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Right front wheel hit a curb

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by zander, Dec 6, 2012.

  1. zander

    zander Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2010
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    Location:
    connecticut
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    To avoid hitting something in the road I hit a curb with the right front wheel, no damage yet. I had ordered tires prior( hankook optmo h727), had the tires installed, front end alignment. The car pulls to the right, readjusted the tire pressure, stills pulls to the right, had dealer(trusted dealer) rechecked the front end and was in spec. The dealer reballanced the tires and still puts slightly to the right( dealer complained the the tires are NOT a good fit for the car. Replaced the tires and much better( defenders), the steering is still off, still slightly pulls to the right.

    I think that the right ball joint / control arm. If you jerk the steering whel to the left the steering wheel return, if to the right the steering wheel does not return.

    your thoughts
     
    #1 zander, Dec 6, 2012
  2. Jonny Zero

    Jonny Zero Giggidy

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    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    I have noticed the same thing since new and I never hit anything. The steer wheel always self centers more easily, from the left, than from the right. I noticed the same thing with my 2002 Camry, it also had not been in a collision.

    I think if the hardware is damaged, it will show in the alignment. I will speculate that these cars are designed this way, with this bias, for safety reasons. If the driver is to pass out, heart attack, stroke, whatever, it is safer to drift off to the right, than drift off to the left into on coming traffic.
     
    #2 Jonny Zero, Dec 8, 2012
  3. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    Location:
    Edmonton Alberta
    Vehicle:
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    Keep in mind the road almost always has a camber to the right, so a car -should- slowly drift off the road and require correction against that.
    The alignment should have shown any damaged parts. The tech has to fight to get it to align and will notice that!
     
    #3 David Beale, Dec 9, 2012
  4. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    Location:
    South Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Sounds like you need a full 4 wheel alignment. The bump may have pushed the front subframe slightly out of line with the body. You can either have the subframe alignment checked and adjusted by the dealer or the wheels re-aligned to compensate for the subframe movement if the subframe alignment is within spec.
     
    #4 kithmo, Dec 9, 2012
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