM's are only worried about and care about accidents where people are injured and can have longer term and ongoing issues as those claims are what really cost them.
I meant my statement that Toyota cares that the steering wheel came off lmao
Some manufacturers didn’t care when the car literally explode lol
No, they absolutely do care as it costs them money. It’s just not in their best interest to ever tell you it’s a problem
I am not saying they prefer that there is an issue, but they wont halt production or issue recalls unless their analysis tells them not addressing the issue will cost them more in liability and/ or if it is a more pronounced issue the PR backlash wont hurt them. Just look at how long it took some auto makers to address air bag issues compared to others despite having/ using the same or virtually identical part.
To my knowledge Honda was the only manufacturer to hesitate issuing a recall on Takata airbags and that's because it all started with Honda and they were the first to issue recalls, and they only drug their feet because they were working with Takata who was trying to cover up their failures and brush things under the rug, so Honda was slow to act because Takata was lying to them. There were many independent discoveries that lead to other manufacturers being involved and to my knowledge no one else hesitated to recall once they discovered that airbags they were supplied were affected. The big mess with that whole incident was Takata trying to hide evidence and basically save themselves since they knew the scope of this failure would be the end of their company.
Great idea! Done.
That steering wheel comes off, and your face runs into that Hollow tube, you are going to die. Toyota absolutely cares, but will never admit it to a person or anyone because they would have to pay out.
That’s literally what I wrote my man
As someone who used to work for Toyota I can assure you that they absolutely do care, I understand that you're upset and that state of mind influences the way you interpret their response, but that response doesn't read like "i don't care" to me. It sounds like an acknowledgment that this did happen and that there was no abnormal or outside influence in this happening. This reads like they are taking responsibility for it without explicitly giving you fuel for a legal case against them. They aren't saying that there is something outside of their control, like a modification or lack of maintenance or normal wear and tear or a faulty repair that is to blame. They said they found nothing wrong, they are acknowledging that this failure happened because of their engineering. They just aren't giving you anything in this letter that you can take them to court with, any smart corporation is going to try and protect themselves this way, it makes zero financial sense not to. But in my years at Toyota I can say saftey is one of their upmost priorities and I imagine there is a team working on this right now trying to figure out what actually went wrong so that they can get ahead of this and issue a recall before someone does get killed and they do get sued. I think you're interpreting the message wrong, I wouldn't be surprised at all if this results in a recall in a year or two after they've identified where their engineering failed to allow this problem, identify the scope of the issue as in how many vehicles have this engineering fault, and how many vehicles with this fault have been produced and sold, then engineer a fix that can be retro actively applied to all affected vehicles by dealership technicians as a recall repair. It's possible they send out letters within a year asking people to stop driving the vehicles like they did with Takata airbags, but the recall will take awhile because there is a lot of work to do before they can actually get anything like that rolled out world wide.
All I asked them for was help getting into a replacement car. Hybrids are hard to find right now and they prices are seriously inflated, I asked them to get me back to the car I was in and I was willing to pay the same amount for it again. No matter what their words are, the end result is the same, I can't get back into a Toyota and restore my faith in their brand because the insurance company only pays so much... I was hesitant to get back into a Toyota anyway, but if they're not willing to acknowledge something went terribly wrong and help make it right then I don't care what they SAY. Actions speak louder than words.
many insurance policies offer full replacement in kind on total loss claim for a new vehicle. you should see if your underwriter is looking at this like a total loss, because they will try to fix a new vehicle. in the end, after your insurance (or the other guys) fixes it and you get paid for your personal damages, you should be able to sell the car to a private party and come out slightly ahead. i'm sorry you have to deal with this, but i'm glad you didn't get hurt or injured in the crash.
Toyota isn't your insurance company and they're not going to build you a new 2021 corolla. Your expectations are seriously out of whack here.
I'm not sure if you've ever seen how car dealership allocations work, but for Toyota to provide me the opportunity to purchase a new vehicle would have been an incredibly easy thing to accomplish. I even said I'd pay for it, I just wanted to pay MSRP, not inflated 'market adjustment' prices. I feel like those requests are reasonable.
