Steering on 2006 Yaris hatch

[Rattle Rattleson]

G'day all. I have a question relating to my Mum's 2006 Yaris hatch. I bought this car for her brand new back in 2006 and it has been pretty flawless. I don't drive it that often - perhaps 10 times a year or so and that includes having it for a few days at a time every 6 months to facilitate the servicing (done at the local Toyota dealer).

I noticed when I had it this time around that the steering wheel was ever so slightly left-down at the straight-ahead, however this is only on roads with a "standard" camber (so a relatively low crown in the road). On those roads where the camber is obvious, the steering is straight. The car also tracks straight and the tyre wear is very good and even.

The car was not like this from new - I 100% would have noticed this because half the time when driving straight ahead I have to have the wheel a degree or two left down which shouldn't be the case. Mum hasn't hit anything that would cause anything to bend (she is honest and has admitted in the past to any minor scrapes so I know nothing has happened).

But down my way there is so much road work and our roads are so hopelessly damaged as a result that you'd need a Landcruiser these days to get around totally unscathed and in comfort. I've even taken to using alternative longer routes in my own Corolla to bypass these roadworks as they really are not good for any car. I'm not pointing fingers- I'm just saying...and I even cautioned Mum about being careful over them.

Anyway, when I took it to the dealer today I mentioned the wheel issue and a possible alignment issue, but when I picked the car up, it had "passed" their "alignment test" and they did not take any further action.

I suppose it is possible the car is now ageing and it might be simply a combination of this combined with a "default" suspension setting for driving on the left-hand side of Australian roads but it still seems odd enough for me to be asking about it.

I am thinking of taking it somewhere to get another looking at while I still have it. Not a dealer or "tyre" place but maybe a steering and suspension specialist (apart from Pedders who in my experience are to be avoided like the plague as they invent problems that don't exist in my experience).

But what I'd like to know is if anyone who owns a Yaris around this vintage or maybe just with say, more than 50 thousand on the clock has noticed this characteristic on their own car?

Thanks

[Rattle Rattleson]

It's OK. I took it to Pro Axle today and the guy fixed it. Did a good job too (left hand toe was out).