However, my steering wheel is slightly off-center now. I took it to the dealer, and they "test-drove" it, but they claim nothing is wrong. I repeatedly tell them that its NOT center, but they wont listen to me. I also asked them to give me a slight toe-in of +.05, and they wont do it because it will be out of "spec." What else should I tell them? I would rather take it to the Prius tech who originally did the recall, so I do not really want to take it to another dealer. Any ideas?
I also jsut got mine done. I wanted the dealer to learn on other cars first. After hearing about steering wheel misalignment (and noting mine was off at delivery), I specified that the wheel should be check for elvel with the horizon (not the dash) after the work was done. Through luck or skill, they got it right. Just make sure you really are off level. The dash face is canted outward so the wheel will not look parallel with it. To me, all that matters is that it is level with the horizon, since that is where I am looking while I drive, and I want the wheel to "feel straight" while cruising.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KTPhil @ Oct 10 2006, 12:03 PM) [snapback]330630[/snapback]</div> yea, its definitley off of the horizon. Its not a huge change, but its definitley noticable and will bug me until i get it fixed. Problem is, they dont see the problem...
This is where a call to Toyota customer service might help you. Call the 800 number and tell them your story. They may call the dealer to get them to give you an alignment. This will fix the off-kilter steering wheel. But you may also want to look for a new dealer for repairs. The steering shaft recall should not change the steering wheel alignment if performed correctly, which includes securing the steering wheel with the seat belt. I suspect the people who "fixed" your shaft didn't follow Toyota's procedure. I know the dealer who did mine didn't. :angry:
Late? I haven't had this recall done at all. I'm not a Sumo wrestler, tend to avoid jamming up against curbs, and even with help from the EPS I don't think I could bust that shaft. As far as I can tell my steering/alignment has been *perfect* ever since I got the car, and if I can help it it's going to stay that way. . _H*
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kev1000000 @ Oct 10 2006, 11:58 AM) [snapback]330625[/snapback]</div> Same problem here. I had the steering recall done about 2 weeks ago and didn't notice the steering wheel being off center on local roads. As soon as I got on the highway, however, I could see that it was off several degrees to the left. A good test is to drive on a level straight road, holding the steering wheel exactly level and see where the car goes. Mine wants to drive off the right side of the road if I do that. The wheel is not grossly off center, just enough to make it noticeable to me; but probably not enough to convince the service manager when I return it. The tech who has to fix it will probably be losing money at that point and, therefore, will be reluctant to fix it; but I am determined stick to my guns and stay there until they are convinced.
toyota pays for an alignment if needed and moving the new part over by one spline shouldn't take the guy but 10-20 minutes. unless he's in over his head (no idea what he's doing) he shouldn't be losing money over this.
You should find a different dealer, and no you shouldn't need to pay. By all means call Toyota and tell them your story. BTW the alignment spec for the front is +.1 to -.1 so +.05 is well within the specification, and it does help tracking. Make sure whoever does the alignment gives you a copy of the print out.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tumbleweed @ Oct 11 2006, 11:26 AM) [snapback]331148[/snapback]</div> thank you, i will rebuttle them with this info. Details will follow =)
The very same thing happened to me last week, and posted a note here. When I have time (??!!), I'll try going to a different dealer to get it aligned (for free? really?). And I'll tell Toyota that their darlings in Berkeley dropped this ball. What a pain . . .
I would just tilt my head a little bit; that'll save you the trip to the dealer. To see what 'level' really is, look at the steering wheel from the front of the car, and align it with so the upper edge is level with the seatback. No, neither of these have truly flat surfaces, but you can see pretty easily when they're parallel. From what I've noticed, my car (and it seems, lots of others, too) came from the factory with the steering wheel angled slightly to the left. It looked level, but it wasn't really. I suspect that when they do an alignment they eyeball it (if we're lucky) and go from there.
I had the same thing occur. I had lost confidence in this service dept and called my usual toyota dealer and asked if they could remedy the problem. They called a couple of Toyota higher ups and said that the second dealer couldn't do the repairs because Toyota pays dealer one for the service and can't split the payment. However dealer 2 offered to call dealer 1 and explain my displeasure and see if they would transfer the account to them and then they could do the repair
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(shocker @ Oct 11 2006, 07:53 PM) [snapback]331453[/snapback]</div> Hello all: I had the recall work done today at Magnussen Toyota in Palo Alto. After hearing stories of steering wheel misalignment after work was done, I took the precaution of placing masking tape on both the forwardmost horizontal plastic of the wheel and the adjacent plastic cover of the fixed shroud next to the dash. I marked the two tapes with arrows like so: --> <-- ; the points were in-line and almost touching. I directed the service department to adjust the wheel without removing the tape so that the arrows still aligned the same after the work. Maybe it was coincidence or luck, but I was relieved to find the car returned with the wheel aligned precisely as it was before, the tapes still in place and in-line. Perhaps this method may help others. If nothing else, if your dealer screws up it may at least help you prove that they did (assuming they don't cheat by moving the tapes).
