Corolla / Matrix 2009-13 :: Drifts Left And Right Without Moving Wheel - Alignment Setup?
Aug 13, 2012
My wife is having issues with her Corolla. Her car has about 50k miles and we got new tires and at the same time an alignment. After the alignment her car has been having the steering issue a lot of others have been having. It steers itself/drifts left and right without moving the wheel. We brought it into the dealership and they say they performed the TSB however the issue is still there.
When we spoke with the service department on the phone earlier that day they did not have the power steering computer in stock and it would be a couple days. We dropped it off and the same day they said they were able to replace the computer. Not sure if I trust they actually did the job since the computer was supposed to be out of stock and the car is out of warranty but they did not charge for anything. Also, we don't notice any improvement. Is there a way I could tell if the computer was replaced? I'm hoping it has a date on it, but I don't know where the computer is, just that the dash needs to be taken apart.
Does this TSB always work, or have others still had steering issues even after replacing the computer? Since this all started after the alignment it seems to me that if we put the alignment back the problem would go away. Is there an alignment setup that would solve this issue?
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I have 2010 Corolla S with manual transmission and ever since I bought this car I've been having issues with it's steering especially on the highway between 60-70 mph when the behavior is the worst.
The car is really hard to keep inline and even though I try to keep the steering wheel centered the car just bounces around the lane from left to right. I'm sure most of you know what I'm referring to.Now, I involved my dealer into this problem few months ago and the service manager (when I pressed him during the test drive) kind of admitted that he knows what I mean but he can't do anything about it until Toyota Corporate issues an official fix to it.
Surprise surprise, I just found TSB-014010 (URL...) last week online which seems to be the fix I'm looking for and based on the comments on this forum and edmunds.com it seems to either fix completely or mostly fix the issue for the people who had it done already.
However when trying to show this TSB to my dealer's service (the same service manager as before) and schedule the appoitment I notice that they are very defensive about it and try to dismiss my claims with statements like: "they all drive like that" or "it may be tire preasure" or "based on the description that you gave us and the TSB it's not the same issue" .
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Met with my dealer today to discuss my alignment problems and take a test drive. My car drifts seriously to the right when I take my hand off the wheel. I basically have to countersteer the car down the road.
I took a test drive with their alignment tech, a really nice guy who seems to know his stuff, and he concluded it's a 'drift' not a 'pull' and that the car is within spec now. The only thing they can do is move it slightly more left or do a 'custom alignment', which means they would align it left outside of spec to offset the drift. However, if they do this, they don't warrant tire wear, etc. While I'm never in favor of a band aid fix like this, I'm inclined to try it before I give up and sell the truck. I think it's something more than just the alignment.
Needed to do this, i.e., align the car out of spec slightly left to get it to track straight? Based on his markings, I can see where I am in spec, but I also know what the car's doing and it's pulling right. I'm not imagining it and I've never had this problem with another vehicle. I showed him over and over how it drifts hard right and said this is not normal, but they go back to the spec sheet. As an aside, they told me they have done 50 Treg alignments so far. 50! On a two year old model. That's ridiculous.
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I have 3 new tires and 1 with wave or cupping wear. It is a new tire not even a year used. I went in to get my alignment fixed because I was told the cupping is due to car being out of alignment. They told me I have to replace the tire with the cupping wear on it before they do the alignment. Is this true? or can i keep the tire and not have to shell out more money for a tire that is not even a year old. that being said, I am now doing more research and realizing that cupping is actually due to problems with the shocks. not alignment.
It's a 2009 toyota matrix xrs....
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I have a 2010 toyota corolla s. I've noticed that during idle (in drive, braked) the RPM can sometimes run from 800 to 1,000. meaning, it is constantly changing while the car isn't moving. is that normal? Also, I've noticed that my rpm also jumps whenever i turn on the air conditioning. is that normal as well?
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Recently, my 09 corolla S starts shaking during slow moving . As I accelerate more, it start vibrating at high frequency. And I can hear the sound "kin kin kni.." I checked the tires, they all look fine. It has 60k miles on.
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I recently bought a 2010 Toyota Corolla. I have been having some issues with the A/C. The A/C seems to work fine when the car is moving but when it is idle it gets warmer. I have recently gotten the freon checked and they put in some more but that didn't work, same problem still happening. Somebody told me that i need a extra fan which didn't make sense to me. Last resort will be to take it to the dealership to have them check. Once again the A/C blows cold air when the car is going over 50 MPH.
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Last week I was losing pressure on my left rear tire. It turned out to be a 3 inch spike that was bent inside the tire. The tires are the original Goodyears with 37k miles on them. I decided to replace 2 rear tires with Yokohama YK580s and turned the extra Goodyear in to a full size spare
Question. At high speeds 50 plus the rear feels like it's sliding a bit if I barely move the steering wheel. Having issues with 2 different tires.
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Have a 2010 Corolla, 42k miles, from a dead stop, turn left under power with wheel about 90% of one full turn, get a clunking popping clicking noise from the front end -- I cannot tell if from the left or right side -- I've been in the back seat too, and cannot determine if the noise is coming from the left or right side up front. I've had the car since 34k miles, has been making this sound ever since, not sure if its gotten worse, if it has, maybe just a little.
