Loose steering on new car

There has to be something wrong. The Gen 2 was so terrible to drive, I walked away quickly. Gen 4 is a dream to drive in comparison.

I'd get it checked - check your tyre pressures - specifications are on your door pillar (and check the wheels are attached tight).

 

Or, it could be that the power assist in the Gen 4 just makes the steering "feel" a lot lighter than a Gen 2. It's been so long since we've had our Gen 2 that I forgot how it felt. You probably just need to re-calibrate your muscles for the new lighter steering feel. The only thing we've noticed with our Gen 4 steering is that you hit the "stop" a lot more frequently. Perhaps due to the lightness of the power steering, you want to keep turning it into a tight corner and it hits the stop.

 

Give it a little more time.
I don't have much stick time in a G2, but "my" 2 G3 work cars steered like a pig on roller skates.


I'm something of a critic of the G4, but they do seem to be fairly reliable and one of the things that they actually IMPROVED a little bit was road handling according to the same junior high school kids who write the automotive journals that used to poke fun at the previous generations.

If you have a friend that owns a G4...get them to drive it and see if they think that your car is acting abnormally.

 

Check the tire pressure to make sure they haven't left it up at the ~45psi used for the ship journey. That will make any car skittery.

Just pointing it out as a frequently missed item on new car delivery checklists.

 

High front tyre pressures - or one back tyre (or both) low will make it oversteer dangerously. Use the TOYOTA recommendation.

 

Uh oh? I'm gonna throw a flag on the field here. FWD car's do not oversteer. If you mess up, and have to crank in more steering input? A stock FWD car will understeer like a pig! The front tires will just wash out but the back end will not swap round. You will see the tree coming in the front window, and not the back. AKA old school Porsche 911.

Japanese cars have always had light steering compared to German cars? Not a big deal as far as I am concerned. But if the OP does not like the way car feels on the OEM tires? Then change the tires. Just get a lower profile tire on the same rim. It will make a difference in how the car feel's. Been there done that.

 

Not correct - my only major accident was in a Renault 12 Wagon, FWD - tyre pressures were wrong after rotating them, and the back snapped out like an arrow, I tried to correct and it snapped back the other way, sliding into a ditch and rolling. That's OVERSTEER.

 

OK yes you are correct that is "oversteer!" And I am glad you were not hurt But come on a Renault?? LOL, at best "death is riding shot gun?" I can match that and beat it down dollar for dollar! Even In the wet! Best handling car's in America was the Porsche 944. I have two both, with modded suspension's.

My Normally aspirated 944 is intense and my 944 Turbo S is insane. Up graded adjustable sway bars front and back and double adjustable koni coil overs front and back on the 951 and 380hp. It will kill you if your are a fool, no problem!

But for the back roads and canyons my tool of choice was my 92 Tercel. FWD and the suspension was built to the hilt. You had to counter steer, it hard to make the back end step out. And it was a monster in tight curve's and traffic circles!

I got more tickets driving that thing then any of my other cars. The Prius is passive by comparison? I seriously doubt it is capable of "oversteer?" I have found it to understeer like a pig if you have to crank in more steering input, uh because some tool in a Camaro was not as fast as he thought he was! That was the only time our "Prius," got out of shape.

But "oversteer" in a "Prius?" As they say in Missouri "Show Me." I don't see that happening?

 

The Renault was about 10 years before the 944 - a good car for the time. It actually did well, the crash repairer was surprised at how solid it was - pointing to a Corolla in the yard (about '76-77) which had a similar, slow speed rollover, but far more extensive damage. My roof was pushed out so it wasn't "V" shaped, new screen, bonnet, side mirror and roof lining. And he was amazed the parts arrived within 4 days. Except the roof lining which arrived after I'd had it back a week.

But it let go with a vengeance in an Oversteer reaction. When I got it back, I put the good tyres back on the back!!! Far more stable.

 

And you will check the tire pressures BEFORE you go in this trip.......right ?
And if the pressures are OK, you will take it back to the dealer BEFORE this long trip.......right ??
There could be something serious wrong.

I recently had a rental car that had 70 PSI in 3 of the tires; 50 in the 4th one.
It felt like driving on glare ice.

 

Yeah perhaps I overstated the Prius as regards oversteer? Maybe highly unlikely to "oversteer" is a better choice of words?

But I don't know that car you speak of? Is it FWD,RWD where is the engine?

 

I'd posted the photo in another thread yesterday. Was a great car - good boot space, FWD, nth/sth engine, well equipped for the time - height adjustable headlights from the driver's seat was one thing I remember.

I'm surprised you haven't heard of it - 2½ million made + another 2 million in Eastern European countries. Made/assembled in at least 15 countries. Rallied with reasonable success as a GORDINI - 5th in class '73 MonteCarlo.

 

With 50 psi, you didn't have much rubber planted on the road. There are several essential items for car owners One is a functional tire pressure gauge.

 

I find that even dealers - who supposedly know the care - and tire shops - who allegedly know tires - can't get tire pressure correct.

Make sure you set your tire pressure to whatever the manual and/or sticker on the door frame says and see what it's like then.

Just make it a point to trust no one but yourself when it comes to tire pressure.


You may need to re-initialize your TPWS after properly inflating the tires.....

 

Contact the service manager? Tire pressures are supposed to be dropped to spec, along with a litany of other items, during the Pre-Delivery Inspection. Ask to see their checklist. At the least you might get some freebies, plus a proper PDI. They charge what $600~1000 for this??

the question: what ELSE did they “mail in”?

 

I used to do "New car prep" at a Buick dealership back in the 70's-80's. The "PDI" isn't extensive - and not difficult. I'm sure Toyota has a detailed one, but I'd be equally willing to bet that the "Service Manager" doesn't police it's being followed very well.

Consider too that the newest mechanic(?) at the dealership may get that "easy" job. That's what I started out doing. In that case, it's a matter of who that new guy learned his habits from - a pro with pride in a job well-done - or a schmuck who thinks is't "busy work".