Had mine for 5K service and had them check alignment. Steering felt sluggish and wheel was a few degrees off center from the day it rolled off the lot.
Both front wheels had toe-in over 1/2". Makes you wonder if this is due to spring settling.
My friend has a 06 Prius with about 85,000 miles.
Ever since he purchased the car (used) at about 67,000 miles, I've noticed that the steering wheel is slow to return to center and the steering lacks the "springy feel" of the low-mileage Priuses that I have driven. I noticed abnormal tire wear on the car so I suggested 4 new tires and an alignment-- which was done without any improvement. The front toe was set to 0, and the rear toe is minimal (0.05 and 0.1 on the LR and RR, respectively). However, I did not have a zero-point calibration performed at the time of the alignment.
There is no obvious damage or wear to the suspension, as far as I know. Recently though, the steering wheel has decided to clock itself to the right so I know it needs another alignment. It has only been 17k since the last one. Are there any parts that I should consider replacing before doing this alignment?
Just got my golf R 4 door/Nav. When driving straight on the highway (regardless of road crown)... my wheel was about 4 degrees off to the left. No problem alignment wise, but the nice flat bottom wheel is cockeyed.
Car has only 330 miles on it. Took it back to the dealership, they put it on the alignment rack - actually had me sit in the car ensuring the wheel was straight as the tech adjusted the Tie Rods below.
This made it better - I instantly noticed it was better when I took a short test ride with the tech, just as they were closing. However, on the highway home I noticed its still about 2 degrees to the left. Really frustrating as now I have to take it back to the dealer a second time.
The tech actually showed me the alignment printout which was close to-but not totally perfect. Said the only way to make it perfect is to adjust the sub-frame? Really? on a new vehicle.
I do have plans to mod the car's suspension with H&R Coilovers - but will not touch anything until I get this wheel thing square and I am 100% satisfied.
I've been noticing this one single "metallic" click sound a few months ago, it happens whenever I turn the steering wheel a little over 90 degrees.
The steering intermediate shaft recall has been done summer of last year. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with this sound I'm hearing.
This is a video I made
If you watch this video, you need to turn it up really loud to hear the faint click sound every time I turn the steering wheel past 90 degrees.
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.
View 19 RepliesI 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.
When I accelerate at 70+, I get a very noticeable vibration that is felt into the steering wheel and throughout the cabin. I have 14,000 miles on the car, so I seriously doubt that it's the CV joint. Could it be possible that I lost some wheel weights, and it's become imbalanced?
View 2 RepliesI drive a 16 sonata sport with 2300 miles. Dealer says it is normal but at 80+ mph, there are vibrations that can be felt in the steering wheel and seats. At low speeds car is smooth but starts to shake at 80+.
View 13 RepliesI have a 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T Limited. The 1st. problem is in the steering. Low speeds driving around a parking lot I hear steering knocking noise when turning the steering wheel in either direction.
2nd problem when going over a little rough bumpy roads sounds like the front drivers side wheel is going to fall off. allot of banging noise felt into the steering wheel.
3rd problem sometimes when driving I hear a metal pop sound coming from under the rear of the car.
My 75 Corolla wagon (2T-C 4 speed, rear wheel drive) has developed a terrible shimmy that can be felt in the steering wheel and shifter, as well as the whole car. It only does this when I am in 3rd or 4th gear doing between 35-45 mph. Over the past few months this has gotten worse, and instead of being an intermittent thing (once a week or so) it happens every time I am in the 35-45 mph range.
View 8 RepliesI have a 2002 Ranger 2.3L 5spd w/ 16,000 miles. Have noticed this problem for 6 months, been to dealer 3 times now. They say nothing is wrong. What I am "feeling" more than hearing, is a slight knock in the steering wheel, particularly when driving over dips and mild to moderate bumps. This is usually when moving in a fairly straight line, not much tension on the wheel.
It reminds me of problems I had on much older cars/trucks when there was a loose shock/strut or play in a ball joint or tie rod. It is annoying because it feels like something is wrong. Dealer can't find anything. Perhaps something not installed properly that loosens and bumps/knocks into other components thereby transferring vibrations through the steering column?
Today, I just picked up my 2014 prius. Basically, when I do a right/left turn on the car, when accelerating out of the turn, the steering wheel does not fully return to the center position (its approximately in the one/eleven o'clock position). Also, if I leave the wheel straight, and drive straight, the car will drive straight and not pull towards the side so I don't think its an alignment issue. I'm not sure if this is normal, or if its happening just because they car is new or just because I'm not accelerating hard enough out of the turn (I always stayed in the eco range with the HSI. )
View 5 RepliesMy son sent me a text stating "mom is driving with the steering wheel at 90 degrees to the left!". I had to get this repaired ASAP. I thought maybe a tie rod went bad and maybe went further. Steering had been off slightly to left prior.
Firestone said that when they went to check alignment, they found that the strut tower was gone. I knew it had to be on the right side. The passenger strut tower rusted through at the mid rear, and broke the spot welds, and was not attached at most of its circumference. Fortunately, the body shop that repaired our van from a prior damage.(hit at stoplight). I replaced the struts about a year or two ago with quick struts. Did not even think of checking for this rusting issue.
