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Steering clunk returned 3 weeks and less than 200 miles after replacing intermediate steering shaft (Dorman)

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4.7K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  underthehood51  
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#1 ·
My new-to-me 2012 Highlander had a noticeable steering clunk when I bought it in mid October. It wasn't too bad but definitely noticeable. In mid November I purchased a new Dorman 425487 intermediate steering shaft on rockauto.com and changed it myself. Everything went smooth and the clunk was completely gone with the new shaft.

Last week, less than three weeks and 200 miles later, the clunk has returned and I almost feel it's worse than before. I jacked the car up again today and inspected the shaft, and there's no play and both bolts are tight as can be. Both wheel bearings feel very tight, and there doesn't appear to be any play in either of the front wheels. Is there anything else this could be or has my Dorman steering shaft gone South faster than Sherman? I could get it replaced by RockAuto but it'd be interesting to know whether anyone else has experience with that Dorman part. It's well possible that my particular shaft is a lemon but it's also possible that this part is simply junk to begin with, in which case I'd rather get the OEM part before swapping it for another junky part again. Getting this thing off and putting it back on is quite an arduous task given the space constraints.
 
#2 ·
I can't believe Toyota continue selling cars with the same problem. But that would be a whole different debate.

I mitigated the clunk by injected some grease into/under the rubber seal from inside the cabin. I can no longer hear the clunk but sometimes I can feel it. You can try the same. If you want a permanent fix check if there is an upgraded Toyota part, I think there is.
 
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#3 ·
The rubber seal sits in the middle of the outer rod. I don’t see how greasing a non-moving part would help. Did you grease up the lower or the upper u-joint of that shaft? Plus like I said I’ve already replaced it with an aftermarket part that appears to have failed after less than 3 weeks.

There is an OEM Toyota part for it for around $250. The Dorman aftermarket part I purchased was around half that at $128 but if it’s so poorly built that it starts failing after less than 200 miles I’d rather fork out the other half and get the OEM part.

That’s why I’m curious whether anyone ever had that problem with the Dorman shaft
 
#6 ·
Toyota had issues with these steering shat relays during this era. Don’t know how much better oem would be
 
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#7 ·
My Highlander had this problem and it was fixed by the previous owner under warranty. It's been 10 years and it still performs perfectly... I would recommend the Toyota part, I know it's double, but like you said it's an involved job and I bet if you do this one more time you'll never want to do it again. As a side note, I avoid Dorman altogether, especially for sensors... Their parts either don't work right or fail way too soon to make them worth the "savings".

Also worth checking if Toyota would still replace this for free, probably not but worth the phone call just in case.
 
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#8 · (Edited)
Warranty has long expired on this Highlander.

I greased up both U joints and the telescopic arm today and took it out for a quick test drive but nothing changed. It appears that the Dorman shaft disintegrated after less than 200 miles. I am going to order the Toyota OEM Part and return the Dorman. Not worth the savings unfortunately
 
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#18 ·
I had the same issue. I bought a new steering shaft on EBay, trying to save some money, and the clunking cleared up for a few months and then came back. I ended up buying the genuine Toyota part from the dealership and haven’t had any issues. I installed the OEM part about two to three years ago. Highly recommend getting the part from the dealer. It cost about $200 to $250.
 
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