Bought New Yaris - Having problem with steering/handling? Is it me or the Car?

[Robbo67]

Hi Everyone,

Firstly I did post this question in the Yaris area but then I found this section so hope this is ok to post here?

I'm probably going to sound like a real knob or just a paranoid toyota owner maybe but the steering & handling on my new Yaris is really doing my head in and I really want to check with other Yaris owners is it the car or is it me :)

Firstly we have a 2 year old Corolla which we love and still have. Our other car that I mainly use for work was on it's last legs so I thought I'd spoil myself and get myself a new car. I nearly bought a Getz but there was a promotion going for the 5 door Yaris so I thought for the extra 2 grand & the fixed price servicing & Toyota reputation for reliability I'd buy the Yaris.

Anyway first 1000km no dramas at all. Love the car. Then it went in for it's 1,000km complimentary service at our local toyota dealer (not the dealer where I first bought it though). When I picked up the car they said they completed a general check over & mentioned they adjusted the rear brakes.

Straight away I noticed that the steering wheel was not 100% straight when driving on a flat straight road and off centre. When making a turn the steering wheel didn't return to a straight centre position. The car also liked to drift/veer/wander to the left and I needed to make constant minor steering corrections to keep vehicle moving in a straight line. Also the car tended to want to follow all the ruts & contours in the road, which I believe is called tramlining?

I took the Yaris straight back the next day to the local dealer who did the 1,000 km service and left it with them for the day. They said they road tested it & that there was nothing wrong. They mentioned the steering could have felt different and more noticeable because they would have let the tyre pressure down at the 1000km service. According to the service manager Toyota pump the tyres up pretty high for the trip from Japan to Australia.

The next day I checked the cold tyre pressures and they were pretty low 28psi so I pumped them back up to 32psi as recommended by the service manual. That helped slightly but the steering/handling still didn't feel right.

I took it back to the Toyota dealer where I bought the car and their senior road tester said steering wheel was definitely off centre and they put it in for an alignment. No charge of course !!

This helped a bit but it still doesn't feel quite right. I once again checked the cold tyre pressures and this time they were all pumped up to 40psi. I couldn't believe it. Whilst it seems like they must have completed the alignment the steering wheel is still a notch off centre and it still likes to drift to the left and tramline. Should I be worried there is something else wrong?

The tyres are Dunlop SP10's, my Yaris is 6 weeks old. My corolla doesn't steer/handle like this although I guess the coralla is a much bigger car.

So what I would really like to know from Yaris owners is am I paranoid and just a little overly fussy? Is this just a characteristic of how the Yaris is and something I just need to get used to? Could it be the tyres don't really suit the car? Would buying new tyres and alloy wheels be worth it? Even though Toyota supposedly did an alignment on it would it be worth me taking it to a wheel alignment specialist and have them check the alignment on it and do it again if necessary? Is it a 2 or 4 wheel alignment?

Sorry for all the questions but thanks heaps in advance everyone :)

[dwee.]

Hey mate, sounds like you need to go somewhere else (any tire place) and get:

1. Wheels balanced

2. Wheel alignment

Peter.

[SuperDave]

The steering wheel being a touch off centre is fairly normal; it's to do with the camber of the road. This can be corrected by any decent wheel alignment shop if you'd like.

High tyre pressure affecting handling is also BS, run them at 40 psi and enjoy the extra fuel economy you will get with no change to ride comfort.

When you put it in for a wheel alignment demand you see a printout of the alignment specs, if they don't do a print out go elsewhere. Also tell them you want 0.0 individual toe, NOT 0.0 cross toe. A Toyota wheel alignment typically involves charging the customer more than the shop down the road, and they take it to the same shop down the road for the work.

Based on your description the wheels won't need balancing, so save yourself the money there. I don't know first hand, but if it is anything liek the Corolla with the live axle rear end there is nothing to adjust so just get the front wheel alignment.

[Robbo67]

The steering wheel being a touch off centre is fairly normal; it's to do with the camber of the road. This can be corrected by any decent wheel alignment shop if you'd like.

High tyre pressure affecting handling is also BS, run them at 40 psi and enjoy the extra fuel economy you will get with no change to ride comfort.

When you put it in for a wheel alignment demand you see a printout of the alignment specs, if they don't do a print out go elsewhere. Also tell them you want 0.0 individual toe, NOT 0.0 cross toe. A Toyota wheel alignment typically involves charging the customer more than the shop down the road, and they take it to the same shop down the road for the work.

Based on your description the wheels won't need balancing, so save yourself the money there. I don't know first hand, but if it is anything liek the Corolla with the live axle rear end there is nothing to adjust so just get the front wheel alignment.

SuperDave,

Thanks for your message.

Toyota didn't give me a sheet of the corrections they did. I took the car to Bob Jane here at Browns Plains, QLD and I asked them to check the alignment for me and if it was out to re-do the alignment but if it was ok I was happy to pay for their time and accept that it was just me. They checked the alignment and said all the readings were within spec so the alignment that Toyota did was ok. I got a print out of the readings so it looks like it was just my paranoia and they only charged me $25 for their time. The tramlining was a tyre issue so they also recommended that I put 36psi in the front and 34psi in the rear tyres and I would notice a difference. Funny thing is even though they said the original alignment was ok maybe Bob Jane did do an alignment as it seemed better to drive and the wheel was centered properly this time. I also adjusted the tyre pressures as recommended and it definitely feels a lot better and more stable to drive. I can now say I'm pretty happy with my Yaris now that I know there is nothing really wrong with it. I also took my two year old "Rolla" in for an alignment and changed the pressures too and it also feels a lot better to drive.

Thanks everyone for your help :)

Edited May 21, 2010 by Robbo67