Prius (2010-12) :: Steering Wheel Clocking Slightly To Right After Changing Standard Tires
Nov 4, 2010
The steering wheel mysteriously clocked itself slightly to the right after changing out the standard tires to same sized studded tires for winter. This has never happened before and I was unaware of any alignment/wheel clocking problems up to driving into the shop to swap out the tires on the wheels.
Air pressures were all good and even all around--but I don't know if they were even before the change-out. Also, the wheels were balanced and the drive afterwards revealed no pulling either way or vibrations. On top of that neither the tire store nor my Toyota dealer had any explanation(s).
I'm only guessing at this point that prior to studded tires there might have been a clocking error so slight it was not perceptible in over 5K miles and with the studded tires now it is perceptible.
Q: Is it possible under my circumstances for a different set of tires on the same wheels to make this sort of difference?
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I have a new 2 week old Prius 4. So far I love it. I've put about 600 miles on it. This past weekend I spent a decent amount of time on the freeway and noticed an issue with my steering. I'm pretty sure it is an alignment issue.
The car tracks straight. When I let go of the wheel the car goes dead straight but...the steering wheel is a bit off center turn slightly to the left. If I hold the wheel and turn the steering wheel right to exactly straight the car will go right. It's like they they aligned the car with the steering wheel slightly off center.
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When I picked up my car I noticed the steering wheel is slightly off center to the left. I brought it back to the dealer who checked the alignment which was spot on. Toyota was notified and another C on the lot was driven which it's wheel was also slightly left. Dealer notified Toyota and offered to adjust wheel one more click but at the risk of it possibly moving to far to the right. I left it as is and as long as alignment is in specs I'm not to worried.
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Only had this car for about a month and 1200 trouble free miles. Really in great shape but with 276K miles on it. Really runs great and feels like a new car inside and out.
Yesterday, a cool morning, 38 deg.. Started at the Ready, backing out of my car port and cut the wheel partially to turn 90 deg. to enter the street. Came to full stop and shift lever is still in Rev, before I could shift to Drive. The steering wheel shutters like I was going over a rough. Jerking slightly from left to right about 2-3 degrees. Stopped within about a second and I still had normal steering response. I continued onto the street and made a ran a 300 mile round trip on freeway and surface streets without any further problems.
I know the power steering is electric assist over mechanical linkage and can only imagine that there was a power glitch in the power convertor and I was feeling pulses from the feed back in the power steering drive. No hydraulics to blame, I don't think.
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As the weather has been getting warmer lately, I'm about to change over to my summer wheels and tires. First, I'm just wondering when most people who use winter tires on this forum make the change.
On my previous cars, I've just changed over in the fall and spring by myself unless I needed a wheel balance or alignment. With the harsh winter and roads we've had this year, I'm thinking maybe I've hit too many potholes, since I'm noticing a vibration at 140kph (87mph). I got the current OEM rims and winter tires new last October and had them balanced before installing them on the car and I hadn't noticed anything until about 2 weeks ago. The issue did not suddenly show up after hitting a pot hole, but just started happening and becoming a bit more noticeable recently. The weird part is that it seems to be happening only at that specific speed when accelerating, which makes me wonder if its the wheels out of balance or engine/turbo vibrating under load. As you can imagine, if you let off the acceleration at high speeds, the car slows down slowly and the vibration goes away. So it's hard for me to say what the problem is.
When I switch over to the summer wheels and tires, I'm thinking of just changing them myself to see if the same vibration still occurs at the same speed and then deciding on whether to get them balanced or not.
A related issue, which I think some others have posted about on this site has been the wheel alignment. In the last 3 or 4 months, I've noticed that the car has a slight pull to the left under no steering input, so I may have to do an alignment soon.
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I bought a 2012 Toyota Prius 2 on Jan 28, 2013 (just a little over a month ago). The front tires and steering wheel vibrated at highway speeds (here in NY 65-70mph) and so I took it in, they said it needed wheel balancing and rotation. Fine.
Then I was told to wait it out because of the "snow" and "ice" could be the culprit, fine. Then a week or so later, same problem still, even when it got warmer. Took it back in. This time the wheels were "off balance" again. Hmmm, that's funny. So they did a dynamic or forced balance? I don't know exactly, but it was a step up from "normal" balancing (according to them).
The past couple weeks it hasn't been vibrating nearly as much, but it is coming back again intermittently. Today I was driving home from Watertown, NY to Syracuse. It's about an hour or so drive, and it is a state highway, so it isn't too torn up or potholed. Between 66-70mph the steering wheel vibrates quite bad and RANDOMLY at that. Some roads the car at 70mph feels super smooth others not! And the weirdest part is some of the roads it feels smooth on are bumpy or slightly torn up!
I've looked up all the causes of steering wheel and tire vibrations, and I see that there are about 5-10 potential causes. If I have to take this car in one more time I might just scream.
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I have a Hyundai Sonata w/ P215/55R17 tires.
I am almost due to get new tires and my husband says that we should switch the wheels and get regular tires, not the lower profile tires that were OEM w/ the vehicle. The current tires are expensive and regular tires would be less expensive in the long run. When I asked at the dealership 6 mos ago they said that it would not be good for the car and would adversely affect the performance. If I do change, what tire size (regular sidewall height) would be appropriate (and less expensive)to change to?
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I have decided to purchase a set of Potenza RE760 Sport tires for my GTi.
I don't know the difference between extra load and standard. If I understood correctly extra load will be a bit harsher of a ride and is more performance oriented? What is the best option for my specific car? Running stock 18-inch Austin's btw.