2004 Toyota Tacoma... I drive 40 miles each way to work daily and sometime, usually 20 minutes into the drive, I get a vibration in the front end and felt through the floorboards and steering wheel, that get progressively worse until the entire cab is shaking. It lasts approximately 10 minutes and then it stops only to happen again on the next drive. Wheels have been checked.
View 4 RepliesI recently bought a 1998 f-250, regular cab, long bed, 4x4, 5.4l triton, automatic. The truck was involved in a wreck by the previous owner and I am trying to repair the damage. He hit some ice, slid off the road, and collided with a log cabin.
The visible damage was done to the driver side front. The bumper, grill/surround, header panel, headlight, turn signal, fender, and hood all need to be replaced. When you drive the truck there is a shimmy coming from the front that can be felt in the steering wheel. When going straight and releasing the steering wheel it pulls to the passenger side. The driver side front rim might be bent? Which might prove interesting if I have to replace it (7x150mm).
This is my first Ford truck. I was willing to take the gamble on fixing it up. I hope that it works out and I am able to do so. What years/models can I source these parts from?
5.0L ... I'm having one of those moments, you know after you do a mod to your truck and all of a sudden you notice something about your truck that could have been there all along but now you notice it as something new? Ok earlier in the week I had my exhaust resonator removed and replaced with a straight-pipe by a reputable exhaust shop. IMO the work looks to be pretty good for what it is.
That said I have always been nervous about getting exhaust work on any vehicle because it always seems like tampering with or removing the OEM plumbing for aftermarket or custom work tends to develop a vibration at some point.
So here is what I've noticed over the last couple days, when driving my truck it is extremely smooth, almost like glass. When I come to a complete stop say at a traffic light about 1-2 seconds after making the complete stop I feel this slight harmonic vibration in the steering wheel. For those of you that have an iphone it would be like having your phone bolted to the steering shaft somewhere and it on constant vibration if that makes sense.
Just to prove it only happens when I'm sitting still and idling in (D)rive I sat in my driveway with the truck idling, set the park brake and released the brake pedal holding the truck in place in (D)rive with the parking brake. No vibration, smooth as glass engine idle, as soon as I put my foot back on the brake pedal the vibration comes back. It's as if the extra draw of applying the brakes puts an extra load on some sort of accesory drive or componant under the hood and the result is this harmonic vibration.
Just so everyone knows, the vibration is very noticeable to me because I drive the truck daily, most people wouldn't pick it out if I didn't tell them first. Case in point if my wife drives the truck she can't feel it unless I tell her what to look for. There are going to be some of you that just say my truck doesn't do this and has had a smooth idle for XX,XXX miles I believe you but let me know now that I have explained exactly what to look for. Like I said for all I know it's done this since day one.
I have a feeling that the straight pipe might have been welded in slightly longer than the oem section that was removed thus putting more tention on the exhaust and engine if that makes sense, the end result being a slight vibration?? I know that manufactures put these little rubber bushings along the exhaust system on cars/ truck to absorb harmonic vibrations and for all I know my resonator might have been designed to balance out harmonic vibes in the exhaust system as well as quiet down the exhaust.
I have an issue with my new 2011 F150 FX4 super crew with 5.0. I put a Rough Country level kit on the front struts which raised it 2.5 inches and looks great. The issue is that there is a low speed knock heard on the left side and felt through to the steering wheel. The truck has been aligned to factory specs. all bolts have been tightened, the strut has been taken off to check the top mounting bolts. Nothing appears to loose. Can't find anything. Am I forgetting something. Rough Country said it can't be the kit. It has bee used for sometime with no issues.
View 14 RepliesI have a 2004 Suzuki Aerio with a 2.3 4 cylinder 5 spd. The problem I'm having is when I accelerate the car pulls to the right hard the steering wheel turns about 5 degrees. When I left off the throttle the steering wheel comes back to center and I hear a pop and feel coming from the passenger front. It also does this while I'm at speed I can hit a bump in the road and get the same problem. I just gave the car an alignment and the issue got worse now my whole car feels like it shifts to the right and left.....
View 3 RepliesI've got 2003f150 4x4 and had a fender bender front end out of line so had it lined up but steering wheel 180 degrees out..well watched a video about just adjusting drag link..so i crawled under ready to adjust but cant find an adjustment collar. Mine the only one without it?
View 10 RepliesI have a 02 F250 4x4 5.4. As I drive and when pulling into a driveway I hear a clunk that can be felt in the floor and the steering wheel. I've replaced the wheel bearings and seals, shocks, ball joints, sway bar links and bushings, tie rod ends at the gear box and "right hand inner". The other two tie rods are tight and so is the track bar. I cannot duplicate the sound if I jack it up and move parts around with a pry bar. I can however move the steer box sector shaft upwards about an 1/8. I've adjusted the screw but it didn't do anything. Could it be the steer box or the springs? I've even mounted a GoPro underneath but everything moves and I can't tell why it is.
View 14 RepliesI have a 2003 F150 manual 4WD with 4.6L engine and 165000 miles. When i am driving i feel a vibration in the steering wheel and on floor board that intensifies when i press the accelerator. I do hear an irregular humming that sounds like it is coming from the driver side front. I checked the wheel for any play but it was very tight. i check tie rod ends, ball joints no play. i recently changed both u-joints on the rear shaft and the bearing hub on the passenger side front. Also, the steering feels a little 'wobbly' when i make sharp turns. it almost feels like it is giving. What else should i check?
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