Vehicle pulls after alignment - Toyota Yaris Forums

salmonz · 12-10-2010, 10:14 PM

Hi,

On Wednesday my Yaris hit the edge of a road cut, caused quite a bit of damage. I replaced the left sway bar link, new front rims (15in steel), tires re-balanced, and alignment at a Toyota dealership.

First day on the highway today and the vehicle pulls to the left and there's a vibration coming from the floor, going from the front to the rear.

The alignment that was done had a print out of before and after. The right front tire was way out of alignment and was corrected to be within an acceptable range.

BEFORE

AFTER

What do you think I should do? Go back and ask them to do the alignment again? Is there something else that could be wrong?

silver_echo · 12-10-2010, 11:12 PM

cliffs notes, go back into the dealer for an alignment recheck, as the steering wheel may not have been centered... other possibilities exist, but that is my bet

my $.02, is that maybe the steering wheel holder slipped on the wheel while he was aligning it... had it happen to me before, and the car pulled a little bit when i was done...

side note, looking at those alignment angles, i would think that either the steering knuckle or the tie rod would have been bent, and possibly to a lesser extent, the lower control arm...

another possibility could be that the steering rack could have been shifted slightly, but my money is gonna be that the steering wheel was not completely centered while they were adjusting it, and because of that, the alignment is slightly off, and the car will seem to pull when the wheel is level...

llewellyn · 12-11-2010, 01:37 AM

As silver_echo said, it's possible that the steering wheel was not centered when the alignment was done, in which case, the car would track straight on its own, but when you center the steering wheel it will pull.

If there is a vibration, there's a good chance a wheel may not be balanced. Those weights can come off the wheels. If they are the same tires that were on the car when it hit, a belt could have been damaged in the tire.

My car was pulling badly to the left, so I had an alignment. After the alignment, the car still pulled, and it turned out that they didn't have the steering wheel straight. I brought it back and had a second alignment, they fixed the steering wheel problem but it still pulled. Then I got my tires re-balanced, and it was almost perfect..

P.S. - Which province are you from? I'm from N.S.

severous01 · 12-11-2010, 11:16 AM

steering wheel centering has nothing to do with pull. wheel can be upside down and not pull at all.

second...if you're not satisfied with the alignment, bring it back to whoever aligned it. tell them to do it again, and do it right this time. you paid for an alignment...they should have adjusted pricing for parts/labor if it's not a regular alignment. they also should notify you of parts needed before adjusting anything other than toe on your car...as in plates or bolts needed for adjustments that are not factory adjustment points. like bolt kits or plate kits...

silver_echo · 12-11-2010, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by severous01

steering wheel centering has nothing to do with pull. wheel can be upside down and not pull at all.

it would have absolutely nothing to do with pull, except for the fact that "joe driver" will try to drive down the road with the steering wheel level, and will say that it is pulling even when all they are having to do is compensate for road crown...

salmonz · 12-11-2010, 04:56 PM

Came back from the dealer today... they said it's because I have aftermarket rotors. I bought non-dealer rotors back in June and my car was driving fine before the road incident this Wednesday.

Here's the rotors I have:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...E:L:OU:CA:1123

I asked the dealer if the wheel has runout, if they checked the wheel bearing and steering knuckle. They said come back Thursday to have the tech that originally worked on the vehicle to take a look with me in the shop.

If I had to buy Toyota rotors, that's $99 each. I just have a feeling that the dealer will say anything to get out of doing the job properly.

p.s.
Tire "runout" should be 1.4mm or less.
Axle hub "backlash" should not exceed 0.05mm
Axle hub "runout" should not exceed 0.05mm

They have not provided these measurements.

silver_echo · 12-11-2010, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salmonz

Came back from the dealer today... they said it's because I have aftermarket rotors. I bought non-dealer rotors back in June and my car was driving fine before the road incident this Wednesday.

those rotors should not have anything to do with alignment... demand that the car goes back on the alignment rack, and that they take a picture of the steering wheel being level, and the alignment angles being correct... this way, there is no possibility of them arguing that you cannot be in the shop based on insurance...

also, you might want to start talking to management, and discussing whether or not you need to start talking to corporate, as this dealer is trying to play games with you...

if they were to say that you have a bent component, and can prove it, i would believe it, but blaming the rotors for a pull on the freeway is grasping at straws...

