Don't Give Up!

[lplate]

So when I received my new '07 Touring Pkg#6 I was delighted. At 600 miles I took it back in for a drift to the left and the brakes pulling to the left. I got the one-time "Free" alignment for the drift 'cause we all know that due to the tie-down process in the container shipping, it's well understood that alignment can be an issue. Why dealers don't automatically check that before delivering to the customer.....

They tell me the brakes look okay and will probably work themselves out with more mileage.

Back to the dealer at 1200 miles with both problems still present. After six hours (roughing up the rotors, bleeding the brake system, rotating the tires, and more) they tell me that they drove two other cars and they did the same thing. That was supposed to make me happy and off I go again.

Now I start my email campaign with the service manager. Five or six emails later I'm ending with things like "The dealer will now be responsible for anything that might happen regarding the brakes." and that I'm not waiting around another 6 hours for a solution try.

So, back into the dealer and a loaner car. The regional factory guy is on-site because there is a new multi-step protocol and some of it is complicated enough for the service manager to say the local dealership can't/won't even do the work, the factory guy has to do it himself/supervise. Four days later, we have a clear solution. Can you guess?

New tires. Nothing they tried worked, including another alignment and a complete new brake job. They finally took the Bridgestone's off and put on Michelin's and now everything's perfect.

So, the message is don't give up. If it's not right escalate until you get action!

[Bear68]

Want some fun info? First of all, Prii have only one real alignment angle that can be adjusted. That is the toe adjustment on the front wheels. Incorrect toe ajdustment would have to be EXTREMELY severe for it to cause a pull. The most likely symptom for incorrect toe would be an off center steering wheel. Camber can actually be slightly adjusted by loosening the two large bolts on the bottom of the front struts and then pulling or pushing them in the desired direction while tighening the bolts. As a side bonus, although there are no rear adjustments at all without adding shims, (solid rear beam axle) the rear toe is usually out of spec.

That being said, the true way to correct a pull (in 90% of the cases) is to either swap the two front tires (left to right) or try reversing one tire on its' rim. (reversing the direction of travel).

Don't forget the most important thing though!! Check your tire pressures at least ONCE a month!! My personal recommendation is to run the highest pressure you are comfortable with so long as you do not exceed the maximum pressure listed on the tire sidewall.

Good Luck and enjoy your Prius!!

[lplate]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bear68 @ Nov 22 2007, 07:31 PM) [snapback]543045[/snapback]</div>

Want some fun info? First of all, Prii have only one real alignment angle that can be adjusted. That is the toe adjustment on the front wheels. Incorrect toe ajdustment would have to be EXTREMELY severe for it to cause a pull. The most likely symptom for incorrect toe would be an off center steering wheel. Camber can actually be slightly adjusted by loosening the two large bolts on the bottom of the front struts and then pulling or pushing them in the desired direction while tighening the bolts. As a side bonus, although there are no rear adjustments at all without adding shims, (solid rear beam axle) the rear toe is usually out of spec.

That being said, the true way to correct a pull (in 90% of the cases) is to either swap the two front tires (left to right) or try reversing one tire on its' rim. (reversing the direction of travel).

Don't forget the most important thing though!! Check your tire pressures at least ONCE a month!! My personal recommendation is to run the highest pressure you are comfortable with so long as you do not exceed the maximum pressure listed on the tire sidewall.

Good Luck and enjoy your Prius!!
[/b]

Thanks. It was out of alignment by a wide margin. I had it set to +.05 and while that helped quite a bit, it didn't do it all the way. The dealer tried several variations of the existing tires (Bridgestone) and all the other things listed, performed by the regional Toyota guy. Again, the final fix was getting rid of the Bridgestones and installing Michelins. Now it's all perfect.

I'll run the tires 42/40 for a bit and see how that goes. With Winter on the way, might back that off a little for the snow. I've seen lots of opinions on tire pressure. For me, everything's a bit of a trade-off. Too hard means some other component is taking up the difference. I like to look at the tread after going through a lite dust. If the part of the tread that's supposed to be on the ground is all being used, fine. If it's starting to lift off and run more to the center, then that's too much. One of tires chief enemies is heat. There will be less heat with higher pressures but again, everything's a trade-off.

I'm really enjoying my Prius as I move to retirement at the end of the year. My only disappointment so far was that the Scan Gauge II I just received was packed with an open box and the manual and velcro missing. Waiting to hear on what's up with that!

L.