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After installing drive gear springs i had a wheel alignment done. Since then the steering wheel is not level even thought the car goes straight it is slightly off. i brought it back 3 times and every time they did the alignment the steering wheel is off either the left of the right. i made an appointment to have it done at the dealer but cant figure out why they cant get it right.
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Other than during cold winter weather, our 2+ year old Prius has been averaging 51-56mpg all around. Our tires needed changing and my spouse went to a tire dealer. The dealer recommended Cooper tires, a model supposed to get 50k miles. Almost immediately we now average 45-46mpg.
In looking back, we didn't buy tires that accentuate mpgs. Is there anything we can do short of selling the tires? And are they makes and models we should think about when it's time to change the tires?
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Brand new 2015 Camry SE and I think the steering wheel is slightly off centre... basically driving straight on most roads you need to hold the wheel a bit to the right... and if you hold the wheel completely straight the car will slowly veer to the left.
I checked tire pressure (fine) and I don't think its road crown (most roads are angled a bit right but this car veers left when wheel is held straight). Mostly noticed it once I started doing some highway driving.
I don't think the alignment is bad really but it seems like it might have been done at the factory without the wheel being fully straight.
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I've ignored it long enough and dont remember if it was like this when I bought it from the second owner...guess I had too much fun during the test drive. Any ways would it be an alignment issue up front or what?
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Noticed the steering wheel shakes just slightly at highway speeds. Happens to me when I'm at around 65-70mph and above. It's just very slight, so I really wasn't thinking its an alignment issue at all. I didn't know if this was a bit normal for these B7s or what. I've had alignment issues in cars before and this just doesn't feel that bad, but its enough to give me pause.
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2002 sc430 73k miles.
I have a slight steering wobble (not really shaking/vibration) at higher speeds and only when I turn the wheel to the left or right a little (maybe a 1/2 inch). If I am driving straight down the highway it is smooth at any speed 40-90mph no issues. If I move the wheel to the left or right I feel the the wobble in the wheel. If I go back and forth a little, constantly, with the wheel it continuously wobbles.
I had recently addressed some other vibration issues by installing new LCA #2, continental DWS tires, and had the front end aligned (front -.3L and -.5R for camber, Rear -1L and -1R camber, front and rear toe set to -.07, if I recall). I couldn't really remember if I felt this wobble before because the tires and LCA's needed to be done badly. I am not sure if I should replace the struts either since ride feels good.
My steering feels darn good and responsive at low speeds and does not wobble when turning the wheel slightly. I have purchased new oem steering rack bushings but have not installed them yet (purchased as a preventive maintenance part when i had some free time, before I discovered this issue).
I have read a few threads about alignment of the steering rack causing issues if it is not perfectly centered. Not sure if that would cause anything like this. Love driving the car but the wobble is rather annoying when i turn the wheel a little to change lanes at 75mph.
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I'm still getting to know my 2014 GS and I had a few questions.
What can I use the USB port for besides an ipod or as a very slow charger?
Do all of the Accents have an issue with the steering wheel not returning to center but staying slightly off center? I like the steering overall, but this really throws me. Should I see if the dealer can check its alignment? I like how it feels in corners, but going straight is much worse than I thought it was from the test drives I did....
My car is a manual and for now I have been curious to see how the eco pro mode suggests I shift. It never registers that I am in 4th gear and will keep telling me to be in 4th until I have accelerated enough to get to 5th (or 6th). Does this sound like something might be broken? Would it not registering 4th gear have any effect on anything else in the car?
How long do these stock tires tend to last? I'm not in any rush to spend money on new tires, but these stock ones are... good at some things and bad at others.
I am liking the reported MPGs on it so far. I reset it far too often just to see how different trips are reported. My worst one so far was a 13 miles trip on streets going over a 700 foot hill twice. I still got 32mpg reported.
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Is there any quick fix for this? My steering wheel is slightly turned when the wheels are pointing straight. I thought a wheel alignment would fix this, but it didn't.
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I had a friend do an alignment on my truck yesterday. Afterward, we tried to center the wheel the best we could in the shop. But when I drove it home I noticed that when going straight, the steering wheel is ever-so-slightly turned to the right. Is there and easy way to adjust this without me going back to the guys' shop and bugging him again? I know the alignment is dead nuts, but the wheel is just a tad off.
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In the past month our 2005 Subaru Legacy has had a vibration(intermittently) where the steering wheel going slightly back/forth 60-70 MPH. I understand a wheel balance can cause this. However intermittently does not make sense. My wife simply speeds up to 80MPH and it disappeared or less than 60. Any clues?
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I own a 2008 Prius and I have been taking it to the dealer for service because it seems like non-Toyota shops don't know how to economically service the Prius.I'm seeing that the dealer I go to also seems to want to change the filters and rotate the tires at every service and this really increases the cost well above a normal oil change price.
How often have people really been changing the engine filter; cabin filter; and rotating tires? How often is this really necessary? I'm at 108000 miles now.
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I have a 1992 Olds Cutlass Ciera S. Just fixed it running with a tuneup, but now I noticed that when I turn the steering wheel slightly left at all, I get a sort of small roar and it may just be me but the car seems tense. It feels and sounds like a bad power steering pump, but it turns right fine, no noise or anything. I do not think it's a wheel bearing. Could this car have rack and pinion steering and that is going bad?
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I had a balancing problem with some tires I bought with the car. At about 80 they shook and hard enough to not want to drive at that speed. I replaced them with Falken tires and it was so much better, but......
At 75-82 mph I still have a shake in the steering wheel. I bought the tires from Discount and they claim the rim is bent and they cannot completely balance the tire. I am going back once more to get a definitive response.
I am at a loss at what to do next. My other Lexus was smooth at any speed, even at 90. Smooth. 2007 Lexus es350
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