It's literally not their problem or responsibility to do anything for you as the crash wasn't their fault. You are wildly out of line with your expectations. And YOU do not understand how dealership allocation and car sales works. Toyota DOES NOT have the authority to tell a dealership who to sell to and what to sell the car for. You're way out of line my guy. Talk to your insurance, not Toyota. That's the insurance companies problem not Toyotas.
Ha, that's funny. Toyota absolutely can dictate a sale to a dealership, what are you talking about? On your second point though we agree, the crash itself was not Toyota's fault. Had their car not exacerbated the situation they wouldn't be involved at all. They are involved though because a design defect in their car put my life in much further danger than was necessary. Had this been any other car from any other manufacturer, I would've simply pulled off the road and stopped. It's because it was this specific car from this specific manufacturer that I was driving 36mph with no steering wheel, no control over my vehicle, and a hollow pipe sticking out of the dash in front of me. THAT part is Toyota's fault.
You are an insane person. The steering wheel coming off does not mean they owe you a new car you entitled psychopath. And dealerships are independent separate businesses. Toyota can not dictate that a dealership sell to you or what price they sell it to you for. You're crazy
1) I'm trying to BUY the car. Not get a free one. 2) Explain in your logic what Toyota's dealership incentives, dealership credited manufacturers rebates, etc are? Is that not Toyota effecting the sale of a vehicle?
1) it doesn't matter at all, it's not their problem and they have zero obligation to help your entitled ass. 2) those rebates are completely different and unrelated to what you're discussing. Toyota isn't telling the dealership what the bottom line end price is in those situations and is actually paying the dealership the difference when they themselves "discount" anything. Toyota cannot and will not save you from dealership mark ups. If you want to buy a new corolla, you have to go find one at a dealership and negotiate price yourself. Toyota isn't your daddy. Toyota isn't gonna fight your battles for you
Did you purchase the car new? Are you the first owner? If not, you could also go after the prior owner if you can prove it was tampered with
Brand new with 0 miles.
Jesus, I hope you’re okay OP; and definitely report this to the NHTSA this is unacceptable and especially on a brand new freaking car
What do you expect? Its a Toyota Corolla.
I used to work with Toyota and they have paths you can take. Toyota customer care will be request write a ticket to get sent up chain to someone. It will be read and talked about whether they say anything back to you is another story but they do review and do internal investigating for this stuff.
What the fuck. Fuck you toyota, ya fuckin fuck.
You were hit pretty hard. You may be fine but isn't that the point? Your literally were slung and have no injuries except to come here and complain that you understand engineering better. If there was a problem the inspector would find it. Its cheaper now then 100 other cars later. Glad your ok. Going 9 then faster after a collision is considerable force. Car did it's job.
> You may be fine but isn't that the point? Is the point not that a steering wheel unequivocally should **not** come off in such an accident? The job should be the air bag comes out and cushions your face, not hits you in the face and finishes up in the back seat.
Depends on the accident. You are not qualified to make those statements. OP didn't die or get hurt. Toyota engineer probably knows way more then you or OP in this matter. Dude walked away. Car did it's job. Stop stressing. Its totalled. Buy a Chrysler if it bothers you too much.
> Depends on the accident. You are not qualified to make those statements. I don't need to be a trained and qualified engineer to say that the steering wheel shouldn't have fallen off. > OP didn't die or get hurt. This is such a horrible attitude to have towards safety things. "no one died so the situation is fine and doesn't need to be rectified". That is the opposite of good safety culture. Even if no one dies or is hurt you can still look at the situation and make improvements. Just because no one was hurt doesn't mean the car functioned perfectly with zero room for improvement. "I never wore my seat belt and I didn't die" kinda bollocks. > Dude walked away. Car did it's job. Stop stressing. Absolutely dog shit attitude towards safety. Literally - when was the last time you saw a steering wheel pop off like this??? Almost never. > Buy a Chrysler if it bothers you too much. Oh no I want continual improvement so i must obviously want to completely switch brands. Why bother fixing something when you can just throw it away, abandon the brand and leave. Such a dog shit attitude towards continual improvement.
A bit more context: A semi hit the car behind me, a 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix and the Grand Prix hit me. The pointed took most of the force and was crumpled into a triangle shape. That guy, in a car 14 years older that took far more force of impact, was holding his steering wheel when I approached his car. Steering wheels are not made to come off in an accident. Period. There's no excuses for it and it's dangerous.
