Steering Problems?

[dustin.lavigne]

Hi Guys and Gals!

I badly need the opinion(s) of a mechanically savvy person(s)!!

I am having problems with my 2010 Corolla XRS.

First off... I found that the car was always pulling to the right... even on the highway. It would pull even more to the right if I was driving the car downtown and I would hit the brake at lower speeds (~20 KM/h and lower). So I decided to bring it to my local Toyota dealership to have it checked out.

They did 2 alignments on the car... reason being that it didn't get aligned quite properly the first time around.

Now, the pulling to the right has stopped on the highway... but the car still badly pulls to the right when I am braking downtown. (sometimes the wheel can turn 1/4 of the way!!)

I noticed that sometimes the car is in little ruts in the road when it does this...The mechanic told me that this is normal because of the tires being wider, low profile, and 17", so they stick to the road more and the car has a tendency to follow the shape of the road.

I always thought that if your tires were wider though... that it doesn't tend to follow the road as much when there are ruts in the road...I though that you would have a much more controlled ride...

So what do you guys and gals think? Is the mechanic right? Or is he just jerking me around because they can't really figure out what the problem is?

Thanks alot for any help on this subject!! I really appreciate it!

Dustin

[LeanBurn]

to TN !!

In order pinpoint what exactly is taking place you need to eliminate the variables. Get into a vacant flat parking lot replicate speed at where you experiencing the issue. Then you can narrow it down to brakes or alignment.

From what you describe, looks like the brakes are out of adjustment. Could still be alignment too though. The parking lot will tell you all kinds of info.

After you narrow it down you will have more accurate information to present to the mechanic.

[qcfc88]

Uh, go speak to another mechanic, because what he told you is simply wrong.

[dustin.lavigne]

Originally Posted by LeanBurn

to TN !!

In order pinpoint what exactly is taking place you need to eliminate the variables. Get into a vacant flat parking lot replicate speed at where you experiencing the issue. Then you can narrow it down to brakes or alignment.

From what you describe, looks like the brakes are out of adjustment. Could still be alignment too though. The parking lot will tell you all kinds of info.

After you narrow it down you will have more accurate information to present to the mechanic.

Thanks for the welcome, LeanBurn.

I would like to point out that I also checked it out on a flat (new) stretch of highway, and came to a complete stop (after checking that no traffic was around, ofcourse ). The problem did not show up.

It only seems to happen when the car is on somesort of uneven road.. but even then.. I am having a really hard time believing that an uneven road could make the car follow and turn the steering wheel nearly 1/4 of the way.

I am at a loss with this!

Thanks for the quick response by the way!

Dustin

[dustin.lavigne]

Originally Posted by qcfc88

Uh, go speak to another mechanic, because what he told you is simply wrong.

Thanks for the opinion!!

Dustin

[SuperchargedMR2]

Originally Posted by dustin.lavigne

Thanks for the welcome, LeanBurn.

I would like to point out that I also checked it out on a flat (new) stretch of highway, and came to a complete stop (after checking that no traffic was around, ofcourse ). The problem did not show up.

It only seems to happen when the car is on somesort of uneven road.. but even then.. I am having a really hard time believing that an uneven road could make the car follow and turn the steering wheel nearly 1/4 of the way.

I am at a loss with this!

Thanks for the quick response by the way!

Dustin

to TN.

If the issue went away on the flat road than I would say it is the uneven road causing issues. The road surface can be a pain to any car.

[shotgunjimmy]

Originally Posted by qcfc88

Uh, go speak to another mechanic, because what he told you is simply wrong.

Dont be so sure. I had a Honda Prelude that did this EXACT same thing.

Originally Posted by dustin.lavigne

Thanks for the welcome, LeanBurn.

I would like to point out that I also checked it out on a flat (new) stretch of highway, and came to a complete stop (after checking that no traffic was around, ofcourse ). The problem did not show up.

It only seems to happen when the car is on somesort of uneven road.. but even then.. I am having a really hard time believing that an uneven road could make the car follow and turn the steering wheel nearly 1/4 of the way.

I am at a loss with this!

Thanks for the quick response by the way!

Dustin

Sounds just like what my Prelude did. I searched for months to figure out what it was. I tried swapping tires, brakes, repalced the tie rod ends, had it aligned, had multiple mechanics drive it.. ect. ect. Finally one day it hit me that it only does it in the ruts in the road. The ruts here are pretty bad in some spots too.

Originally Posted by SuperchargedMR2

to TN.

If the issue went away on the flat road than I would say it is the uneven road causing issues. The road surface can be a pain to any car.

(only cause you can't quote SCMR2 and NOT use a smiley.)

[dustin.lavigne]

Originally Posted by shotgunjimmy

Sounds just like what my Prelude did. I searched for months to figure out what it was. I tried swapping tires, brakes, repalced the tie rod ends, had it aligned, had multiple mechanics drive it.. ect. ect. Finally one day it hit me that it only does it in the ruts in the road. The ruts here are pretty bad in some spots too.

I understand that the ruts in the road can make the steering pull to the right or left depending on how the road is angled.. but in my head it wasn't normal that the car would pull that hard to the extent of making the steering wheel turn 1/4 of the way around!

But! Like I said! I was looking for opinions! And so far I've got what I was looking for! Thanks guys!

[CupCate18]

Originally Posted by LeanBurn

to TN !!

In order pinpoint what exactly is taking place you need to eliminate the variables. Get into a vacant flat parking lot replicate speed at where you experiencing the issue. Then you can narrow it down to brakes or alignment.

From what you describe, looks like the brakes are out of adjustment. Could still be alignment too though. The parking lot will tell you all kinds of info.

After you narrow it down you will have more accurate information to present to the mechanic.

Agreed. Sometimes when rotors are warped, it pulls too. Not just shakes under heavy braking.

[rolla-XRS]

There are some truck ruts on our local highway where I hold on for dear life and plough over them into a different lane. But it's normal unless you've got truck tires on...
Roads are also inclined to permit quicker waterflow off the roadways...and this can sometimes make it feel like it's pulling downslope.

Sounds normal to me.

[dustin.lavigne]

Originally Posted by rolla-XRS

There are some truck ruts on our local highway where I hold on for dear life and plough over them into a different lane. But it's normal unless you've got truck tires on...
Roads are also inclined to permit quicker waterflow off the roadways...and this can sometimes make it feel like it's pulling downslope.

Sounds normal to me.

Thanks for the input rolla-XRS. I think I can put this issue to rest now.

Thanks a lot to everyone who posted!