Alignment Questions.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Dr. Katherine Nell McNeil, Mar 2, 2015.

  1. Dr. Katherine Nell McNeil

    Dr. Katherine Nell McNeil Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
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    V
    I needed to have two brand new tires mounted, balanced, and all 4 wheels aligned yesterday. Before I left I asked for the printout of the alignment numbers so I could look at them. So I get home and comparing the before to the after...yes my front end was out of specs. However, I have a question about one of the after numbers. The combined cross camber and total toe are within the specified specs. The question I have is that in the separate numbers the right rear toe is out of spec by a 2/10 of a degree and shows up red. We complained and I was to take my car in this morning to have it fixed. My customer service rep called early and told me he talked to the shop head and that they go by the combined rear numbers ...if it is within the combined numbers it is ok. Furthermore, they could not fix this one degree because of the torsion bar on the rear suspension. He said you can't align the toe in on a torsion bar suspension. What I want to know is this information correct? Can it be corrected with shims? Has anyone had a dealer correct with shims? If so what were the results?
     
    #1 Dr. Katherine Nell McNeil, Mar 2, 2015
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2015
  2. Dr. Katherine Nell McNeil

    Dr. Katherine Nell McNeil Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2014
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    Location:
    Alpine, CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Never mind..I just read the whole explanation of how to do the shims if I so desired...because the dealer won't.
     
    #2 Dr. Katherine Nell McNeil, Mar 2, 2015
  3. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    That is technically correct. The shop manual states that the rear toe reading is subject to change because the torsion beam is "floating" to an extent. You go by the total toe reading because depending on how the beam is centered (at the time of measurement), the readings on each side are subject to change.

    You can try shims (I have one on mine) to reduce the total toe, but they're generally a waste of time if your total rear toe reading is within spec. I think they allow up to 0.58 deg?
     
    #3 The Critic, Mar 2, 2015
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