steering problem

[redgreen]

nubee
just got a 09 3 DR . i have 130 miles on my new yaris and i hate it !
it's back at the dealers. heres the problem
the steering wheel sticks in the center when i'm on the freeway 65mph
and if the road has rain grooves it darts all over the place
i have to drive it with 2 hands to keep it in my lane.. this sucks
oh and the power steering cuts out at 30 mph
dealer said everything is fine and the computer turns off the P/S at 30..DUH
WHAT... part time P/S ... oh wonderful
i did a search of steering / EPS.. did not see any others with a problem like this
any ideas ?
Redgreen

[thebarber]

L
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[ChinoCharles]

... it seems like that would make sense though. Does the Yaris's P/S cut out?

I don't think this sounds like a lemon. It sounds like you don't like the Yaris. Yeah, its kind of tough to keep it straight when your wheels are in water or its windy or whatever. Sounds like you should have splurged on the Corolla.

[AlexNet0]

My Yaris wanders terribly when Im in rain or on a rough road or highway with grooves, it just takes some getting used to, and I have also noticed the power steering gets "stiffer" while going 30 or more mph. But its not erratic or uncontrollable

[ChinoCharles]

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if the Yaris's P/S cuts out automatically at speed.

[auxmike]

Some cars have variable assist steering.
Steering gets firmer in high speed situations while getting real light in a parking lot.
Did you test drive the actual car you bought? I sure did. In fact the salesman fished it out of the 10 Yari they had in stock after I told him the stock #.
This way I knew exatactly what MY car was going to drive like.
Bear in mind these cars have little sound insulation. You'll hear every grain of sand kick up. You'll feel all those grooves.
Sorry you don't like the car. Did you ask to drive another to see if it does the same thing?:confused:

[Shroomster]

Some cars have variable assist steering.
Steering gets firmer in high speed situations while getting real light in a parking lot.

THAT IS THE CORRECT ANSWER....

also you should ask about possibly swapping the tires out o.e.m tires aren't necessarily the best tires for a car...the tires used to be whatever the manufacturer could get the best deal on...see if they're willing to swap some tires on for 'customer satisfaction'

[ZING]

I'm finding no problems controlling the car under heavy rain, and we get some bad winds over here..difference between euro and us yaris?

[CTScott]

From the 09 Service Manual:

The EPS (Electronic Power Steering) system generates torque through the operation of the motor and the reduction gear installed on the column shaft in order to assist power steering effort.

The power steering ECU determines the direction and the amount of assisting power in accordance with the vehicle speed signals and signals from the torque sensor built into the steering column assembly. As a result, steering effort is controlled to be light during low speed driving and moderately high during high speed driving.

[auxmike]

Yup!
VARIABLE assist power steering!:headbang:

[Black Yaris]

try a new set of tires.... the OE's suck donkey balls

[auxmike]

try a new set of tires.... the OE's suck donkey balls

What happened to your Yaris? Sorry if this is :offtopic:

[bzinn 1]

with the stock tires it will follow every grove and gets pushed around in the wind a lot.once I put on larger wider tires and rims it did not do it anymore.....drives great.just use the stockies for winter time and get a nice set of rims with good tires.

[Jerkratt]

with the stock tires it will follow every grove and gets pushed around in the wind a lot.once I put on larger wider tires and rims it did not do it anymore.....drives great.just use the stockies for winter time and get a nice set of rims with good tires.

+1

[redgreen]

thanks CTScott for the info...but i will not drive a car that steers like a cheap video game..call me a control freak .. my 13 year old geo metro steers better then this
this is what i can do
1 sell it real cheap.. $ 11K sticker was $14.5K
2 keep it and replace the steering rack with a normal P/S rack and pump
# i am a racer with a shop so i can do this # PS i do like the rest of the car
3 try to defeat the computer or bypass the sensor in the steering column
CTScott can you point out any more info on that torque sensor
Thanks to everyone for the help RedGreen

[Shroomster]

if you think you can handle it, remove the 50A fuse for the p/s

you will not have to worry about system swapping, just like driving a car w/o p/s or assist

[POORSHA]

you might also check the front end alignment, a little toe in will help with wandering
Stick with it you will end up loving your car.

[redgreen]

guy at work let me drive his yaris on the same freeway i use
the steering is just ok but its alot better then my car.
so it looks like my car has a problem. lets see what the dealer
will do about it .. i offered the dealer $1000 if he will buy it back
i hope he will ... hope to be yarisless soon. but i'll be out $
i drove 2 yaris with the auto trans..the computer program for the trans
is wacked ..
ok i'll go away

[auxmike]

guy at work let me drive his yaris on the same freeway i use
the steering is just ok but its alot better then my car.
so it looks like my car has a problem. lets see what the dealer
will do about it .. i offered the dealer $1000 if he will buy it back
i hope he will ... hope to be yarisless soon. but i'll be out $
i drove 2 yaris with the auto trans..the computer program for the trans
is wacked ..
ok i'll go away
I'll agree about the tranny, sometimes it just won't kick down especially between 35-45mph. Frustrating and sometimes scary while trying to merge.:mad:
Don't leave, we'de love to hear what happens with the buyback....:biggrin:

[andries]

I'm finding no problems controlling the car under heavy rain, and we get some bad winds over here..difference between euro and us yaris?


The EU versions have variable assist power steering.
The faster you go the less it works.

[AlexNet0]

The EU versions have variable assist power steering.
The faster you go the less it works.

that sounds about right, but certainly not uncontrollable, I wonder if his actually has a problem.

I dont know about the tranny issue described, I have a 5 spd, so I cant offer any opinion there.

