Instability and wandering on freeway solved FINALLY

Sorry to hear of your experience. It is safe to say the Prius is not for everyone. Chow.

 

We regularly drive 800+ miles in a day, between our AZ house and our CO house, and have never had any feeling of wandering or instability in either of our Priuses. I wonder if you would feel as nervous, unsettled and distracted driving one of ours.

In any event, glad to hear you found a suitable replacement.

 

I drive around 60 miles a day at 70-90mph depending on traffic (we gots some biiig roads in Texas) and never had any problem with wandering or anything other than having to turn up my volume on the stereo by 5.. Maybe you just got lucky and had yourself a 'special' Prius that hated you and possibly all mankind.

 

Good, you sold a lemon.

 

Buh bye!

 

Your situation seems a bit exaggerated although in very heavy winds I have experienced the white-knuckle feeling.

I hope the new car works out better for you. Take care.

 

Funny, I was just telling my wife that every time I drive her Volvo S40 2.4i it feels like a BMW M3 compared to my Prius. Definitely a better autobahn cruiser than the Prius, and our S40 is the cheapest Volvo around. And I think the S40 shares the same chassis as the Mazda3.

Anyways, I drive my Prius 50 miles to work every day at average speed of 80 mph. No problems.

 

We've had 5 Prius's in the family from '04 to '08. None of them wandered until the one I have now, it's the 'o8 with only 40,000 miles. Tires wearing ok in 10,000 miles at least. Seems that the steering feel is a little loose. Suppose I'll have to pay the $90 bucks or so to find that they are in alignment and tough nuggies.

Noted that some folks are insisting on 0.1 total on the front end toe in. Wondering if that would do anything if I pushed them on this point? Or could it be some loose fit??

Any expert care to comment?

Incidentally my '08 gets an easy 50 plus MPG and under almost the same conditions my wife's 06 has only gotten 44 or so since new. Been to the dealer and even had the factory guy out with no solution?? Brakes not dragging and checked all the other stuff to no avail.

The other ones are driven by my adult daughter drivers and with their undisciplined driving habits they average about 47, so that data is not too useful.

 

The spec is for 0 front toe-in. If you ask for a slightly positive toe-in that should improve vehicle stability, at the expense of slightly worsened mpg.

 

:rip:

 

Obviously this guy never was in my parents' Chevy Nova -- that baby was really scary in the slightest of winds (very bad tires, poor alignment, loose steering). Of course a heavy car feels different on the road. Prius, I knew scary you are not scary!

 

I add quite a bit of front toe-in, or my 2005 Prius wanders to a very unnerving degree. It is very tiring to have to make constant corrections just to stay aimed straight onthe highway.

I know I'll hurt my mpg a fraction, and wear out my front tires faster, but my life is worth a few bucks invested in tires and gas.

The car was designed without enough front wheel caster and the tie-in fix is a workaround, not really a solution.

I am guessing that the rear toe may contribute to this. I will have to go to a shop that will shim or even bend parts to get it right, since it was not designed to be adjustable.

Driving a rear-engined VW for decades (and occaionally still), I really understand the change in feel that rear alignment makes to stability on the highway. As the car is pushed to one side or another, the rear alignment can either exaggerate the deviation, or it can gently steer it back to the starting point, depending on the amount of rear toe.

Next alignment I'll try it and see. But thats not until next year. Anyone else messed with rear alignment?

 

Did you really mean innerving:

"To give nervous energy or power to; to give increased energy, force, or courage to; to invigorate; to stimulate."

That sounds like it might be a good thing when driving.

Tom

 

As has already been said, if wheel alignment is wrong the car can be more unstable. Also a little more toe in than recommended, front and rear, can help.

A freebie worth trying is to run the rear tires 2 psi higher than the front instead of 2 psi lower, or even experiment with more than a 2 psi difference.

 

Now that you mention it, a jolt to the nervous system like getting moved into another lane by a sudden cross wind, or onto the road shoulder can be more invigorating than a cup of coffee.

Cross wind instability, it's not a bug, it's a feature.:cheer2:

 

The OP has a very valid issue .... I have/had similar problems. After relcoating to Los Angeles recently, I've had to do the following:

1. Purchased Strut Tower Brace ( Tanabe.com )
2. Purchased the under Brace by a guy on ebay ( Name is G7 Brace ? )
3. Purchased Michelin Pilot Exaltos 205/60/15

Total spent : $800.00

Now I feel the Prius more stable. Back in Florida I never felt the need for upgrades. However in SoCal with their Freeways, you really need a high performance or modded vehicle to feel confident. But I still dont feel as good as if I were in my old 2001 Volva S80T6. And the seats in my 06 Prius are so freaking uncomfortable. I bought sheepskins and they made me sit more up near the dash .... so I gave those away to a friend.

 

That's dangerously close to an off color remark.

 

mulva.

 

I respect the OP. I have a 2010 and I'm now beginning the effort of fixing this floating, twitchy feeling on the interstate. Sadly, I love this car in every way... except on the interstate. It *may* cause me to give up on a Prius. It is very unnerving.