Steering Wobble

[L4WL3SS]

Picked up an Aurion that at low speeds has wobble through the steering wheel, and can generally be felt through the car. Have replaced the wheel on one side with the spare (and will do the other side in the morning) to eliminate possible faulty tyre/bent rim, but i noticed that this doesnt look right. Im hopeless at suspension terminology, but is this a lower ball joint? Does it look stuffed? Would this be the cause of steering wobble?

[campbeam]

Your photo is that of the lower control arm. The bushing does appear to be broken/torn. If that is the case then it needs to be replaced.

Most likely you will need to replace both sides. I happen to have this eBay listing in my watchlist.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-FRONT-Left-Right-Lower-Control-Arm-TOYOTA-CAMRY-06-2007-ON/251628735522?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

 

[Tony Prodigy]

Did you buy that car from a dealer ? if so, take it back asap.

I'm somewhat surprised that the bush would fail so prematurely on a 2011 model car. Has the car had a hard life ?

 

[campbeam]

Upon further thought, best to also check the front wheel bearings and the steering rack tie rod end ball joints.

[Tony Prodigy]

Just now, campbeam said:

Upon further thought, best to also check the front wheel bearings and the steering rack tie rod end ball joints.

Yes. Good advice Ash.

Looks like that car has had a hard life and would warrant a full suspension/front end inspection.

Just need the O.P to give us more info on the vehicle.

[L4WL3SS]

2011 touring, ....120,000km's

dealer car, im a long way from there though, so will get a local mechanic to do a full report, and take my statutory warranty from there.

drives nice, just this stuff scares me as i spent every last cent i had buying the car....

[Tony Prodigy]

I am shocked that a dealer would let it leave the yard in that condition. 

Take them to town mate !

Disgraceful stuff.

 

[campbeam]

I will be interested to know what your local mechanic finds and the outcome with the dealer.

[L4WL3SS]

Put front wheels to back, ..... steering wobble has mostly gone, only a little remaining. Great !!!

Steering still feels heavy, and ive noticed that the left side tye screeches when going around a roundabout. Car booked in for wednesday for mechanics report, then will send request in writing to dealer via mail and post back here. Ive never exercised a stat warranty, so am keen to see how effective this law actually is?

[Tony Prodigy]

Switching the fronts to rears. The rears may be under inflated. 

Not great at all. From a safety aspect, that car has suspension issues.

I'd be careful driving it with that faulty control arm bush.

The Law is on your side. Don't worry. Fair Trading takes a dim view to dealers shirking their responsibility.

[L4WL3SS]

all 17" tyres were at 30psi, i pumped them up to 37psi as ive always done with that wheel size on various cars

or is that a bad idea on the aurion? Cheers, still learning the ropes on these cars as ive driven mostly falcons my whole life

with the worn bushes, it actually drove pretty nice for the 1000km trip, i really like this car

Edited September 30, 2017 by Metal_Head

[Tony Prodigy]

Tyres could be bad. 

Have the mechanic check tyre balance too.

[L4WL3SS]

mechanic checked, everything ok apart from minor scrape in the flexible exhaust joint causing minor leak.

[Tony Prodigy]

26 minutes ago, Metal_Head said:

mechanic checked, everything ok apart from minor scrape in the flexible exhaust joint causing minor leak.

So the lower control arm bushes aren't ripped after all. Your initial photo is grainy and so we can't tell otherwise. If your good mechanic has cleared it, then it should be good.

Just note that when you jack up the Aurion, those lower control arm bushes will stretch and reveal very minor stress cracks. Not to worry about at this point. Just keep an eye on them.

Thanks for getting back to us.

Happy motoring 

[campbeam]

I have tyre pressure at 38psi.

Lately, I have increased tyre pressure to 40psi but I drive short distances and only check tyre pressures about monthly.

If you do some searches on this Forum, you should find that it is advisable to be using quality oils and regular servicing.

[L4WL3SS]

Update, I found the wobble comes when ur lazy rotating the wheels, and the fronts seem to wear unevenly & cause the wobble. 

