Pulling left after steering recall

[Lake Superior]

Hi, folks:
About three weeks ago I had the steering recall done on my 2005 Prius with B package.
Since then, the car decidedly wants to drift to the left. When I brake lightly (so as not to engage the traction control) it also heads left.
The service manager claims that nothing they did could have caused this problem and suggested uneven tire pressure. I checked the tires and they were all within 1/2 pound of each other.
(By the way, because my brother had his Goodyear Celebrity tires replaced under extended warranty on his Corolla, I asked the dealer about similar problems with those tires on the Prius. He said it was a Corolla problem only.... A tire shop employee told me that I am showing outside wear at only 23,000 km. Actually the mileage is less than half of that because I run Blizzaks from November through April...)
Any ideas or advice?
(As an aside, I average about 4.6 litres per 100 km from late spring to early fall; drops to 5.3 range in the colder weather as the gas engine seems to run longer to warm up...)
All the best from the top of Lake Superior.

[galaxee]

did they do an alignment afterward? if not, have them check the alignment. down here in the US, toyota includes an alignment with the recall work.

if they did to an alignment, have another tech double check it.

[ramarren]

I have a 2006, delivered in August. I've had issues with the steering precision/feel, highway stability, steering wheel misalignment, and this "drifting to the left" business since it was delivered.

After several rounds of visits to dealer and to the tire shop, a set of Goodyear Comfortreds, five re-alignment jobs, and a BT Chassis Stiffening plate:

- It is now very stable on the highway.
- The steering wheel is properly aligned.
- Steering precision has been markedly improved and is satisfactory/good.

To improve the steering precision and feel, setting the alignment to +0.05 degrees toe-in (+0.10 degrees total) was essential. Most dealers will set it to 0.00 degrees toe-in; the steering feels numb and prone to wander at that setting. I also run 38 psi front and 36psi rear tire pressures.

Very light applications of the brakes continue to show a slight tendency to make it drift to the left. Pressing the brake just a little bit harder eliminates that. While the 'drift' is very slight and very subtle, it is indeed real and requires a small correction at the wheel when the brakes are lightly engaged. It took a few rounds with the dealer's personnel, but they finally acknowledged that this was actually happening and that they know of no way to correct it from happening. Their main Prius service technician took a page of notes when I demonstrated it to him and said that he would discuss it with Toyota at their next training session. I've gone ahead and written a note, sent it to Toyota as well as to the dealer.

I talked to three other Prius owners, all of whom reported a similar "drift to the left", and drove two new cars at the dealership ... they both did it too.

If enough people who notice this send a note to Toyota, perhaps we can get some action to correct it. I'm not unhappy with the way the car is now, but I feel this should certainly be correctable and corrected.

Godfrey

[tumbleweed]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godfrey DiGiorgi @ Nov 5 2006, 05:25 PM) [snapback]344285[/snapback]</div>

To improve the steering precision and feel, setting the alignment to +0.05 degrees toe-in (+0.10 degrees total) was essential. Most dealers will set it to 0.00 degrees toe-in; the steering feels numb and prone to wander at that setting. I also run 38 psi front and 36psi rear tire pressures.
Godfrey
[/b]

I agree with the alignment recommendation. Some dealers may not want to give you this toe in (+.05 degrees on each side) and may tell you it is "out of spec". It is not, the specs is -.1 to +.1. Be sure to get a copy of the alignment data that the machine prints out so you can check that it was done correctly. If they go the wrong way (-.05 for example) the car will become almost undriveable on the highway, I know because it happened to me.

I am using 44 psi tire pressure in all four tires at this time and it seems to be working out just fine.

I haven't noticed the pull to the left when braking. I will be especially attentive today and edit this post if I can feel it or not.

[ramarren]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tumbleweed @ Nov 6 2006, 10:07 AM) [snapback]344526[/snapback]</div>

I agree with the alignment recommendation. Some dealers may not want to give you this toe in (+.05 degrees on each side) and may tell you it is "out of spec". It is not, the specs is -.1 to +.1. Be sure to get a copy of the alignment data that the machine prints out so you can check that it was done correctly. If they go the wrong way (-.05 for example) the car will become almost undriveable on the highway, I know because it happened to me.
[/b]

Yes, I agree. It took quite a bit of argument with the shop foreman to get them to set the alignment the way I wanted it to be. They're just not used to dealing with people who actually know what they're talking about, I guess. The foreman was also insensitive to both the steering wheel alignment problem (how the heck can you determine when the steering wheel is misaligned when you drive down the road with one hand on the left side of the wheel?) and to the fact that when he stepped on the brake lightly he was turning the wheel gently to the right to correct for the initial drift. The mechanic saw both behaviors immediately...

I am using 44 psi tire pressure in all four tires at this time and it seems to be working out just fine.
[/b]

I tried setting tire pressures to 42/40 psi for a while and didn't like the feel of the steering. My fuel economy data didn't show much if any difference between that setting and 38/36 psi, so I've stuck with the latter. This is with the Goodyear Comfortreds.

I haven't noticed the pull to the left when braking. I will be especially attentive today and edit this post if I can feel it or not.
[/b]

Please do, I am interested to know if this is an endemic characteristic of the Prius 2006 and later.

best,
Godfrey

[Lake Superior]

Galaxee, thanks for the advice.
Called my service manager today and he again denied that anything they did during the recall could have had any effect on the car drifting left. Also said that neither the U.S. nor Canadian TSB says anything about doing an allignment after the steering recall......
I have an appointment for Thursday and need some help bolstering my claim.....
Thanks,
j

[galaxee]

there's a very long thread on the steering recall started by a member named TMS USA, and there are lots of similar experiences listed in there that folks have posted. it's a sticky in the maintenance forum.

i've got the US op codes for the with- and without-alignment jobs in that thread if the guy wants proof. lots of folks have had problems with steering wheel center after the work, especially in the beginning.

hopefully you'll find some info in there that's similar to what you're experiencing and you can get all of this straightened out (sorry, bad pun )

[tumbleweed]

I just tried stopping several times from 35 or 40 MPH using different pressures on the brake pedal from very light to heavy. I left my hands off of the steering wheel for each stop and there was no tendency to pull either way.

I think if anyone says "they all do it" we could state with some confidence that they are incorrect. I am no longer using the Goodyear Integrity tires but I did use them for 15K miles and do not remember any tendency for the car to pull under braking then either.

[ramarren]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tumbleweed @ Nov 6 2006, 01:14 PM) [snapback]344640[/snapback]</div>

I just tried stopping several times from 35 or 40 MPH using different pressures on the brake pedal from very light to heavy. I left my hands off of the steering wheel for each stop and there was no tendency to pull either way.

I think if anyone says "they all do it" we could state with some confidence that they are incorrect. I am no longer using the Goodyear Integrity tires but I did use them for 15K miles and do not remember any tendency for the car to pull under braking then either.
[/b]

I see the 'drift' mostly when I lightly touch the brakes, rather than when pushing them hard enough to bring the car to a stop.

Another thing that someone else recommended is to perform several hard stops in a row and then see if the drift is the same. The notion here is that the brakes, if you are a light brake user, might be slightly glazed or inadequately bedded in, and aren't being used hard enough in most driving to seat properly.

There might be some truth to this as I noticed that the drift seemed to be reduced after I did a dozen hard stops in a parking lot, and has stayed in this new state ever since. Since the issue is a subtlety rather than anything overt, it's a difficult issue to quantify.

Godfrey

[pinball]

Lake Superior - my steering drifted off to the right after the recall so I took it back to have the alignment done and afterwards the steering was straight and true.
Accept nothing less.