[YarisSedan]

I love power assist steering. You can really feel the road at high speeds. And then you have the power assist when you need while parking. Lot of sports cars are like this. But our little yaris comes this way from the factory. If you are comparing it to a luxury car where you can do a lane change with your pinky finger than it takes some getting usd to.

Also our cars are going to wander a bit because of the very narrow wheel base. If you want a more stable car at high speeds you want a wider wheel base. Its not a M3. But a good pro is the increadibly impressive turning radius and quick steering response time. You can lane change like a rabbit or avoid obsticles or debree in the road with no problem.

[TheSilkySmooth]

Sound like you have a warranty issue. Get it fixed. Be persistent. Take a ride with the Service Manager. - If no satisfaction THERE set up an appointment with the General Manager. The Yaris steering sucks, but its usually tolerable. Our car goes out of alignment over every bump. If you have the brigestones put about 29PSI instead of 32 see if this slows the response a bit. Make sure ther is at least 27 -28 in the rear - even though there is little weight back there, Our stock 15's were toast at 14K miles. Garbage.

[TheSilkySmooth]

nubee
just got a 09 3 DR . i have 130 miles on my new yaris and i hate it !
it's back at the dealers. heres the problem
the steering wheel sticks in the center when i'm on the freeway 65mph
and if the road has rain grooves it darts all over the place
i have to drive it with 2 hands to keep it in my lane.. this sucks
oh and the power steering cuts out at 30 mph
dealer said everything is fine and the computer turns off the P/S at 30..DUH
WHAT... part time P/S ... oh wonderful
i did a search of steering / EPS.. did not see any others with a problem like this
any ideas ?
Redgreen Didnt you test drive the POS B4 you bought it? You should have felt the rubbery steering then. We drove 3, only ONE was tolerable AFA steering and engine response. A USED one from some guy near the Maine boarder.

[TheRealEnth]

yeah thats strange. i fell in love with the handling of the yaris.. it turns great at low and high speeds without much effort.. Thats why this thing will do great on the track =D.. Never had any problems like that at all.. seems like it was made on a bad day or something.

[auxmike]

I love how the steering feels.
No more stinkin' P/S pump or leaky hoses!:clap:

[TheSilkySmooth]

yeah thats strange. i fell in love with the handling of the yaris.. it turns great at low and high speeds without much effort.. Thats why this thing will do great on the track =D.. Never had any problems like that at all.. seems like it was made on a bad day or something. Ive drinev a few of these and the steering ranges from barely tolerable to sloppy 2nd atrocious. I suspect your YAris was made on a very GOOD day. Enjoy it!:smile:

[33OH]

I fixed my wandering problems just by throwing some Tanabe DF210's on it and getting rims with wider tires.

The Yaris has way too much wheel gap stock anyways.

As for the steering, I love mine also.

[mannyxyz]

With the statements read, Seems that all Yarises have the same problem earler or later. The problem being loss of steering control. My lady has a Yaris 2010, this posting is yr 2015. Her Yaris recently had a major Steering problem. While on the freeway, the Yaris swayed in various directions very dangerously. To such extent that using both hands she could not control it. Luckily, there were no cars next to nor around her. I wanted to check how the Yaris drove, so, she let me drive it. While driving her 2010 Yaris, The car jumped like a horse out of control sideways. I got so scared that I stopped the car and gave it back to her because she had better control of it than I did. She thinks that it happens because the car is old. However I think that Toyota has a great responsibility for this very endangering problem because it is a bad design problem. People can get killed with this dangerous problem.

[CTScott]

With the statements read, Seems that all Yarises have the same problem earler or later. The problem being loss of steering control. My lady has a Yaris 2010, this posting is yr 2015. Her Yaris recently had a major Steering problem. While on the freeway, the Yaris swayed in various directions very dangerously. To such extent that using both hands she could not control it. Luckily, there were no cars next to nor around her. I wanted to check how the Yaris drove, so, she let me drive it. While driving her 2010 Yaris, The car jumped like a horse out of control sideways. I got so scared that I stopped the car and gave it back to her because she had better control of it than I did. She thinks that it happens because the car is old. However I think that Toyota has a great responsibility for this very endangering problem because it is a bad design problem. People can get killed with this dangerous problem.


I would check the mounting bolts for the front control arms (the black A shaped metal pieces that the front wheels connect to). If the car spent any time in a salty area, the rear mounting bolt may have corroded and snapped (a known issue).

[MUSKOKA800]

Wandering? Add an anti-sway bar in the rear. Several are available and should have been factory installed.

[bairjo]

With the statements read, Seems that all Yarises have the same problem earler or later. The problem being loss of steering control. My lady has a Yaris 2010, this posting is yr 2015. Her Yaris recently had a major Steering problem. While on the freeway, the Yaris swayed in various directions very dangerously. To such extent that using both hands she could not control it. Luckily, there were no cars next to nor around her. I wanted to check how the Yaris drove, so, she let me drive it. While driving her 2010 Yaris, The car jumped like a horse out of control sideways. I got so scared that I stopped the car and gave it back to her because she had better control of it than I did. She thinks that it happens because the car is old. However I think that Toyota has a great responsibility for this very endangering problem because it is a bad design problem. People can get killed with this dangerous problem.

Well I have a 2010 as well. I drive 70 miles everyday...most of the time I am cruising along at 80 mph. I have put over 90,000 mile on it at this time. The Yaris handles great or I wouldn't drive at that speed. I do have a rear sway bar installed which does improve handling but most likely not your issue. You did not mention how many miles is on the car or what kind of miles, freeway etc. High city miles could cause a loose front end and may be something to look at. How are the tires and what tires are on the thing? More information like this on the history, as well as, current condition of the car would be helpful. Like I stated, my 2010 has no issues as I have been diligent in taking care of it. Can this be said about yours?