[KAA]

So did your mechanic actually do a wheel balance when he did his check over?..if is as you said uneven wear then a wheel alignment is in order as well..the Aurion has a natural slight pull to the left so many on here have noted that I am used to it now and i get a wheel alignment at least once a year when I have my inspection for rego..as we are barely driving the beast now days it has allowed time to give it a good inspection and love it deserves, so I did the tyre rotation and so far tyres are wearing evenly on our Presara..hope you find all things get sorted soon so you can truly enjoy the experience of owning an Aurion

KAA

[campbeam]

3 hours ago, Metal_Head said:

Update, I found the wobble comes when ur lazy rotating the wheels, and the fronts seem to wear unevenly & cause the wobble. 

I have had no steering wobbles and I do not rotate the wheels. I choose to wear out the front tyres then replace them. I have also picked up extra rims with tyres from the wreckers.

When the front tyres start to wear unevenly, that is an indicator for a wheel alignment and/or struts need replacing.. 

[L4WL3SS]

Front wheel drives are notorious for chewing fronts & needing rotations. Put 200kw in front, and it makes it more apparent. 

My steering wobble was fixed with new tyres, and came back when the fronts were at the end of their life. (and never rotated) 

 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2020 by Metal_Head

[Tony Prodigy]

8 hours ago, Metal_Head said:

Front wheel drives are notorious for chewing fronts & needing rotations. Put 200kw in front, and it makes it more apparent. 

All the more reason to go easy on the right foot applications. I've never had tyre degradation issues other than normal wear that comes with daily use. Even when my tyres are shot I get no wobble either to be honest. New tyres always make the car feel so nice to drive. The steering feels nicer and the noise is gone. (Tyres get noisier with age of course)

 

[L4WL3SS]

I think it's the way the tc kicks on full throttle and the tyres skid jump spin stop start violently. 

Do enough of them & u have funny treadwear. Learnt from the last set. I'm a good boy now. 

[Tony Prodigy]

1 hour ago, Metal_Head said:

I think it's the way the tc kicks on full throttle and the tyres skid jump spin stop start violently. 

Do enough of them & u have funny treadwear. Learnt from the last set. I'm a good boy now. 

Haha yes. The way you describe the throttle action really suits rear wheel drive vehicles, of course, whereas the Aurion needs a more gentle approach.

Looks like you learned the hard way 😃

[ZZT86]

On 9/6/2020 at 9:47 AM, Metal_Head said:

I think it's the way the tc kicks on full throttle and the tyres skid jump spin stop start violently. 

Do enough of them & u have funny treadwear. Learnt from the last set. I'm a good boy now. 

Interesting you mention the steering wheel wobble, on my GSV50 I don't have it but I can feel a nervous car/body movement as if it's tram-lining and/or following the roads varying camber but only on poor road surfaces. Both I & my mate mechanic put it down to virtually shot tyres which have an odd treadwear pattern on it which may be in part due to the TC "reaction" you mention above 😉

Do other owners of GSV50's also notice the slow response of or inability of the TC to smoothly control bunny hop/wheel spin or is it mostly a 40 series issue ? Despite my shot tyres & newer gen car, me thinks not much has changed in that dept.

 

 

[Tony Prodigy]

4 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

I can feel a nervous car/body movement as if it's tram-lining and/or following the roads varying camber but only on poor road surfaces. Both I & my mate mechanic put it down to virtually shot tyres which have an odd treadwear pattern on it which may be in part due to the TC "reaction" you mention above 😉

Definitely shot tyres will cause some tram-lining and other weirdness because I have felt this too when my tyres are at the end of life not due to TC. My wife drives our car mainly and she's a conservative driver so bunny hopping and tramping off the mark is virtually non existent. Me, being aware of the front wheel drive's tendency to do this, I am always gentle with the TC for many reasons. There's really no need to stamp on it to get it away swiftly. If this is your driving style then you should really get a rear wheel drive car.

[ZZT86]

Oh no, I'm that Volvo/Valiant driver, I love to drive my Aurion slowly, I never floor the pedal. It's just that I know if it's done the TC has no idea what to do which is strange to me cos the 86 doesn't do that, it kills the power to the rear wheels almost instantly & stops the car from getting out of control. Sounds strange for an 86 renowned for it's drifting capability I know but that's all out the window when you which all the nannies off 😉

I hope to get new tyres in the next few weeks, they're out of stock atm.

ps: I would love to get a good used Lexus LS one day, but I would still drive it like a Volvo/Valiant driver.

Edited September 8, 2020 by ZZT86
LS