https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133606
It is easy to fix. And cheap.
Took me forever to isolate the sound to the steering column. To me it always sounded like it was coming from the passenger footwell. My son argured one day that it sounded like it was coming from my footwell. He was right. This problem is super common on EPS Toyotas in countries with bad roads. I know Americans like to complain about everything but our roads are a shit ton better than other parts of the world.