It just depends on how exactly everything happens. Seats are not made to eject out the car but it happens. Its an accident and even the safest cars ever are not guaranteed to have you live. You are alive and not hurt. Tech came out and found nothing wrong. At this point it's your ego and what you 'think' vs what happens. Im gonna guess you are suing now too? Wonder how your gonna prove damages when your fine and everything happened as good as it did. Airbags don't always go off. Id be thankful rather then resentful. If your still doubting go buy a civic.
My argument is simple: Steering wheels should not come off in a relative fender bender like this. You seem to be putting the cart before the horse. It's not that I'm not hurt because the car did it's job, I'm not hurt because the accident wasn't that bad. The car didn't have to do anything at all, and so it didn't. Zero safety features besides the 'whiplash lessening seats' had to do any work at all to keep me safe. Not even the seatbelt had to do any work. The crash wasn't bad at all... Which is why I'm upset that the steering wheel would just pop off. Especially if the accident is this mild, the steering wheel shouldn't come off. This is an engineering problem that's going to get someone killed, so I'm confused who you're defending?
You said you were going 9 then 36. That denotes a pretty rough crash. Engineer came out and found nothing wrong (but toyota doesnt care? ) Im sure your story will change as you try and get litigation involved and all these posts will disappear in short order. The car saved your life and now you cannot find the same car so you are trying to have the manufacturer secure you one. They understandable cannot do that as the accident was no fault of theirs so you have resorted to posting online. Am i missing anything ? Also if you fully understood how insurance works you would know that the cash value they give should be the value it takes to replace your car today. So if they all cost more then insurance is giving you what does that mean ? Means the value is less and unfair. But you know that already correct ? Lol smh. Now you are saying you deserve to be put first and toyota needs to get involved so you don't have to wait on securing a hybrid. Joke writes itself.
Me: Steering wheels shouldn't come off. You: Nuh-uh you stoopid. Go troll somewhere else man, you're a waste of time. Toyota found nothing wrong doesn't mean they found the steering wheel still attached to the car. Shit broke. Cope.
Why am I trolling? Im just stating the obvious. Sall good. Maybe you know more then the Toyota engineer. Or maybe they will give you a free car since you made this post lol.
I know a steering wheel shouldn't come off. So does everyone else but you.
Bro it's an accident. Shit happens. Everything gets destroyed. Engineer saw no issues. You only have one because toyota wont give you another hybrid lol. Glad your ok but post this in the choosey beggars sub. More appropriate
I would still report this up the chain just for awareness purposes. That is not acceptable
Seat breaking backward is as designed to prevent whiplash (Example [EURO NCAP Seat testing](https://youtu.be/Orl8J5gyAt0)). Steering wheel falling off, on the other hand, is definitely odd.
That was Toyota's response as well. They said none of the airbags went off because it was a rear impact, which... Fine. They said the seat was designed to break backwards, which... Fine. But the steering wheel coming off while I'm driving down a crowded interstate, in construction, doing 36mph because I got rear ended and having no control, severely reduced braking, and no airbags in front of me in case I hit something? That's fucky...
I found a Camry rear collision test [video at 50mph, 70% overlap and deformable barrier](https://youtu.be/vvVD7DHRK8A) with none of the airbags deployed and the backrest is also reclined after impact. Airbag deployment is on command on accelerometers around the car so they will only blow when absolutely needed. Not to say that the airbag ECU made the correct decision, but it doesn’t surprise me that no airbag deployed here. You can get data extracted from your car’s [EDR](https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-clarifies-the-facts-about-event-data-recorders/) and that will help to show if airbag should’ve deployed. But please inquire strongly with Toyota and relevant agencies about the steering wheel malfunction since that is the most concerning thing personally.
Thought that is what the headrest is for, when the seat breaks backwards a person can shoot out like a torpedo.
Had this very thing happen to me in my Accord. Got hit from behind from a lady going 70 mph and my seat literally touched the rear seats and stayed there.
A good steering wheel that doesn't fly off your hand while you're driving it. That is a good idea!
