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Any wandering on the highway?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by ddtaylor99, Jul 7, 2009.

  1. ddtaylor99

    ddtaylor99 dd taylor

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    I test drove the 2010 Prius basic model yesterday and I thought I noticed it wandering on the highway a little bit at speeds above 65 mph or so.

    Has anybody noticed this, or wandering at normal road speeds a little bit so that you need to correct the steering to keep it in a straight line?
     
  2. PriusLewis

    PriusLewis Management Scientist

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    The Prius is known to be sensitive to front end alignment, which is "amplified" by the electric power steering. I had this with my Gen II, plus it was "darty" when you changed lanes at 75. Since I've experience setting up Solo II race cars, it felt to me like the front was toed out (probably worse on the right). When we put it on the alignment machine I was spot on in my seat-of-the-pants diagnosis. We set it to zero toe in and it cured all of this.
     
  3. asv

    asv New Member

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    No drifting problems with our 2010 Prius IV. 2 hour road trip on a straight highway averaging 80mph. Crosswinds maybe?
     
  4. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    The highway handling on the 2010 is vastly improved over the gen2 cars. I've noticed little to no wandering. However, it is still a relatively light, tall car, so there's no way it is going to track quite as solidly as my 2007 HyCam for example.
     
  5. exbauer

    exbauer Active Member

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    I have had the car in for 2 alignment jobs. This is because of pot holes. But, I never had a car this sensitive to pot holes. I do have 17s on the car, but so did my previous cars.

    Crosswinds are not as back as gen II. But, it is still there since the car is light.
     
  6. creativeguy

    creativeguy Member

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    I rented a Prius V over the weekend in Northern CA. I didn't notice wandering, but it was really windy in some areas and the Prius definitely got tossed around a bit. I think the light weight and slab sides of the design make it a crosswind target. I've seen lots of Prius tossed around over the years driving on highway 5 to LA.
     
  7. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    I find that in typical driving, the car doesn't wander nearly as much. However, if you get into some significant head or cross-wind situations, the car will get blown around a bit. Sadly, this is likely due to the big side profile compared to relatively small contact patch on the tires.

    That being said, I didn't think it was nearly as bad as the 2004, or worse, the 2002 in the same situations.
     
  8. Martin37

    Martin37 New Member

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  9. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    No "wandering" issues for me.

    Some tires are prone to tramlining at higher speeds, so that may have been the issue.
     
  10. wvgasguy

    wvgasguy New Member

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    As well as grooved concrete surfaces (We have a lot of those here)
     
  11. LaMesaGuy

    LaMesaGuy Member

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    My 2010 Prius V w/ATP goes in a straight line at any speed on the highway or city streets. I can take my hands off of the steering wheel for a minute or two and it will stay in a straight line.
     
  12. wvgasguy

    wvgasguy New Member

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    Mine might, but If I go in a straight line for a minute, 45 seconds of that would be rolling down a hillside :(
     
  13. Future_Prius?

    Future_Prius? New Member

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    I find that mine wanders. I also noticed that it pulls to the left slightly if you let go of the steering wheel. We've got crowned roads here so is should drift to the right. Definitely an alignment problem.
     
  14. hughh

    hughh New Member

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    That wondering or wind buffeting was noted in yesterday's review on CNET:

    2010 Toyota Prius

    While driving on city streets, we noticed the new Prius still had the wobbly feeling in turns from which its predecessor suffered. On the freeway, the Prius wanders in its lane as wind buffets it around. The steering feels solid, making it easy to control, but it doesn't have that stable road feeling offered by similar midsize cars.
    2010 Toyota Prius Coupe/Hatchback reviews - CNET Reviews
     
  15. Fussion101

    Fussion101 Junior Member

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    :(Can anyone confirm pulling in their 2010 prius?

    I went through this whole mess when I bought a new 09 sienna.
    First time I drove it on the highway at 55+ it would have a tendency to drift towards the left. I would always have to keep my hands on the steering wheel to keep it centered. Brought it into two stealerships. The first said they checked the alignment and it was fine and adjusted the tire pressure. Still pulling left. I actually went on a road test with the 2nd mechanic and he claims it was the crown of the road. I had to pay for an alignment and it showed caster was out of spec by smidge but it was not adjustable.
    I did a search online and found that many toyota's have pulling issues. Especially camrys, solaras, and priuss. I swore I would never buy a toyota again but damn this 3gen prius is nice.
     
  16. Bruno_S

    Bruno_S New Member

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    Yes, at 65+ mph the front end is all over. This is on concrete with grooves (CA I-5). Will need to test on asphalt but my previous cars didn't do this even at 85 mph on the same freeway section. I guess it is another way to save gas, car feels unsettled at 65+ mph so the driver reduces speed.
     
  17. creativeguy

    creativeguy Member

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    Get them to check the wheel bearings. I had a new CRV that was pulling and the dealership insisted that it was the roads. By the time I convinced them to actually look at the car they found a defective wheel bearing. By that time, 2 tires had worn unevenly, and since it is a 4wd model, they had to replace all the tires at 20k miles.
     
  18. freo-1

    freo-1 New Member

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    Have to provide additional data here: Agree with the standard Gen II does not handle better than the Gen III, but not the Touring model. After experiencing both, the Gen II Touring handles better than the Gen III standard.
     
  19. Martin37

    Martin37 New Member

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    1300 mile trip mostly on asphalt, IIIBlueII handled like a dream, imho. I don't understand "wandering"; my ride at good speeds was so steady that Prius steered in a straight line while using both hands to tighten hairs in hair tie!!! . . . EXCEPT when wind was blowing . . .YIKES!!! :eek:
     
  20. JRitt

    JRitt Bio-Medical Equip. Tech

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    When I first drove my Prius It felt a litte darty but then I drove my brothers Honda Civic hybrid and it felt the same. My last car was a "95 Impala SS so I figured it was because of the shorter wheel base and generaly smaller size. Now after 2 weeks everything feels normal.