Alignment ?

hi and welcome!

it's pretty common for the shipping tiedowns to somehow screw up the alignment. actually you should be able to get one free alignment early in your ownership if you have a bad alignment.

that's not toyota's policy, that's the dealer's policy. you've got a new car and it should have a correct alignment. period. i'd find another dealership, personally.

 

Welcome, Dan,

I took mine in at 1800 miles, primarily because I'd had new tires put on, though the steering felt a bit vague. It was dead on, total toe -.07 degrees, just like the Big Boys and Girls around here said it should be, everything else well within tolerances. I asked the service manager about the slightly vague feeling (pretty much like what you describe, it didn't seem centered, and seemed to drift) and he said the electric power steering pump gives a really different feel compared to the old belt-driven ones, plus (as your guy said) things sometimes have to settle in a bit to quit feeling odd. After another 1000 miles now, I've gotten more used to it (or it's settled in, or something) and it doesn't feel quite as strange as it did a month ago. It sure settled my mind to have it checked, though - you might try talking to a different service advisor, if you don't want to change dealerships.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(glenhead @ Aug 28 2006, 12:32 PM) [snapback]310676[/snapback]</div>

-.07 is not right for toe in. The minus number means it is toed out, toe out is unstable and makes the car feel vague and wander when it goes down the highway. The spec is -.1 to +.1 on each side but you would always want to be on the + side. I had a lot of alignment problems with mine, all solved now, and have found +.05 on each side (total +.1) is best. That is of course for the front.

The rear also needs toe in, more than the front. The spec for the rear is +.03 to +.28 on each side. I ended up with +.2 on each side in the rear. There are no adjustments in the rear but it can be shimmed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tumbleweed @ Aug 28 2006, 08:00 PM) [snapback]310934[/snapback]</div>

I think the actual spec is 0.0 - neither in nor out - though you're right, a slight toe in is more centered feeling.