Bad Alignment :(

Bob Wilson has aligned the rear end of his Gen2 with an aftermarket shim kit.

Prius tire alignment - GreenHybrid - Hybrid Cars

He has also written up the rear alignment procedure on Prius chat, IIRC, the Priuschat write-up is more detailed.

He also mentions the possibility of rotating and/or replacing some front suspension bolts to adjust front Camber. The Gen3 repair manual describes how to do that, if the Gen2 is the same basic system, it's just a matter of finding out which bolts you have and using a chart to figure out which ones you need to get your desired front camber. The bolts are marked on their heads, so you don't have to take them out to find out which ones you have.

Note: I am assuming that Toyota actually carries those parts.

Your alignment look very fixable, you just either need to do it yourself or find a competent shop (not always easy to do).

I haven't torn into a Prius suspension yet, typically when an adjustment is held by bolts like the front camber adjustment, the act of loosening and tightening the bolts can result in a small change.

A way to deal with that is to:

1. Loosen the bolts, bounce the car up and down so everything takes a set in one
direction.

2. Put the car on the rack and check alignment.

3. Calculate which bolts you need and which positions to install them.

4. Swap in your new bolts, bounce the car before tightening the bolts, then tighten the bolts.

5. Recheck the alignment.

Your alignment should then end up where you want it.

Edit: Here's Gen2 front camber adjustment instructions.
http://www.vfaq.net/docs/Springs-04priusr_26_200s5_a040001.pdf
They are similar to Gen3 instructions.

They have you push or pull on the strut to take out slop instead of bouncing the car. Both methods work, just pick one method and stick with it.

 

The shop is wrong about camber; you can easily adjust front camber - it is a very conventional strut suspension in the front. You loosen the strut bolts and pull the hub in the direction that you need to go. Toyota makes adjustment bolts in cases where the camber isn't in spec after using all of the adjustment available with the stock bolts.

The shop is technically right if you go by the factory service manual; the rear toe and camber is fixed, and the factory manual says you have to replace the rear axle beam if it is not in spec. However, there are aftermarket shims available to adjust both rear toe and rear camber.

On my 2007, I had similar readings as your car, the front camber was corrected by using a "camber bolt" and the rear toe was corrected using shims.

 

What you really need is a new shop. Adjusting strut attachment points and installing cam bolts is a bit of work so any shop that tells you they can't adjust camber on the front or toe on the rear doesn't have a clue how to do alignments or is just lazy and only wants to do the easy stuff.

 

Most people also wouldn't go for a full alignment on a Prius once they found out how much it would cost to get non-standard adjustments made at hourly shop rates. A competent shop would at least tell them though.

 

The front camber adjustment shouldn't be an issue but you may need to take it to a Toyota dealer to get the correct alignment bolts. As someone said earlier, Toyota probably won't work on the rear axel carrier as their official position is that it's not adjustable. However, some dealers and some specialist shops will do this.

 

Well, that is your business. However, since you had posted your results and had earlier asked for comments:

I personally would be concerned about the front total toe-in, which is a negative reading and means that the two tires are pointing slightly outwards. (Imagine trying to ski with the ski tips pointed outwards.) The front toe-in should be as close to 0 as possible. If there is an error it should be in the direction of a slight positive toe-in.

I am wondering whether the shop even made an effort to adjust the front right camber? As previously pointed out, it is possible to make limited adjustments to camber by loosening the two bolts that secure the bottom of the strut to the hub carrier assembly, and moving the strut out as needed to correct the camber problem. Additional adjustment range can be obtained by installing the correct specialized camber bolt.

However, if you don't notice excessive tire wear on the front right tire then I suppose the camber adjustment is not a high priority, and one might justify the negative camber by saying that this is required to compensate for driving on crowned roads.

I would be concerned about the rear total toe-in because the reading is excessive. The implication of that is that there is more drag than necessary, thus having a negative mpg impact.

 

It's more that 0.06 from what it should be.

You are comparing it with what Toyota considers the worst acceptable amount of toe on an inexpensive non-adjustable rear suspension, not necessarily whats good.

That said, you seem to have realistic expectations given the situation and your tires aren't going to suddenly disappear in a puff of smoke. Please keep us posted on what you observe.:rockon:

 

Well, its hard to read your posted exhibits, but it appears that the car has total toe-in of -0.13. The negative sign means that the wheels are actually toe-out.