Front end problems - pulling, drifting

Let's start at the berginning, since this has gone on a ridiculous 7 months or so.

When you've taken it to the dealer (how many times?), WHO has driven it to check on your complaint---Service Mgr. or mechanic (if you know). Secondly, have they acknowledged at the dealership that there IS a problem?

With a complaint like that, they're supposed to road-test it before giving it back to you---not just say, "we aligned it, so it MUST be OK."

 

i'll chip in also, are they using the right specs in their alignment machine?

there's no point in aligning a car if the specs are wrong.

the only time the steering wheel should jerk when braking is if you hit a pothole or some other thing in the road.

 

Pulls hard when braking but also pulls hard out of the blue with no driver input? Pulls both right and left? I think I got that correct. Have someone take a hard look at the sterring angle sensor as it makes slow sweeps right and left. A failing steering angle sensor could be seeing a spike and think you want assist when you do not....minor bump in the road starts the wheel to turn and the electric motor gives the unwanted assist. Check for amperage varriations in the P/S motor as you turn it. Get your DSM involved....he can and should allow a rental and give the tech a blank check for diag time. It sounds like they need to feel it while the scanner is connected before they pin it down. This may mean several days without your car. It sounds more like an electrical malfunction not an alignment issue. It should be going to an MDT with prius certs, not just the alignment guy.

Regards, Mike

 

Friend or not, if it's not fixed in the next go-around try another dealer. Then get Toyota involved. Something is seriously, perhaps dangerously, wrong with your car.

 

First, the zero point adjustment is done AFTER an alignment.
Second, the steering angle sensor is for VSC, not for power steering. That could be off too, if the car has VSC, espeically if the described symptoms are accompanied by the VSC alarm (squiggly car icon with a buzzer). One of the functions VSC does is help correct improper steering during a skid. Mostly though it prevents skids in turns by applying the brakes appropriately.
The power steering uses a torqe sensor to detect a torque being applied to the steering wheel, which signals the EPS to help turn the wheel. I believe the zero point adjustment is to align the torque sensor with the new alignment, and possible new center steering wheel position.

 

i could be remembering this wrong, but DH had a 4runner or some larger model with a bad steering angle sensor, and it didn't trigger the VSC alarm it just kept the car from going faster than a couple mph.

bah, me and my bad memory. i'll ask him later.

but, ifixem is right, this is not a job for just an alignment guy, it's got to go to someone who knows what the hell they're doing. and the tech is going to need diagnostic time to fix what's wrong with the car, not just to keep doing alignments to correct the superficial problem.

 

Does California have a lemon law, I think so. If they do I would suggest learning about it, i. e. what the requirements are etc. Also find a different dealership to check it out, the one your friend owns apparently dosen't seem interested in helping you. Also contact Toyota and try to get them to help, this problem could be dangerous. You should file a report with the NHTSA:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems...ecallsearch.cfm

 

claire, what's the status of this problem?

how severe is the pulling when you brake? do you have to fight to hold the wheel in place, any kind of pulsation or vibration in the brake pedal or anywhere else while braking?
any unusual noise while this is going on?
have they cross-rotated your tires to check on the issue? sometimes a pull can be a tire problem.
do all the tires match? yeah this is kind of a strange question for a NEW car, but give it a quick look.
no warning lights on the dash at all?

and to correct my earlier post- the VSC warning did come on with that steering angle sensor problem DH had earlier.

 

I had the same problem with my Corolla, and it turned out to be warped rotors. Severe drift to the left (I could change lanes on the freeway just by letting go of the steering wheel), and when I would apply the brakes moderately there would be vibration (which is probably what knocked it out of alighment and made it drift).

Also... Remember, you aren't limited to the Toyota dealership where you bought the car. If you feel like they're futzing around with the problem and don't know how to fix it, then by all means take it to another dealer.