Parts wearing out over time is a fact of owning a car. When parts wear, sometimes they cause strange noises to occur, and one of the more concerning is anything to do with the steering. One of the common complaints on the Toyota Camry is that the steering will groan or creak when steering left or right at low speed. This applies to both the regular Toyota Camry and the Toyota Camry Hybrid.
In this article we’re going to look at a few different causes of this and what you might be able to do to fix them. It’s worth mentioning that unless you’re very familiar with performing repairs on your own cars, it’s likely that you’ll need to take your car to a mechanic to have the repair done – but at the very least this article will give you some idea of what’s causing problems with your steering system.
Worn suspension components
It’s worth starting with the easiest and most simple explanation of why you might be getting a groan when steering your Toyota Camry Hybrid, and that’s suspension – specifically that some of your suspension components might be wearing out or requiring lubrication.
Your car’s suspension is a complicated piece of engineering and it ensures that you can go over bumps smoothly and safely. However, suspension wears out and needs replacing after a certain amount of time. Here’s a look at what could be causing your Toyota Camry’s groaning noise when steering:
Damaged tie rods/track rods
Track rods connect the wheels to your car’s steering rack. These do wear out after a certain period of time and if you haven’t had them replaced at any point, it’s worth reviewing them to see what kind of state of wear they are in. While tie rods could be responsible for your Toyota Camry’s steering groan, it’s more likely that damaged tie rod ends will be causing a knocking noise when turning at low speeds. It’s worth investigating, however, just in case.
Worn ball joints
Your car’s ball joint is part of the lower control arm (or wishbone) assembly and this allows the hub to adjust to movement as you’re traveling over bumps. These ball joints (sometimes called suspension arm bushings) wear out over time as the rubber inside them perishes, and can cause creaking or knocking noises. Usually the quickest way to resolve this is a lower arm replacement, but if you have a hydraulic press, you can change them out yourself.
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Worn struts or shocks or worn top mounts
You’ll likely notice this in other ways than just a creaking when turning but it’s possible that your shocks are worn out. If your shocks are worn then they won’t be providing the proper shock absorbency needed to keep the car steady when going over bumps or turning. Additionally, if the shock is so worn that it’s grounding out, this can be the cause of groaning, banging or creaking noises when turning.
If you haven’t had your shocks inspected at any point recently, it’s worth doing just to see – it could well be the case that you spot fluid on the side – this is a clear indication that the shock isn’t doing it’s job and needs to be replaced. This isn’t a huge job on the Toyota Camry and you should expect to pay a few hundred dollars to have this repaired.
There are other parts of the suspension on the Toyota Camry Hybrid that could be causing the groaning when steering that you’re experiencing, but these are some of the most common issues that occur. If you’re not sure, it’s worth having a diagnostic inspection from a mechanic to ascertain what the issue might be.
Additionally it could be that suspension is not your issue – and there are a variety of other factors that could be causing the steering to groan on your car, which we’ll dive into below.
Driveshaft failing
The Toyota Camry is front-wheel drive. This means that the front wheels are the driven wheels and the rear wheels do not have any power applied to them. The wheels are driven by what’s called a driveshaft (also called a CV joint.) A driveshaft is connected to each of the front wheels at one end, and to the transmission at the other end, and this is what allows power to be applied to the wheels and the car to move.
If your CV joints are wearing out, this can cause a couple of different noises when steering your car. The most common noise that a wearing CV joint on the Toyota Camry makes is a clicking sound, and this should be quite prominent – you shouldn’t mistake it for a groaning noise.
However, it’s worth mentioning that failing driveshafts can make other noises, one of which is a groaning noise – what you will find is that when you are taking power when turning corners, there’s a high-pitched whine or groan that happens below a certain speed. This is more obvious when the car is on full lock left or right (or you may only notice it when turning one way depending on which driveshaft is failing.)
If you think this is the case, you should book your car in for an inspection as soon as possible – as if your driveshaft fails, you could be left without the ability to drive your car.
Defective power steering motor or pump
This fault changes based on when your car was manufactured. Regular Toyota Camrys had hydraulic power steering before the 2012 model year, and electric power steering after that. Hybrids have had electric power steering since the first models went on sale in 2007.
The difference between electric and hydraulic power steering is easy to understand – with electric power steering, the steering rack is powered by an electric motor which assists the movement of the steering rack left and right as you turn the wheel. Hydraulic power steering uses pumps and pistons to achieve the same.
Therefore, you may find that on a post-2012 Camry or a Toyota Camry Hybrid, a failing electric power steering motor could be the cause of your groaning when steering problem. The fix for this is likely to require your car to be booked into the shop for either the steering rack to be changed out or for the old rack to be removed and the motor replaced. Unfortunately a mechanic is the only one who can diagnose this for you, so we would recommend you book your car in for an inspection.
However, if you have a pre-2012 non-Hybrid Camry, you may be experiencing power steering pump failure. Again, you will need to book your car into a shop to have this inspected and any repairs performed. Additionally, however, you may want to just double check that your power steering fluid is fresh and topped up to the level it should be, as low or old power steering fluid can also cause issues with noise when steering. You should also ensure that your power steering fluid is not leaking. All of this can be diagnosed by any competent mechanic.
Defective steering rack or intermediate steering shaft
Following on from the discussion about power steering, you could also have issues with the components of your steering assembly. In fact, in relation to the steering intermediate shaft that goes from the steering wheel down to the steering rack, this is a common problem that can cause a groaning noise when steering on the Toyota Camry and Toyota actually issued a TSB (technical service bulletin) for the lubrication of the steering intermediate shaft to prevent it making noise.
If you think this might apply to you you should contact your Toyota dealer to have an inspection done. Toyota will likely charge you to grease the shaft up for you – you could do it yourself by purchasing the grease kit from Toyota which shouldn’t be expensive (around $20 – $30). If you’re not sure, I’d recommend booking your vehicle into a Toyota service center to be looked at.
Of course – this is not an exhaustive list, and there are other, less common things that could be causing the steering on your Toyota Camry Hybrid to groan – so if you’re not sure, get your car looked at by a trusted local mechanic.
Check out some of our other suspension and steering articles!
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About the author
Marcus Brown is editor-in-chief of The FatMech and is a mechanic with ten years' experience based in London, UK. Having worked for major dealerships for many years, Marcus now works for a local independent garage and has experience working on nearly every make and model of car. Marcus also has a passion for writing and teaching, which is where the idea for The FatMech came from. In his spare time, Marcus enjoys playing golf, doing home renovations and gardening. He lives just outside London with his wife and son.