Alignment woes (1 Viewer)

[liv2bike]

I reckon this is more of a gripe than anything else. Took our 200 to our local Toyota dealership for an alignment on Friday. Picked it up, wife drove it home. I got in it later that evening to run an errand. Steering wheel off-center. I noticed it straight away. Was dead center prior to alignment. Took it back Saturday. Told them they needed redo my alignment and get my steering wheel straightened out b/c it’s currently left of center. They said no worries we’ll fix it. Got it back Saturday evening. Couldn’t make it in before they closed. Service advisor assured me it was dead center. Got in it, went down the road a few miles and guess what...left of center. This morning I checked my cold tire air pressure to eliminate that variable. Perfect. Went up to Yellowstone today for a day trip. Didn’t matter where I was on the pavement, crown or no crown, freeway, concrete...left of center. By several degrees.

Taking it back in. Just hope they get it right. Doesn’t seem that the alignment tech understands what he’s doing. Our steering wheel was dead center before. Stock suspension. Nothing out of the ordinary. Frustrated to say the least.

Cheers,
Guy

 

[Sandroad]

I can relate.....it took my dealer 3 tries to get the steering wheel centered (and it’s still a bit off). I hope the 3rd time’s a charm for you.

 

[mooneywa]

I had the same thing and unfortunately it's just laziness. I told the service advisor I wanted someone to ride with me afterwards to make sure it was centered up. I saw them actually take it for a test drive and sure enough it was centered up afterwards.

Also, super jealous of being able to "take a day trip to Yellowstone."

 

[SQRRRL]

I feel your pain.

 

[bloc]

I totally get forcing them to address this on principle.. but at some point it's worth your time to do it yourself. Fortunately centering the wheel is quite easy.. just move both Tie Rod Ends one flat the same direction until it's correct. As long as you move each the same amount your toe or other alignment numbers won't change... the steering wheel will just move in relation to the track of the vehicle.

That said.. if your wheel being off is the result of some other alignment quirk like camber being out on one side, this won't help. I'm assuming you can trust the numbers on the printout they gave you being within spec.

 

[Overland Tailor]

I'm with bloc.

With every tire rotation mine is just a bit off from perfect. Same this with the 80 Series. I have my notes on how much to turn and can usually get it 100% on the first or second try. I try to stay away from the dealership service department at all costs.

Hope you get it sorted... I feel ya, that wheel needs to be perfect !


V/R,


John~

 

[bloc]

I try to stay away from the dealership service department at all costs.

This is a good reason on its own merit.

“We checked your AC cabin filter to see whether it was dirty or not.” “Oh yeah, did you break the recirc door while you were in there?”

 

[Overland Tailor]

This is a good reason on its own merit.

“We checked your AC cabin filter to see whether it was dirty or not.” “Oh yeah, did you break the recirc door while you were in there?”

Why yes, yes we did. #rolleyes

 

[liv2bike]

I had the same thing and unfortunately it's just laziness. I told the service advisor I wanted someone to ride with me afterwards to make sure it was centered up. I saw them actually take it for a test drive and sure enough it was centered up afterwards.

Also, super jealous of being able to "take a day trip to Yellowstone."

Yes, I too suspect laziness. It's another step and he's not taking the time to do it right.

We are in Idaho Falls. Both Yellowstone and the Tetons are <2 hrs away. Definitely blessed. We were in front of Old Faithful in under 3 hrs yesterday. Got "delayed" by a bunch of bison meandering down the road otherwise it would have been more like 2.5 hrs.

I totally get forcing them to address this on principle.. but at some point it's worth your time to do it yourself. Fortunately centering the wheel is quite easy.. just move both Tie Rod Ends one flat the same direction until it's correct. As long as you move each the same amount your toe or other alignment numbers won't change... the steering wheel will just move in relation to the track of the vehicle.

That said.. if your wheel being off is the result of some other alignment quirk like camber being out on one side, this won't help. I'm assuming you can trust the numbers on the printout they gave you being within spec.

At this point, I am going to make them get it right. It's a service I paid for. I have to trust the printout they gave me. I went over it and it is within spec. Tomorrow I'll test drive it with the tech once he does it for a third time...

 

[Overland Tailor]

Also note that while in spec it doesn't have to be perfectly straight. Road conditions / build have a lot to do with it.

I agree you paid for it and they need to take care of it. I'm sensitive that some guys don't want to mess with this type of stuff so I apologize if I came across wrong.

I'm a bit of a perfectionist and that's why I fine tune it until it's perfectly straight for my daily drive. This will change with road conditions, crown and such as it's already been mentioned.

Keep us posted and good luck!

V/R,

John