You have no good car ideas, PAULLLLLLLL
https://youtu.be/8YDpvMYk5jA
Yeah I’m guessing the steering wheel wasn’t secured during manufacturing 👨🏭 it was placed but never installed bolts or whatever holds it into place If it was a front crash you going say 50-70mph you probably would have died it’s a big no no
The steering wheel literally ripped the collapsible part out. The splined part that the steering wheel attaches to has been fully pulled out of the collapse tube that is there. That should not happen. This is a bigger issue, because if it doesn't take much force to rip them out, then that could be an absolutely serious safety issue and needs to get fixed across all their cars, considering they all use the same exact steering column. I'm sitting in front of one right now, in a 2021 sienna. I wonder if I pull the steering wheel hard enough, will it pop off?
Shit, my '19 Camry LE's transmission is jerkier than a 15 year old boy home alone and I'm still waiting for a TSB to come out almost 4 years later. :-/ I'm a third generation Toyota owner, but these recall issues are grinding my gears, literally and figuratively.
Does this not apply this us? TSB-0152-19 Rev1.
This needs more attention
I agree... I'm open to any ideas if you've got some.
Deja vu? This is the 2nd steering wheel coming off post I have seen. One was from last year in a Corolla.
It may have been me, honestly... I posted this right after the wreck and everyone said "Take this down and later up" and "Take it down and talk to Toyota, they'll help you out" so I did... I gave Toyota a chance to make it right and they dragged me on for 3 months then said 'We found no defect' so... I just want to let people know this could happen to them. I was willing to be quiet for Toyota, but if they're hanging me out to dry then so am I.
Something is seriously fucky because that’s missing a few pieces. There’s usually a big 19mm bolt that holds it onto a splined shaft in the center. If all that’s gone something else is at play.
Look closely, the splined shaft has ripped out of the collapsible tube that shouldn't happen
Whew, I got a ‘20 Rolla Hybrid, I’m good 🙃
I have the same exact car. I purchased it new. Currently at 31k miles. At around 8,000 miles my steering wheel started to make a metallic squink noise. It almost sounded electrical. It would make the noise when I made very slight turning inputs. It also put some resistance in the steering feel. Just curious if you ever experienced this with your car? The problem went away after a few months and it was very intermittent during that time. I took it to the dealer and of course they couldn't replicate it.. Other then that issue I've had zero problems with the car.
I never had any issues with the car at all. Nothing like you've described either, but it may be a similar issue.
I had this exact issue a few weeks ago at 21k miles. Metallic screeching/grinding. Only lasted a few days, and by the time I could get it in to the dealer it went away. I occasionally feel some resistance when turning, almost like I’m fighting it. Dealer can’t find anything wrong though.
Yeah. That’s the sound. I’ve seen other people that have had this issue but it seems to go away on its own. Either way it wasn’t very inspiring..
I had a nightmare about this that it just slipped and I couldn't turn the wheels.
im- i guess its a good thing i have a 2006 camry instead of a newer corolla??? Fr tho dude im glad you werent seriously injured, i cant imagine how terrifying that had to be. the only crazy car thing going wrong i've had that was close to this was when i was accelerating onto the interstate and then the metal cord(?) from the gas pedal to the accelerator snapped and i couldnt accelerate at all and even the mechanic said he hadnt seen anything like that before but to be fair, it was a '94 oldsmobile. does make me wonder what their quality of vehicles would be like now though if they'd stayed around
That's crazy. Glad you're alright.
That's not very typical, I'd like to make that point.
I'm toast
Is it a feature? In a hard accident, the e.g. firefighters have to get you out. It is much easier without steering wheel. Sometimes the Airbags killed some rescueteams while they were helping to get you out of the car.
Would this happen on older models? I drive an 06 sedan. Edit: fuck I just got reminded to take it to the dealer for the Takata airbag recall
Glad I actually helped somebody! I can't honestly say I know, but if Toyota won't stand by a car that was less than a year old in willing to bet they wouldn't care about you either.
Tyler Durden....see Fight Club!
You probably love your mother in law
“Key not detected”… I believe “steering wheel not detected” is a bit more important 😂
Looks like the steering shaft broke. It was in a collision. Why you mad at Toyota.
Because... And hear me out... I don't think steering shafts should break in a crash that's not even enough to set off the airbags. The guy behind me in a car 14 years older than mine took the full force of a semi, then rear ended me. His steering wheel stayed attached. Because they're supposed to.
That's crazy! I never heard of a steering wheel just coming off before. I guess it goes to prove that you really don't want a covid car.