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Steering Wheel Alignment

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by daiske99, Sep 13, 2015.

  1. daiske99

    daiske99 Member

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    I bought 2015 Prius two 2 month ago and the mileage is almost reaching 2000 mile. I am satisfied with my Prius so far. However about 2 weeks ago I found that the steering wheel is little off centered to the right and the car is leaning to the left. I didn't drive on the potholes so I guess the issue has been there from the first day I bought the car. I was just too excited to see the issue at the time I think. Anyway I brought the car to the Toyota dealership where is close to my work. I explained the issue and the technician drove the car and said it seems ok. I said it's not my first car and I have driven several cars so I am certain that the steering wheel is off centered. I researched this forum so I knew the first wheel alignment is covered by the warranty. They seemed reluctant to provide the service but I insisted. After about an hour they had done the wheel alignment and showed me the result and the result said everything is ok and all the numbers are in the range. It was strange so I asked what if the car is still pulled off to the left and he said there is nothing he can do further so if the issue is still there, the service manager should be involved. I hoped the issue would be resolved but when I drove the car back to home I could still see that the steering wheel was still off centered just like before the wheel alignment. I called them and made another appointment on this coming Monday. I read all the steering wheel alignment related threads and found that it's pretty common issue for the new cars. But I found few people that the issue was completely gone. I think it's a quite easy job to fix by adjust something to make the steering wheel rotated little to the left(3~5 degree). I showed to my wife today to see if I'm too sensitive and she also agreed that the car is pulled to the left. Can you please share you wisdom about what I have to do or ask to them?

    Thank you for your help in advance.
     
  2. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    IMO, the car may be aligned to spec, but the steering wheel should be flat also. It can be fixed by centering the wheel, then clamping the steering wheel in place with the normal tool used during an alignment. After that, I believe a simple toe adjustment will bring everything back into spec and the car should then track straight down the road.

    Just because the car is in spec does not always guarantee that it will track straight. It can be in spec and still pull one way or another. Another culprit is air pressure, so be aware of that.

    I suggest you try a different dealer OR go over the service writer's head to the head honcho in service. If you still are not happy, then try another dealer.

    Best of luck to you.
     
  3. daiske99

    daiske99 Member

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    Thank you for your speedy reply! I checked the air pressure and they were all ok. I will print your thread and show them tomorrow. As you said I will talk to the service manager and it's not still fixed from there I will try another dealership where I bought the car from. Hopefully they won't charge for the service. Would this issue happen again after I get the wheel alignment (maybe 2~3 years later) by resetting the numbers?
     
  4. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Remember that a lot of what is posted here is opinion, and may or may not be fact.

    But IIRC, the fix that I mentioned is valid. I do suggest you go straight to the top rather than fighting with a service writer. If you still find no joy, try a different dealer.

    The steering wheel should stay flat unless it gets knocked out of alignment, or a tech forgets to clamp it in place when doing alignments.

    Best of luck to you.
     
    daiske99 likes this.
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    it could also be the roads you're traveling on that can cause this issue. I would recommend the next step to rotate the tires and see if that'll fix the issue.

    I don't remember reading anywhere that states you get your first alignment for free. There is nothing written that states this. As a courtesy, a dealer may do it for you since you have a new car. But after a couple thousand miles, I don't think it's normal to think it's a free first service.
     
  6. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Here''s more info on the subject.

    Google
     
  7. daiske99

    daiske99 Member

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    I totally agree with you. Thank you for the advice.
     
  8. daiske99

    daiske99 Member

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    I tried all different roads from local to highway. But it's still the same. The service writer said the first alignment is included in the warranty for the first year or 12000 miles (maybe 10000) and I got it for free. Someone said it is also stated in the warranty manual book.
     
  9. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Agreed, the new 2013 we got also had the same thing. First alignment is free if done in first year or 10K miles.
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    try pumping up your tyres to 42/40 and see if that has any effect.
     
  11. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    If the alignment is good except for the slightly off-center steering wheel, as it evidently is, all that needs doing is to adjust one tie rod a smidge shorter, and lengthen the other one an equal amount.
     
  12. E46Prius

    E46Prius Active Member

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    I'm not sure if the Prius has rear toe adjustment (it should), if so I'd make sure the tech checks that. Incorrect toe at the rear will also cause the problem you are describing. You can have the steering wheel dead center and the front toe in spec and once the car starts rolling down the road, thats when it'll pull and the steering wheel will be off center. In short: make sure they aren't just checking the front.

    If all four corners are in spec, then as others said, ensure proper inflation.

    Also keep in mind "in spec" doesn't mean perfect. It just means the technician who assembled the car adjusted things until the computer turned green. It can still be off enough to be an annoyance. Ask the tech to make sure the toe is set with the steering wheel held straight.

    Also if camber is off on one side (relative to the other), it can cause pulling/off centered ness too
     
  13. daiske99

    daiske99 Member

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    Here is an update.

    They said again everything looks perfectly fine. What they found was that the steering wheel is not aligned with the curve on the dashboard(or the plastic cover behind the wheel). It might have confused me so they changed its angle little to the left(they said it's about 3 degree).
    They performed zero point calibration and did a test drive. I drove it back to home and found it's got much better. But it little pulled the car to the right at this time. It's very subtle so nobody could notice it. If they can change one degree of the angle to the right, I thought it would work perfectly. I called them and the service manager said they barely adjusted the parts inside and it resulted in the currant situation so he was afraid if the new change will make the steering wheel setting back to the previous condition. Well... it sounds like it makes sense. Do I have to put my car into the risk because of the one degree? I may be too obsessed by the angle so can't make a sound decision. I never knew it's that tricky. I'm not sure if it's worth to try another dealership. I will appreciate any suggestions. Thank you all of you who left the valuable advises. They were so helpful.
     
  14. E46Prius

    E46Prius Active Member

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    Personally my bigger priority would be that the car drives straight rather than the angle of the wheel (within reason of course) The dashboard can confuse you if you look at the wheel. Of course, all things being perfect, some change in the road will always equal to some pull one way or the other at some point. Just enjoy your car =)

    By the way I knnow how you feel. Techs been getting my BMW alignments wrong all the time so I got fed up and met a really really good and anal tech. he even lets me align my BMW myself using his rack cause he knows how anal I am. I got that sucker dialed in really well (for high performance driving) and I haven't touched it in four years. Still 100% perfect. Just avoid hitting stuff and damaging components.
     
  15. daiske99

    daiske99 Member

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    Yep I think I will have to enjoy the car as is now. Thank you for sharing the story though.