Defective Tires on my new Camry?

[michaelscai]

I bought a 2010 brand new camry, noticed it's pulling right - dealer notes indicates it pulls left or right depending on which side the tire is mounted (I checked the tire pressure is both about 30 on the front tires):

Dealer Notes:
"pulls to the right preliminary check & Road test, pulls to the right, T0.6, switch front tire/wheel & road test, pulls left to T0.5, reverse the front one side tire T0.7, steering wheel off center, check front wheel alignment T1.2, adjust front wheel alignment, adjust FT TOE T0.7"

Question:
*Does this mean the tires are defective should I ask them to replace the tires instead of an alignment? seems to me they are trying to fix defective tires with an alignment - there seems to be a lot of bad reviews on the bridgestones tires they have on the camry.

*After they did the alignment, "adjusted FT Toe to T0.7" the car drives worse, steering wheel feels light, is T0.7 too much/too little for the Toe?

*I took it back to the dealer afterwards, and they are telling me the car is fine even though I can feel the steering wheel feels light and car handles worse than before the alignment, what should I do?

[Mike Gerber]

If the dealer refuses to do anything else and you are sure the car does not handle properly, then call Toyota corporate customer service (Toyota calls it the Customer Experience Center) at 1-800-331-4331 and discuss the issue with them. Have all your paperwork in front of you and be sure you can accurately describe what the car is now doing and why you feel this is not correct.

My guess is that the tire that was originally on the right (now on the left) has what is known as a radial pull.

Mike

[MJZ]

Go to a different dealer and drive with them.

This is what you have to do:

Go on a fairly open straight highway, get on the left lane, shift to neutral and hands off the steering wheel. You can show them that the car would pull towards the right lane even though the left lane is sloped to the left.

[michaelscai]

but is this a sign the tires are defective? the fact the car will pull left or right depending on which side it's on

I am trying to determine what I will request for Toyota/dealer to do for me... new tires? another alignment? The car don't pull anymore after they did the alignment, but it handles worse and steering wheel feels light, and lost the 'on-center' feel. These are somewhat subjective and vague term, I wonder if Toyota would do anything for me..

[Dave-o]

did the dealer check if the tires were balanced?

[gdanaher]

No, this does not mean the tires are defective. Sometimes tires will tend to pull to one side or the other when new. They are not defective.

[workerant]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

If the dealer refuses to do anything else and you are sure the car does not handle properly, then call Toyota corporate customer service (Toyota calls it the Customer Experience Center) at 1-800-331-4331 and discuss the issue with them. Have all your paperwork in front of you and be sure you can accurately describe what the car is now doing and why you feel this is not correct.

My guess is that the tire that was originally on the right (now on the left) has what is known as a radial pull.

Mike

+1 Their professionals are sometimes not so professional. Go to other dealer.

If it's Radial, it should be marked/written on the tires which way it should roll.

[michaelscai]

why would the steering wheel feel lighter and no on-center feel after an alignment? how can i fix it now?? would put on new tires change anything?

I can take it to a different dealer, but what do I ask for?? the car is not pulling any more.

is it common to need an alignment on a brand new car?

I think I'm going to ask Toyota to give me new tires and have the dealer undo whatever they did, is that the best course of action?

[Dave-o]

does the pulling get worse at higher speed? how does the steering wheel behave at higher speeds?

[JasonA]

I've never known a "good" tire to exhibit a pull like that. Tires aren't supposed to pull either direction. They're supposed to roll straight.

The reason your steering may feel different is because of the toe adjustment. It may be very "toe neutral" right now, or even slightly toed out, which would add some quirkiness and vagueness to the steering feel on center. It would help if you could scan and post a copy of the alignment sheet. If you only have one spec (the toe), it's impossible to know the complete alignment picture.

Yes, new cars can require an alignment. The steering wheel wasn't quite straight on mine, and the left rear toe needed a slight nudge in one direction or the other. All's well now.

If the pull changes with the side the tires are mounted, I would highly suspect a bad tire or two.

[kenny1773]

Originally Posted by JasonA

If the pull changes with the side the tires are mounted, I would highly suspect a bad tire or two.

I would agree

I have had tire shops try the bullshit line of 'they will wear in and it will go away' but it never does. They are just hoping you go away. Stand firm and insist they replace the tire(s) that are causing the pull.

[michaelscai]

Originally Posted by JasonA

I've never known a "good" tire to exhibit a pull like that. Tires aren't supposed to pull either direction. They're supposed to roll straight.

Originally Posted by JasonA

It would help if you could scan and post a copy of the alignment sheet. If you only have one spec (the toe), it's impossible to know the complete alignment picture.

Here is a readout, seems they only did alignment on the FRONT, as vey little change on the REAR (everything is indicated in degree, not inchs)

any input is appreciated.. also can I just go to a shop and ask them to make it more Toe In? what would be a good Toe in number to set my car at, seems right now it's pretty Toe neutral at 0.01 and 0.02

FRONT LEFT:
Actual Before SpecifidRange
-0.6 -0.7 -1.4 to 0.1 Camber
3.1 3.1 2.3 to 3.8 Caster
0.02 0.06 -0.08 to 0.08 Toe
12.5 12.6 11.5 to 13.0 SAI
11.9 11.9 10.1 to 13.1 Included Angle

FRONT RIGHT:
Actual Before SpecifiedRange
-0.9 -0.9 (same as above) Camber
2.5 2.5 Caster
0.01 -0.07 Toe
12.5 12.5 SAI
11.7 11.7 Included Angle

FRONT
Actual Before Specified Range
0.2 0.2 -0.8 to 0.8 Cross Camber
0.6 0.6 -0.8 to 0.8 Cross Caster
0.0 0.0 -0.8 to 0.8 Cross SAI
0.03 -0.01 -0.16 to 0.16 Total Toe

----------------------------------------------------------

REAR LEFT
Actual Before Range
-1.5 -1.5 -2.1 to -0.6 Camber
0.12 0.11 0.08 to 0.24 Toe

REAR RIGHT
Actual Before Range
-1.2 -1.2 -2.1 to -0.6 Camber
0.13 0.13 0.08 to 0.4 Toe

Rear
Actual Before Range
-0.3 -0.3 -0.8 to 0.8 Cross Camber
0.25 0.24 0.16 to 0.47 Total Toe
-0.01 -0.01 Thrust Angle
-

[Yazovets]

Man you've already spent way too much time on this.

Get the car aligned stock and buy a new set of tires. It's a good excuse to get a proper set of performance tires this time. The stock tires on a car are always $hit anyway.

[michaelscai]

but can anyone tell me if the printout looks OK? also what should I adjust the Toe-In to if I get it realigned for better handling?

I don't have the money for new tires,so I'd like to see if I can solve it with a realignment..