What 31 owners told NHTSA about the 2017 Toyota Yaris Ia

For several years the steering has been binding and lightly locking durind highway driving. After numerous attempts to have the dealer test drive the vehicle to duplicate the problem, in 2022 they said there was a dangerous problem with the steering. They replaced the steering shaft and the problem was almost completely fixed. Gradually the steering began to bind again and on 18 Dec 2023 I asked the dealer to check the steering and they could not duplicate the problem during a test drive.

NHTSA ODI 11561236

At about 25,000 miles, my vehicle steering began to lightly bind when driving on a straight road at highway speed. Although the steering wheel could be turned with some minor extra effort, the experience was troubling. At 29,880 miles I took my vehicle to the local dealer and asked to have the steering checked. The dealer was not able to duplicate the problem and they did not charge me. The problem gradually worsened until 41,020 miles when I returned to the dealer with the same issue. This time they found the steering shaft assembly was defective and said that it was a dangerous situation. I asked them to fix the problem which they did promptly. I have service records from both visits.

NHTSA ODI 11489197