Yaris - steering wheel not straight!!!

ginvzt

Hi,

I am getting so fed up - thought maybe someone here can shed some light! I changed my front tyres nearly about 4 weeks ago. As soon as I drove off the garage I noticed that steering wheel was not straight anymore. What I mean is if I want to go straigh line, I have to keep the steering wheel slightly towards the left.

So, few days later I go back and they say it is because me front toes (?) are pointing slightly inward and if I want, they can do the alignment for extra £30. I said ok. But, it did not solve the problem. I went back again and they decided to swap the wheels to see if that helps - not the slightest! It made it worse, so I just turned around and came back. They put the wheels back and rebalanced them - no help.

Went back yesterday again. They said my back tyres had different pressure and that probably was what was causing the problem. Not at all!!!!

Can anyone suggest what I could do next? I was planning to send my husband there this weekend for a talk, but spoke with a friend last night and they had similar problem with heir toyota a while ago (change car long ago) where no one could find the problem why steering wheel was off and they just had to get used to it!!!!

I am getting so fed up with all this, I have no idea what I can do. It feels that the car got its own mind and nothing can solve this problem. I bought the car nearly 10 months ago from Toyota dealer, it is 53 reg and I still have warranty until end of January. It has been squeaking ever since I bought it, but got over that now (Toyota can't find the problem been there 3 times or so, it doesn't do it all the time, but it comes and goes, most often when I am in slow moving traffic, it does it when I break, and when I accelerate, or just press clutch - so there is no apparent cause for this).

Sorry for a long rant, but I need to let it out...

Andy_L

Are you actually having to steer to the left or are the steering wheel spokes just not lining up horizontally when you go straight?

ginvzt

Andy_L wrote: »

Are you actually having to steer to the left or are the steering wheel spokes just not lining up horizontally when you go straight?

The is not pulling (from what I can see), so if I take my hands of the wheel and it will keep going straight. So, the answer would be that the spokes are not lining up horizontally when I go straight.

I will probably need to change this car in about 6 months and I don't want the buyer to start picking up onthings that could be sorted under waranty, etc.

Stephen_Leak

New front tyres can easily alter the steering geometry. I would recommend having it checked, and adjusted if necessary, every time they are renewed. If it is wrong, it can cause excessive and/or uneven wear on your nice new tyres.

The garage needs to re-adjust the steering geometry, with the steering wheel pointing straight ahead - just like they should have done in the first place.

ginvzt

The thing is - they swear the steering wheel is straight. But I am not blind - it will be about 10-20 degrees off, I would say. Basically, the right spike would be about the same angle as the the right lever (operating the wipers).

greyteam1959

If the front wheels of your car are straight ie parallel with the car body your steering wheel should be properly aligned.
It either is or isnt......and as you say it bl**dy obvious to an idiot if it is not.
It would annoy me as much as it is doing you cos I had the same thing with a car years ago.
The remedy is simple take off the steering wheel and re align it.
Unfortunately what has probably happened is that the tyre bay has adjusted your tracking or something else and now the sterring wheel is mis aligned.
However to remove the steering wheel and re fit it might not be as simple as it might seem.The car might have to go into a main dealer cos these days there are all sorts of electricals on the wheel which might make it a big job.
Wheel balancing / tyre pressures etc will most DEFINATELY not affect the position of the steering wheel........somebody is giving you a right load of bull****.
As you say the wheel should be straight so stick at them

Horace

I have a yaris and used to take my car to be serviced at a main dealer - not any more, I go to a local garage (the one that the main dealer used to use for MOTs) and where I had problems with the main dealer I have never had one with this garage. It shows how bad some main dealers are - apparently there was a brake re-call on the Yaris about 3 years' ago - my dealer only did the work this year despite my them having in my car in for service since it was new in 2001!

Take your car to a reputable garage and not necessarily the main dealer unless it was the dealer that caused the problem.

ginvzt

It was the HiQ that changed the tyres and still haven't sorted out the problem!!!!! I never heard anything wrong about them before... Maybe I should try different HiQ garage?...

Wig

mervyn11 wrote: »

If the front wheels of your car are straight ie parallel with the car body your steering wheel should be properly aligned.
It either is or isnt......and as you say it bl**dy obvious to an idiot if it is not.
It would annoy me as much as it is doing you cos I had the same thing with a car years ago.
The remedy is simple take off the steering wheel and re align it.
Unfortunately what has probably happened is that the tyre bay has adjusted your tracking or something else and now the sterring wheel is mis aligned.

That's what I thought must have happened but the OP has not hinted that they did adjust tracking, just said they changed the tyres, which IMO cannot alter the steering wheel position.

OP look on your original reciept were you charged for tracking adjustment? did you agree to tracking adjustment?

Wig

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

New front tyres can easily alter the steering geometry. .

How? Something I have never experienced, the only thing I have ever known to alter the steering wheel is badly done tracking adjustment, badly done because there is no need to remove and realign the steering wheel, the tracking can be done under the bonnet with the steering wheel kept straight.

ginvzt

Wig wrote: »

That's what I thought must have happened but the OP has not hinted that they did adjust tracking, just said they changed the tyres, which IMO cannot alter the steering wheel position.

OP look on your original reciept were you charged for tracking adjustment? did you agree to tracking adjustment?

That is what they did for extra £30 after I came back saying the sgteering wheel is not straight. (that is when they said that 'front toes' are pointing inwards)

Originally they changed tyres and did off-vehicle wheel balancing.