Inspect very carfully before purchasing!

[Toy08]

Originally Posted by hobbit

I think this was noticed a few years back, and everyone just
took it in stride. The transaxle motors are fairly heavy, which
may contribute to it, but you've also got the steering mechanism and
various other stuff on the left side of the car. Lose weight,
drop some cinderblocks in the RHS rear footwell, ignore it, or
whatever, and move on...
.
_H*

The left to right side difference is mostly on the rear of the car, not the front. So the transaxle, motors, steering mechanism, etc would not be the main cause of this problem.

I am going to look at the rear suspension this weekend to see what could be causing this issue. I want to see if it could be a strut, torsion bar or frame issue.

I don't see the left lean issue on every Prius, but I have seen at least 10 in the last 3 weeks.

[Toy08]

My new Prius was only 1 months old when I noticed that the car was leaning to the left side with the car completely empty. Had I noticed this before I purchased, I would have never bought the car. Now Toyota says that the ½” is within their acceptable limits and will not correct the issue. See the attached picture and let me know what you think.

More info at the following Thread: "2008 Prius leans to the left"

[Platypus]

Could be an intentional method for dealing with the crowning of roads... no? not buying that one?

I'd be interested to see if a right-hand drive also leans to the left.

-EDIT- Had to go out and check mine and it sits dead level in relation to the ground (level concrete pad in the garage, car is level from the license plate brackets, front and rear). Perhaps the different suspension components in the touring edition help w/ the uneven weight distribution of the drive-train?

[Devil's Advocate]

Odd, but if it doesn't affect handling and it is only a 1/2" over the length of the car I wouldn't say that it is that out of the ordinary. I would check that 1/2" though. Maybe yours is more. It may also work itself out as the suspension settles in. Haven't heard about this before and can't imagine it is any different than what may occur in any car.

[cephas]

No, it doesn't matter, they have to fix it.
Go to another dealer.

[brick]

Why do you need to post two threads on the exact same topic in the same day? As you have already been told, the "lean" doesn't impact anything. I would go as far as to say that it's quite common. Take some deep breaths and move on. There are things in this world far more worth your energy than a little asymmetry.

[sorka]

I just went out to our parking lot and surveyed the dozen or so Priuses. About 2/3 were leaning to the left and the other 1/3 were level. I did one more check and realized that the 1/3 that were level are all touring models.

[Tdoff1]

....now that Toyota is in NASCAR, this is done to stagger the cars and set them up for left hand turns at the super speedways...........the 2009's will be set up especially for the road courses..........

[Toy08]

Originally Posted by brick

Why do you need to post two threads on the exact same topic in the same day? As you have already been told, the "lean" doesn't impact anything. I would go as far as to say that it's quite common. Take some deep breaths and move on. There are things in this world far more worth your energy than a little asymmetry.

Although this thread it is on the same topic as my other thread, I wanted to warn people that are about to purchase a new Prius to look closely before they close the deal. It may be easy for you to say move on, but do you have a leaner? If not, you have no room to talk. The lean is very noticeable and I shouldn’t have to put up with it. If I wanted a car that leaned, I would have bought an old car. And how do you know that the lean doesn’t impact anything, it can’t do any good in a panic right hand turn. The car only has 5K miles, what will happen when the car has 100K?

This is the first time I have ever posted anything in a forum. For years I have read many article and found them very helpful. Your comment was not helpful. I have seen these types of responses many times, why do people insist on belittling other peoples concerns? Are you a Toyota Rep?

[Toy08]

Originally Posted by Devil's Advocate

Odd, but if it doesn't affect handling and it is only a 1/2" over the length of the car I wouldn't say that it is that out of the ordinary. I would check that 1/2" though. Maybe yours is more. It may also work itself out as the suspension settles in. Haven't heard about this before and can't imagine it is any different than what may occur in any car.

Read my other post: "2008 Prius leans to the left" There are many other Prius’s out there that have the same issue. My car only has 5K miles, would you expect this to happen to any other car so soon? The only other vehicles I see on the road that have issues like this are pickups that have been used for off-road.