12-10-2010, 10:14 PM	#1
salmonz Drives: 07 Yaris Sedan Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Milton, ON, Canada Posts: 66	Vehicle pulls after alignment Hi, On Wednesday my Yaris hit the edge of a road cut, caused quite a bit of damage. I replaced the left sway bar link, new front rims (15in steel), tires re-balanced, and alignment at a Toyota dealership. First day on the highway today and the vehicle pulls to the left and there's a vibration coming from the floor, going from the front to the rear. The alignment that was done had a print out of before and after. The right front tire was way out of alignment and was corrected to be within an acceptable range. BEFORE AFTER What do you think I should do? Go back and ask them to do the alignment again? Is there something else that could be wrong?

12-10-2010, 11:12 PM	#2
silver_echo ekodrvr View User's Garage Drives: 2002 white subaru impreza wrx Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Spokane, WA Posts: 776	cliffs notes, go back into the dealer for an alignment recheck, as the steering wheel may not have been centered... other possibilities exist, but that is my bet my $.02, is that maybe the steering wheel holder slipped on the wheel while he was aligning it... had it happen to me before, and the car pulled a little bit when i was done... side note, looking at those alignment angles, i would think that either the steering knuckle or the tie rod would have been bent, and possibly to a lesser extent, the lower control arm... another possibility could be that the steering rack could have been shifted slightly, but my money is gonna be that the steering wheel was not completely centered while they were adjusting it, and because of that, the alignment is slightly off, and the car will seem to pull when the wheel is level... __________________ if you want to see my plans for this car, check out here... http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3154316 i like this smiley...

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12-11-2010, 01:37 AM	#3
llewellyn Drives: 04 Echo Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 16	As silver_echo said, it's possible that the steering wheel was not centered when the alignment was done, in which case, the car would track straight on its own, but when you center the steering wheel it will pull. If there is a vibration, there's a good chance a wheel may not be balanced. Those weights can come off the wheels. If they are the same tires that were on the car when it hit, a belt could have been damaged in the tire. My car was pulling badly to the left, so I had an alignment. After the alignment, the car still pulled, and it turned out that they didn't have the steering wheel straight. I brought it back and had a second alignment, they fixed the steering wheel problem but it still pulled. Then I got my tires re-balanced, and it was almost perfect.. P.S. - Which province are you from? I'm from N.S.

12-11-2010, 11:16 AM	#4
severous01 Drives: 2008 yaris, stripped, red Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: SE Texas Posts: 977	steering wheel centering has nothing to do with pull. wheel can be upside down and not pull at all. second...if you're not satisfied with the alignment, bring it back to whoever aligned it. tell them to do it again, and do it right this time. you paid for an alignment...they should have adjusted pricing for parts/labor if it's not a regular alignment. they also should notify you of parts needed before adjusting anything other than toe on your car...as in plates or bolts needed for adjustments that are not factory adjustment points. like bolt kits or plate kits...

12-11-2010, 04:56 PM	#6
salmonz Drives: 07 Yaris Sedan Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Milton, ON, Canada Posts: 66	Came back from the dealer today... they said it's because I have aftermarket rotors. I bought non-dealer rotors back in June and my car was driving fine before the road incident this Wednesday. Here's the rotors I have: http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...E:L:OU:CA:1123 I asked the dealer if the wheel has runout, if they checked the wheel bearing and steering knuckle. They said come back Thursday to have the tech that originally worked on the vehicle to take a look with me in the shop. If I had to buy Toyota rotors, that's $99 each. I just have a feeling that the dealer will say anything to get out of doing the job properly. p.s. Tire "runout" should be 1.4mm or less. Axle hub "backlash" should not exceed 0.05mm Axle hub "runout" should not exceed 0.05mm They have not provided these measurements.