Try swapping both front tires with each other - right to left and left to right. Should take about 20 minutes - let us know if that changes the pull.

If so , you have a bad tire or bad rim.

 

+1

 

The dealerships have done that already, sorry I failed to mention it. Made no difference, pull was in the exact same direction. They have played around with alignment, balancing, rotation, air pressure, no difference with any. I mean we can drastically drop the air pressure in some tires to unsafe levels and it will help the problem, but that is not a solution.

What next?

 

The dealerships have done that already, sorry I failed to mention it. Made no difference, pull was in the exact same direction. They have played around with alignment, balancing, rotation, air pressure, no difference with any. I mean we can drastically drop the air pressure in some tires to unsafe levels and it will help the problem, but that is not a solution.

What next?

Hi Starkmark,
I'm sorry to hear of your problem, it sounds to me like it could be a number of things. Transmission , drive train , suspension ( auto-leveling ) are a few.
It seems strange that they won't look at it without a service bulletin being issued. I think a good service manager shoud be able to do something for you. Good Luck , I hope someone can help you.

 

Could it be a suspension issue? Maybe try a suspension specialist...and send the bill to Toyota.

 

if they wont fix it just lemon law it

 

Unfortunately, no such thing up here in the Great White North:sosad:

 

Could ask the mechanic from the dealer to drive or ride with you to see what is actual faulty?

 

if you drive slow in a empty parking lot and the car constantly turn that eventualy it would do a circle

i have seen that wit a gm electric power steering i had to recalibrate the steering colum whit the computer

long story short the sensor in the steering colum thinks your aplying pressure to that side so he sends the power steering to that side

 

long story short the sensor in the steering colum thinks your aplying pressure to that side so he sends the power steering to that side

I think that your speculation is right since the alignment could not rectify this fault.

 

VENZPHIL................What you said makes a lot of sence, the guy with the stearing problem really looks into this & may be he will post the results...............George

 

What VENZPHIL said.

 

Maybe its the steel belts on your tires. I built tires on a assembly line for about 10 years and I've seen a few go by the inspection station that were severly off balance ,or the belts were off center thus creating a pull to the left or right with no way to correct this situation. Try your back tires in the front or get a set of good winter tires (if you need them) and try them.

 

I would alos agree with the electric power steering system.
BTW, where did you get your WeatherTech mats? GTA?

 

If you're asking me, I got them from Rack Attack. I bought them on-line, but they also have 2 locations in the GTA.
http://www.rackattack.com/store-locations.asp#mississauga
Excellent customer service.

 

I have the same experience on my fully loaded 09 Venza V6 AWD with the same results from my dealer, numerous wheel alignments and tire rotations but still the car wanders to the left with the pull increasing as I increase my speed. My service manager went so far as to contact Toyota and their response was that it is a characterisic of the car with it's wide wheel base, wide and big tires and that basically I have to live with it. That's assuming that I don't end up in the guard rail any time soon. I also thought I was getting a great touring car with tons of utility but I must say the constant pull to the left is annoying and uncomfortable on my hands after highway trips up and down the 400 to Toronto. I really wish they could fix this. Does anybody else have any ideas?

 

I have the same experience on my fully loaded 09 Venza V6 AWD with the same results from my dealer, numerous wheel alignments and tire rotations but still the car wanders to the right with the pull increasing as I increase my speed. My service manager went so far as to contact Toyota and their response was that it is a characterisic of the car with it's wide wheel base, wide and big tires and that basically I have to live with it. That's assuming that I don't end up in the guard rail any time soon. I also thought I was getting a great touring car with tons of utility but I must say the constant pull to the left is annoying and uncomfortable on my hands after highway trips up and down the 400 to Toronto. I really wish they could fix this. Does anybody else have any ideas?

Benza - Is it left or is it right? You have it going both ways in your comments. (you fixed it - thanks!)

Thanks.

PS My Venza V6AWD is fine so there is something else going on here beside wide tires yadayada. Wide tires would cause the car to follow the crown of the road and go right. Going left makes no sense - ergo an issue in the mechanicals or electric steering.

 

Just ask the dealer to let you test drive another Venza. Then point out that it doesn't pull (left/right). Then tell him to fix it or face arbitration....

 

samej and danno09- Thanks for the feedback. I've tried all of your suggestions but as I said they are sitting on the fence. I have an appointment comming up with the sales manager...we'll see where it goes.

All I know for sure is it's not in my headza.

 

IF you get nowhere after a comparative drive, make a scene in the show room yelling "why aren't you going take this SAFTEY issue serious..... what do I have to do ? Wreck my car cuz you won't fix it?"

Betcha get a lot of cooperation..... especially if ya have an audience:thumbsup:

 

a alignement issue needs to be realy bad to get a car pulling at low speed and if pulling at low speed would not be drivable at high speed

the size of the tire does not matter if the alignement done at specification and that goes for any car

the common things seems to be pulling also at low speed so i steel stand behind the electric power steering isue

 

I agree that it must be the electric steering. Its nice that electric doesnt sap power from the engine but the feel is so artificial and flimsy.

 

I have noticed this same thing, pulling to the left. Although it is very slight in my case, it is very annoying. When i took it in for my first oil change a little while ago i asked them to check it pulling, basically they said they couldn't feel it.

