Hi guys, I bought a 2010 Prius with 200k from a flipper it drove very well in the beginning but few issues are surfacing lately. My rear wheels seem to be steering when I make turns and then I have to compensate it with the steering to being it to normal. After I make the turn it feels like the rear wheels are not catching up with the front wheels and heading in the wrong direction. I also have observed that my steering is a little off center. This vehicle has I recently got an alignment done but the issue seems to persist. Can you please tell me what could be wrong and please suggest ways I can diagnose this and isolate the issue?
Worn out wheel bearings or suspension components that needs to be looked at very carefully but the tires is a very good start run your hand around the tires they should feel smooth and flat if they feel like a cheese grater well there you go
Sounds a LOT like "crabbing" due to a bent frame. I think it needs a thorough inspection underneath. It might have been wrecked.
Was a 4-wheel alignment done? Sounds like the car has been in a wreck; salvage title? You probably didn't notice the crabbing at first, because of new tires. Now that the tires have broken in; the crabbing is more pronounced. Run a Carfax, and need more details (ie. abnormal tire wear). Take it to a credible shop for an inspection. At >200K there's a lot of worn out parts.
Yea... If you get an alignment done, you're going to get a proper diagnosis on what's wrong... But more than once on here people have posted their alignment report and it's clear the mechanic charged them for an alignment, but didn't actually do one because it was close enough as is. I suspect OP Is a victim of this scam, because if the problem was with the tires, that'd be in their report/diagnosis.
Uneven tire wear or data from alignment job are a couple ways to do it. Measuring center point of front wheel to center point of rear wheel on both sides is another way. Also if you and friends are gonna go on a long drive with at least two vehicles, get it set up so you're driving a car behind your car. After a few hours or more of following your car you'll have a pretty good sense of it.
You don't; have a professional look at it. I'm assuming your not a body and frame mechanic and the required knowledge base would take months and/or years to type out - faster if you take a slow video of the under carriage of the car. Even then we may miss something if it's cover-up with Bondo, paint, or under carriage spray. Did you run the CarFax report?