No noise if turning while NOT under power (coasting). No noise if turning to the right. No noise while driving in a straight line or veering left at a higher speed. Also, I tried to recreate this noise from a dead stop, turning going in reverse, both left and right, and no noise ever.
If in a parking lot, from a dead start, turn wheel left almost one full turn, accelerating slowly I can get the car to make this sound continuously (until I start going too fast beyond my comfort zone).
Have looked under car jacked up several times, nothing obvious. CV axles have minimal play and the boots are in great shape. Suspension parts appear ok.
My gut tells me could be a CV axle, but not certain, and I don't know which side..... something else that could cause this ?
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This is what I was afraid of, left stranded. Typical morning when it is dark when you start but sunny by the time you arrive at destination. Our 2012 S does not have the automatic headlights like our 2010 LE. I did not notice this when I bought the car, just thought that a newer more expensive model would have equal features, but it did not. Not only that, but the 2012 does not even have a basic headlight safety feature that has been in Corollas and other cars for years where the headlights go off after 20 minutes when left on in order to save the battery, or even like my old Volvos where the headlights turn off when the ignition key is turned off and removed. There is a warning buzzer, but the volume is so low that most will never hear it. As a result I had to purchase a lithium jump start battery to carry with me in case this happens again. Makes me question the integrity of Toyota when they cheapen out the car in the areas of safety...i.e., leaving someone stranded.
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My father put my f150 into reverse he says he didn't gas it. It was 2-3 feet in between the cars and the hitch went into the bottom grill below the front license plate. Coolant is leaking from the left side between the radiator and the block. Now the trucks hitch didn't go far enough to hit the radiator, or anything else I can see. I have cleaned the coolant and am in the waiting process try to identify the location. I believe that it is oozing from the water pump ( most of the coolant is underneath it), on the other hand there is coolant also by the radiator just not as much. I have the ability to fix this just not the tools. My family is going to take it to the dealer ship I just do not want them to get finagled around.
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My 2010 Corolla S used to always lock itself after I parked my car and left it idle for a moment or so. For instance, when I walk away from my car after parking it would auto-lock the doors. Now when I leave it, the doors remained unlock and I have to lock it myself each time. How to change it back somehow? I want to set it back in-case I ever do forget to lock it manually, it could save a lot of hassles.
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My music only plays on the left side when I use my auxillary jack. It's a little loose too. Is that what causes this problem? Would I need to replace it? Is it costly?
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So I've driven on various roads (mostly highways) for the past week or so and have noticed that my car drifts slightly to the right a lot. I hate to say that my alignment needs adjusting already, The car only has 2000 miles on it and I'm thinking of taking it over the dealership and trying to get it covered under warranty (along with the door noise). Think I'll have any luck? (for the record, I have never hit any potholes, curbs, etc)
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My wife's Corolla has 71k on it. She recently had tires put on, and now she has a shimmy from about 30mph on up. It seems worst at 60-65. In all of my years, this is a classic example of a tire(s) out of balance.
I've taken it back to the shop that replaced the tires twice to make sure they're balanced, and then took it to a second shop to be certain that the first shop was on the up and up and actually balanced the tires. Everything checks out as being balanced.
Another possible cause could be a bad/worn out axle. The whole front suspension was rebuilt 9,000 miles ago. Everything checks out and there are no leaks anywhere. So that rules that this as well.
What else could it be? Is it possible that one (or more) of the new tires are out of round? Maybe a bent rim? But is seems awfully coincidental that this only started happening after the tires were replaced. What might be the cause of this mystery shimmy?
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There Is a click in my front wheels that is audible as I slow down. What is going on. nothing else is wrong with the car. I have a 2013 corolla le....
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Am I still the only one with an irritating scrunchy sound coming from the left bolster of the driver's seat back?
When the temperature is above 0 Celsius the bolster makes a scrunchy squeak every time I lean back, accelerate, or take off from a stop.
It would appear to be the supplemental air bag material rubbing against the foam or upholstery of the seat.
Toyota says this should be under warranty, but it has been too cold out lately to demonstrate to the service dept.
I know that I could fix it by removing the factory seat cover and tweaking the air bag placement somewhat, but this is not as easy as it sounds, potentially dangerous, and if it is under warranty, I'd prefer the "experts" to address the problem.
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So what is the deal with this whole steering wheel vibrating over 70mph? I have new balanced tires and the alignment has been done already. The steering wheel has a very annoying mild shake over 70mph on the highway. When I went back to the tire shop I saw the guy rebalance all 4 tires correctly. They told me to look into getting all alignment done. The car has 123,000 miles and had the 2 front struts replaced at 83,000 miles.
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How do you remove the trim on the steering wheel ? I want to wrap it with carbon fiber ...
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I saw some pics of MPG calculator right on top of the steering wheel column. It was black and believe it displayed 2 sets of numbers.
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I have a 2010 Corolla with 32K miles and I hear this humming or low groaning rotational noise that seems to get louder with faster speeds over 40 mph. If I turn to the right above 40MPH around a curve in the road, I hear it a lot louder and it oscillates in and out. What it is? I had it checked at the Toyota dealer and they said there was no issue with the wheel bearing but since the noise is still there today, I think I have to take it back. Is this something I could troubleshoot with the car parked?
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