The major dislike i have with the Venza which i have had for the almost 10 months now, is the lack of any actual driving feel in the wheel. Oh well, i knew i wasn't getting a "BMW" Driving experence when i bought it, but a little would have been nice.

 

LOL - going from our much abused 04 Sienna, the Venza's steering feel felt much much better. But I and my daughter still get a total disconnect switching between the 3 and the Venza. On the other hand my wife who mostly drives the Venza hates the BMW and says everything (steering, throttle, brakes) are too heavy/stiff.

For an SUV I really am quite happy with the Toyota's handling overall. I don't know if it's the fact that we have the lighter 4 up front but it feels much lighter and leans less than expected in corners. I'm quite happy hypermiling with it off exit ramps at spirited velocities.

 

I also have a V-6 Venza don't seem to have any problem with our car at all. One person that posted here did sugest checking the power steering, personaly I too think this could be the problem but have no experiance to back it up. One thing I did do with my car was got new tires that are one speed range higher from an H to a V speed rating, the differance was amazing in the handeling of the car. It stoped leaning on sharp turns and handling more stable. I did notice when the car came from the factory that it had 40 PSI in the tires & that may be another thing you might want to try first. Right now with the new speed rated tires that I have I am running 34 in the front and 32 in the back. Hope this helps.

 

I have now noticed that my Venza pulls to the left at highway speed (100-120 kph). I noticed this after I have my original tires and rims re-installed. I did not feel it when I had my winter tires and rims on. I will closely follow this thread because I'm sure I will get the same response, like the others, from the two dealerships near where I live.

 

FWIW, my Venza, 2009 V6 AWD tracks very straight. I had the opportunity to test it on a straight and level deserted desert road this past weekend. Driving at the posted speed limit of 75 MPH with the cruise control set, I drove about half mile perfectly straight down the center of the lane with my hands off the wheel (but close by). After half mile or so, it started to slightly wander to the right, so I put my hands back on wheel. There was no wind, and my tires pressures had all been put to 32 lbs. that morning when they were cold. I have about 9,000 miles on it, and I have never felt any pulling, or wandering, I never feel that I have to hold the steering wheel slightly one way to keep it in the lane.

I have had other cars that pulled, and was told by mechanics that auto manufacturers default alignments so cars will drift to right in the USA, to help avoid head on crashes, if the driver lets go of the steering wheel. I don't know if this is fact, just reporting what I was once told.

I have also found tires to be the culprit, something the tire dealer called "radial pull." The bad tire was detemined, and replaced.

 

I have had other cars that pulled, and was told by mechanics that auto manufacturers default alignments so cars will drift to right in the USA, to help avoid head on crashes, if the driver lets go of the steering wheel. I don't know if this is fact, just reporting what I was once told.

I have also found tires to be the culprit, something the tire dealer called "radial pull." The bad tire was detemined, and replaced.

actually the camber and toe are set to steer the vehicle away from the shoulder of the road to compensate for the crown in the roadway..... the operaor is in charge of avoiding head on crashes:thumbsup:

 

Some cars drift to the right depending on their suspension geometry as most roads crown in the middle (so they slant to the right in the right lane).

That being said I have not observed this on our Venza. It tracks straight if there are no cross winds.

 

I think it might be interesting for the owners here to take their Venza to the dealership and have the fuse/s pulled that supply power to the EPS, then go for a test drive and see if the vehicle pulls to the left.

 

That'd be interesting to test...... probably work somewhat as ya canturn the wheels with engine off......


here's the electro-mechanical assy:

http://www.toyotapartszone.com/onli...0L-AWTGKA)&sectionID=2&isBigPicture=False&componentsID=45-01&componentsIndex=22

 

all front suspensions are design to be adjusted...... remember one thing..... transporters are not always careful when unloading vehicles from their carriers..... I've personally witnesed some pretty rough off-loading...... this may not be the problem and simply acharacterisitic of a new technology and its feel as opposed to the traditional hydrolic system......:dunno:

 

nhcycle: my apologies for the cross post on "Molding Popping Off" but this fits here too.

Here is a US site that has TSBs that shows how this issue (and a few others) was dealt with in the US. Perhaps this info is good for Canada as well.

FYI - http://www.toyotapart.com/Technical_Venza.html

Regards.

 

The motor is there...... and the reason a lot of people report hearing a whine when they turn the wheel.....that's cuz the motor looks like it's mounted inside tha cabin..... all there is connected to the rack and pinion assy is the lower sterring shaft via knuckle (u-joint)...... all the cntrol components are monted up high...

 

Interesting! Thanks for the explaination! Do you know if this design is a first for Toyota?

 

TSB about pulling

Have any one read the TSB "REPAIR MANUAL SUPPLEMENT VEHICLE PULLING TO ONE SIDE T-SB-0391-08" on the site http://www.toyotapart.com/Technical_Venza.html ?

I have had my car since Jan 2009 and was aware of the pulling when stopping/braking on a rough road surface in the first month and so. This I never felt on 4 other Toyotas I had before. The dealer kept attributing to the wide tire and uneven road surfaces. Now that I see this TSB, I am wondering if it implies some known design or manufacture defects causing pulling in the Venza. The TSB on one hand says it is a general pulling diagnosis and repair procedure but on the other hand says it is covered under warranty.

Has anyone technically enough to read the TSB and differentiate ?

Has anyone had the pulling fixed w.r.t. this TSB ?

Thanks in advance for all the inputs!
BB