Possible alignment problem and brake pulling

It can be a little hard to distinguish between asymmetry of the car and non-flatness of the road. Suspension geometry differences mean different cars respond to the same road non-flatness to a considerably different degree. My 1987 BMW 325i almost felt like it wanted to move off another way on its own on a part of my commute where heavy trucks had impressed a couple of tracks in soft pavement, yet on flat surfaces it was as sure-footed as ever. When the road was resurfaced the problem went away.

Having said that, I've noticed nothing unusual on our 2006 Prius, so if yours is doing much and you can rule out the road, it sounds to me as though something is not right.

 

This pull to the left problem has a long history with the Generation II (2004 - 2008 model years) Prius.

For whatever reason, the Gen II Priuses are frequently delivered with the wheels out of alignment. Speculation is that this is caused by how Toyota straps down or stabilizes the Priuses on the shipping boats.

First this problem was acknowledged in a Toyota Service Bulletin which said that if a customer complained about the alignment, then the dealer was to give a wheel alignment for free.

Then this problem was acknowledged in the Owner's Warranty booklet. If you look at your Warranty booklet you will see that there is a separate express warranty of the car's alignment for 12 months or 20,000 miles.

If you suspect that there's an alignment problem, then you should bring your car into the dealer and get the wheels aligned under warranty. When you do so, you should ask for three things:

1. Align the wheels to spec (and not just to acceptable tolerances)

2. Get a print-out of the alignment.

3. Center the steering wheel if necessary.

Good luck. Welcome to PriusChat.

 

I booked my car in this morning to have this same issue looked at. They just called to say everything is normal. They do have a print out for me to see. I will collect it later on and will let you know what they say.

 

When I took my 2007 Prius in for its first oil change at 5,000 miles, I told them to check the alignment that it pulled to the left. It is listed on my job order and they said alignment was covered under warranty. Not sure if they said how long....I thought it was 3 yrs....
Anyway if 12 months I may have a problem getting it fixed for free. There is not one note on my recap paper that says what they found out and if they adjusted anything. When I drove home (85 miles many road surfaces) it still seemed to pull to the left. They have my car for another problem right now so not able to introduce this apparent over site.
I would do as Boo recommends and maybe even drive it around right away. Have a print out of the before and after alignment. (unfortunately I have no printout readings)
My dealer has not been forthright with warranty repairs. I have learned to jump on issues right away and make sure your car is operating correctly.

 

It seems likely that wheel alignment or a dragging rear brake is causing the problem. Just for fun, it might be worthwhile to check your tire inflation to make sure that is correct.

I have not noticed torque steer with Prius. If it happens, it would occur under rapid acceleration.

 

Here's the result of my visit. I found the dealer professional, no BS, they even told me to ignore the psi on the plate and go higher. I checked and found they put 40 psi all round.
I paid "zero" dollars and got a free car wash

 

That's great. We do like those happy endings.

 

I wish that was my experience. When I bought my 07 in Jan. 07, I quickly noticed it pulled to the left. They realigned it under warranty and the pulling went away, but I felt a change in the handling. It felt like it was pushing when I turned right and felt great when I turned left. I brought it back a month or two later and they said it was within specs.

When I relocated to the Seattle area, I had another Toyota dealer check the alignment after explaining my alignment history. They said it was right on the target specs. I brought it back a few weeks later insisting it was not right. I had really noticed the poor handling after driving their loaner Corolla --- the Corolla felt secure and tracked true and cornered beautifully. They checked it again - same story and they swapped the front tires & wheels with the rears. Bottom line, no change. All of the checking & swapping was done under warranty.

So now my plan is to go to a local alignment shop that has a great reputation and explain the situation to them and hope they can fix my problem. I'm open to any thoughts. And yes, I always check the pressures and they're always the same 40/38.