Possible alignment problem and brake pulling

[ibmindless]

Originally Posted by olimpicars

My dealer reported that the cause of the occasional pull to the left was a combination of the toe and the camber being out. After the realignment was performed, this also cured the slight brake pull to the left. No charge. I'm more than satisfied with the service.

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.

[olimpicars]

Mark:
I'm no expert, but your car might handle differently, and better, if you set the pressures to 36 front- 33 rear per the owner's manual. My dealer likes 35 all the way around. (Higher front tire pressures have a way of negating the natural tendency of a front wheel drive car to understeer). And, it goes without saying, set them cold, first thing in the morning.
I find that my car is very sensitive to changes in the camber of the road, and the higher pressures that you're running just might be decreasing the contact patch enough to have an adverse effect.
Just a thought.