Strange Shake

Vehicle In Question: 2010 Toyota Prius

Mileage: 212K

Backstory on the Car: I got this car at a discount from a local tow yard. It was a surrender the previous owner surrendered the car because here daughter who was addicted to substances hid a key fob inside the dash of the vehicle so she was able to get into the car and take it without her mothers permission. (I disassembled the dash of the vehicle and located the keyfob.) She was in an accident and jacked up a good majority of the passenger side of the vehicle. The bulk of the damage is on the passenger doors. They then turned and spray painted the car black. We’ve been able to painstakingly remove all of the black spray paint and reveal the perfect Silver Prius underneath, except on the damaged doors.

I loaned this vehicle to my roommate, while I was out of town for 2 years or so. The car was returned to me in the same condition it was loaned to him, with the exception of a shake.

I brought it into a shop to be inspected, they came back a short time later and informed me that they could get it aligned so long as I replaced the rim which was bent. They said that they were unable to get the camber set without rebuilding the passenger wheel well. So we went ahead got the alignment and a rim. The shaking was gone.

After 100 miles or so, we hit a medium bump in the road and it began to shake again. I jacked the car up and 1 by 1 grabbed each of the wheels and shook them all around the tire and found no play.Shortly after, it developed a strange grinding noise. I once again jacked the car up, shook each one of the wheels; unable to find any play in any of the wheels. I removed each wheel, and found that the break pads were EXTREMELY low. So while we were waiting, I purchased rotors and brake pads. I found that the rear brake pads were installed incorrectly. While installing breaks, I was able to get a closer look at the tread of the tires, which were completely messed up. The inner tie rods look ok, the outer tie rods pivot side to side with very little force on the passenger side, all of the sway bar links pivot with little force as well, all around. The strut boots are destroyed, all around.

I took it in to get the worn tires replaced. The shaking stopped. On the way home (about 30 miles). I noticed that there was an intermittent shake. The shaking begins when you let off the gas and begin to coast. The shaking stops if you hit the brakes or the gas when it shakes. So I setup an inspection with a different shop. After waiting the two weeks (soonest available inspection), we finally got it in this morning. The shop was adamant that the tires just weren’t balanced right. So they rebalanced and inspected. The mechanic came out and said that they were unable to find the source of the shaking and the vehicles transmission must be failing, after rebalancing it changed nothing and “Everything in the front end was tight” and he was at a loss for words.

So now I am reaching out here to see if anyone has any advice, has dealt with this issue in the past and what a possible fix was or just for your two cents.

If I failed to add any information, please feel free to ask!

Any help appreciated!

Thanks for looking!

 

I do apologize, but I should have specified a little bit more, the first shop stated that all components in the passenger wheel well needed to be replaced. Bearing, Strut, Tie Rod, etc. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with the CV Axle or the Bearing.

 

The shop today did not provide me with any measurements, but I will dig up the first shops specs and post them here. In the morning I will be pursuing a different shop to check out the alignment specs. As soon as I get the old readings I will post 'em up!