TSB-014010 Steering Off Center Feel - HELP!

[goe]

Hi All,

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 (http://www.toyotapart.com/Steering_O..._TSB014010.pdf) 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"

It's exactly the issue!!!

Could anyone who already had this TSB fix done please advise me on how to convince (force) the dealer to do it for me? I have the final appointment for the test drive with their "main technician" scheduled for this Tuesday and I'm worried they will blame me or tire pressure on this issue.

Thanks,
goe

[jake111]

There used to be a very nice thread that even became a sticky above called "Toyota voluntary recall for steering drift" which unfortunately, for reasons I don't know, was merged into a humongous general recall thread. So, now you can't just read it easily.

My experience is here:
10th gen Corolla recall thread
in what is now post #1867 and some discussion goes on for a few pages more.

[SuperchargedMR2]

I feel bad for those of you that are having this issue. My steering feel is very good & improved more after my larger wheel/tire combo & suspension improvements. t even has a nice dead center feel to it.

As far as your issue, if they won't help you try another dealer in your area or contact Toyota about the issue that your dealer won't apply the required TSB to fix the problem.

[blk09rollale]

i have dealt with the wandering and constant corrections on the highway for over 44K miles. Drivers who have had the TSB performed are hot and cold about it from what I have researched. Plus i'm a little nervous about the dealer removing the entire dash to replace the ECU.

so my next oil change i'm going to have an alignment done, especially to have the toe adjusted inward. i have read that this helps considerably. the alignment is covered if you are within 12mo/20K, not in my case.

we shouldn't have to spend thousands on larger tires, new suspension, and support bars to make our cars track straight on the highway.

good luck to you. keep us posted.

[jake111]

For mine, the front toe was changed from -0.04 degrees to +0.01 degrees, from slightly spread eagle to pretty much straight. The spec range is -0.20 to +0.20 which is a pretty wide range if that little bit is what caused most of my wandering to go away.

I'm also a little suspicious whether they can accurately measure these tiny changes. The printout also said my rear changed from +0.02 to +0.04 . . . but the rear isn't (easily) adjustable, so I know they didn't change it.

I think I would ask for the front toe to be set for around +0.02 to +0.04 degrees. Maybe others have suggestions based on how theirs was changed.

I hate to have anybody else work on my vehicles, but I had the ECU changed. For me, it now feels like traditional power steering feels, so I'm very glad I had it done. Even better, it doesn't look like they screwed anything else up!!

To the original poster, be sure to set the tire pressure before you take it in so they can't blame it on that. The TSB says to check it and the alignment before going any further. So if it's off, they may just change air pressure and give it back. Then you have to repeat the process. Also, read the TSB so you know exactly what to complain about!!

[roshermoore]

Originally Posted by goe

Could anyone who already had this TSB fix done please advise me on how to convince (force) the dealer to do it for me? I have the final appointment for the test drive with their "main technician" scheduled for this Tuesday and I'm worried they will blame me or tire pressure on this issue.

If you have to convince your dealer to do the TSB, then you should go to another dealer. If this is not feasible, then take a copy of the TSB, tell then that your vehicle is wandering like the TSB says, and you want the work done. Simple as that. If they give you a hard time, report it to Toyota corporate and go to another dealer.

I've had it done on my wife's car and it made quite a difference in the overall handling. It's not perfect but it's much better than it was.

Good Luck!!!

[goe]

I heard that the have to remove the entire control panel in order to install that new ecu.
Is that true? If so then did the dealer put it back as it was without any problems or missing parts, etc? Did you notice any issues?

[KAG]

Originally Posted by goe

I heard that the have to remove the entire control panel in order to install that new ecu.
Is that true? If so then did the dealer put it back as it was without any problems or missing parts, etc? Did you notice any issues?

I noticed you were from Boston. Try going to Boch in Norwood. I had mine done there a while ago. They were great. I haven't had any problems with my car. I haven't noticed any issues with it.

[clintj]

There is a thread at the top with a list of TSBs. I had the TSB you mentioned done and the difference was night and day. Also if you are in your first year or 12000 miles you get a free alignment also. Sparks toyotatried to give me a hard time first saying they couldn't find the tsb so I pulled my copy out of my pocket. He said it was because of my lowering and aftermarket wheels. I told him that actually made it better. He then told me he would order the part and call me when it was in. They called a few days later and scheduled the appointment.

[roshermoore]

Originally Posted by goe

I heard that the have to remove the entire control panel in order to install that new ecu.
Is that true? If so then did the dealer put it back as it was without any problems or missing parts, etc? Did you notice any issues?

There was no indication that anything had been removed and replaced after the work was done on my wife's car.

[ekimnal]

i got it done at my dealer.

i noticed the difference, especially when driving on the highway, much more stable.

definitely push them to get it done.

[goe]

Finally after few snow storms here in MA I managed to get to my dealer appointment and they asked me to drive on the highway with the service manager and their main technical to show them what I'm experiencing exactly.

After some (still) nonsense arguments that it "maybe the wind" or "extra torque because it's a manual transmission" they concluded that they will order the new ECU and let me know when I can come in for the alignment and ECU installation.
Hopefully they will stick to it this time.

[sienna1]

Originally Posted by goe

Finally after few snow storms here in MA I managed to get to my dealer appointment and they asked me to drive on the highway with the service manager and their main technical to show them what I'm experiencing exactly.

After some (still) nonsense arguments that it "maybe the wind" or "extra torque because it's a manual transmission" they concluded that they will order the new ECU and let me know when I can come in for the alignment and ECU installation.
Hopefully they will stick to it this time.

This is exactly why Toyota has fallen from the top. Instead of listening to their customers, they continue to stick their heads in the sand and hope that the problems will disappear. They also seems to be a greater issue with some dealerships, I had mine done with no resistance from mine. They were not aware of the TSB, but once I showed them a copy of the US version...... they promptly addressed my complaint.

[sinkblade]

Just took my Corolla into the the dealer this morning for this issue. At first, they tried to skip and dance around the issue, but that's due to the fact that no one at the dealer had any idea what I was talking about. After taking the TSB out of my pocket, they used the info to look up the TSB in their computer system. The module was ordered and should be in later this week.

Hope they don't end up with any spare parts after putting the car back together.

PS> Will update after replacement.

[rieds]

i never notice this when im driving normal but when i floor it the steering wheel feels like it has a lot of slop in it for a second. is that the same thing?