3 alignments, steering wheel off center.

Pretty sure there's a procedure in the manual for this. Check some torque values on the steering, correct if needed, put steering wheel dead center then align front wheels, then initialize system....stuff that Toyota should be aware of....feel free to read through the pdf file below

 

Not sure if related... I remember a steering shaft recall..

Prius Steering Intermediate Shaft Recall C0T - Details for Owners - Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists
Prius Steering Intermediate Shaft Recall C0T - Details for Owners - Luscious Garage | Hybrid Specialists

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Oh boy...... so very many problems with this and so much work to completely unscrew it.........

First off, "they" did it WRONG, completely 100% wrong. On a modern vehicle with a SAS (steering angle sensor) you CANNOT just remove the steering wheel and "fix" it's alignment.

Secondly, the steering "wheel" is factory aligned to both the steering shaft(s) and the steering mechanism (rack&pinion in this case) and anything that disturbs THAT factory alignment, must be undone and the steering wheel re-aligned to the system correctly per the service procedure.

Thirdly, you DO NOT perform a tire (wheel) alignment by moving the steering mechanism to and fro then checking the steering WHEEL. You center the steering wheel, THEN adjust the tire rod ends to obtain the correct tire alignment settings with the vehicle and steering wheel pointed straight ahead.

I have not read the actual Toyota procedure, so they may have these basic steps with different specifics, but that is the jest of it.

Lastly, the above assumes that the vehicle "tracks" straight down the road and is not "dog-tracking". If it is dog-tracking, the "frame" is bent or the rear axle off-set to one side and they are right, it is not "adjustable".

 

Not sure which part of the rear is "off", but there are shims that can be purchased/installed which may help with adjustment.

 

This document describes a bunch of things to look at for pulling to one side.

This one gives an idea what's involved in adjusting tie rods to center the steering wheel if the steering is otherwise ok.

The later one is an older document; somebody might have posted an updated version. If that happened, it was probably Elektroingenieur.

Does every Gen 2 have a steering angle sensor? I'm not sure they all do.

Because the shaft is splined, as you've noticed, it isn't possible to put the wheel on with infinite adjustment (or, it is, but only if you ruin the splines, which is not good).

The splines are fine enough that usually you can get the wheel on "pretty close" on one side of centered, or "slightly less close" on the other side of centered.

The tie rod adjustment is really only for folks so obsessive that "pretty close" isn't close enough.

If it can be centered enough to satisfy you and the tie rod end lengths are within 1.5 mm of each other, that's success.

If it takes more than 1.5 mm of difference in tie rod lengths to center the wheel where you want it, it follows there is some other kind of misalignment going on (or the wheel's on the wrong spline).

 

I had this experience about 8 years back. I came across had a rock on the highway about one foot is size and had no way of avoiding it. It hit the crossmember near the point where it supports the wheel and transmission housing which got cracked. As a result of that the steering wheel position changed by about 20 degree to the right.

 

No that's still not right.

And brake pads in the caliper causing the wheel to be off that much? Wow that's silly.

And also earlier post you said it was ok then later on the steering wheel became crooked again? Something really bad and scary is going on. I don't think i would drive that car till you find out what.

Look at ttou68's post #4 above Toyota's steering wheel recall post. Its a steering shaft replacement. It could be loose. There's another poster on here right now fuming that he lost steering because the bolts that hold it came loose.

I bet you lost the clock spring circuit board in the steering wheel too with all this loose wheel shenanigans.. Does the steering wheel volume control work?

Lastly go online and join toyota's owners forum.

http://www.toyota.com/owners

Enter the cars vin found on your insurance card and join. It will show every instance the car has seen an authorized toyota dealer service center. Maybe you'll see some cryptic messages there.

 

You might try moving the front wheels to the rear, and see if the problem follows or goes away.

On a side note, alignments sound like they cost much less in Iowa.

 

Very easy to bend a G2 15 inch mag. Mine had 3 bent wheels one tire shop missed it another found it in 2 minutes. Easy and best wheel tester is hang the tire on the rear axle and spin it. You can clearly see any run out.

After market suspension stuff sucks these days its all China. Failure at 15,000 does not shock me at all.

 

Same thing is happening to me right now in my 2012 Prius C, replaced both control arms, then went to get it aligned, steering wheel looks like the picture you shared, got it aligned again next day after that, steering wheel still looks like in the picture but a little bit less, the car drives straight but it is quite annoying to drive in a straight road with the steering wheel not straight.

 

Check the wheel bearing, ball joint, and tie rods for excess play. Check the tires for uneven wear (maybe swap them between the left and right to see if it starts pulling the other way).

I had a bad wheel bearing, which caused a slight cupping of one of my tires. It didn't make noise like bad wheel bearings normally do. The cupping was so slight, that I never even noticed it, but it was enough to affect the steering wheel center.

 

Check the things suggested in the Toyota documents linked in #7.

 

If I understand, OP's last alignment had a perfectly centered steering wheel and after 10 miles of driving the steering wheel "offset" (from the photos) changed a good 10 degrees).

Interesting.

Checking the Toyota documents as Chapman etal suggested is where I would start.

FWIW
It makes me think that something is shifting or a steering system gear is skipping a tooth.
Tie rods may be the easiest to inspect.
I don't think a bent wheel is the issue, but a tire rotation may be a good diagnostic step.
A-arm bushings could be suspect with a visual and prybar test a good step.
Witness marks on the shock mounting areas (underhood too) can also be easily checked.
Wheel bearings I am not so sure as the alignment steering wheel was centered for "x" miles, yet checking these and ball joints etal is a good step.
Lastly, typically toe/ centered steering wheel is made with tie rod adjustments.
The bad news is this car has had alignment issues for a long time.
So it may not be any of the above.
That leads to my gear tooth theory, which may not be so easy to check.
Something inside the steering rack, or something, as mentioned, in the steering shaft.

Sadly, no one had easily found the issue and chasing this issue may add up labor hours.
I am unsure of your local labor rates, your car is a 2008.

FWIW you could DIY centering the steering wheel by equal adjustment of both (many u-tube videos) front tie rods, but will the centering hold? And, I am unsure about your Prius, many cars require an electronic tool to present the steering shaft to a centered position before beginning alignment adjustments.

I'll make a final comment that the Toyota dealer may not be your best option, seek out a "pure" suspension shop.

Let us know your findings and good luck.