I have to have the alignment looked @ on my tC. Thing is that it was "fixed" at one dealership for wandering @ highway speeds. After I got it back it tracked alittle better but it still wanders (not much but enough to be annoying). I have concluded that this place employs monkeys to do their repairs and decided to go to another dealer.

Now if I go to another dealer will they be able to look up my car and be like "hey there was an alignment just done to ur ride! wtf?"

So overall I dont want to be causing any trouble at the dealership but just having the repair double checked.

Personally i think the rack and pinion migh tbe damaged, maybe some play in it causing the wandering.


How is the alignment-tracking in your tC?

 

i would call scion corporate and report this to them. I had the same problem.. the toe in is not set correctly causing you to feel "wandering" and play in the wheel.. if they set it exactly to 0.00 degrees it will react to crowns in the road and be super sensitive.. the solution is to set a small amount of toe in.. to -0.01 degrees on both sides.. i have discussed this just today with the dealerships and have realized what's going on.. they had set it to the "perfect" specification of 0.00 toe in.. and i wondered why i was following the crowns in the road.. that's why..

Yes definitely take it to another dealership, but I would contact scion first and let them know.. Some dealerships don't have the best alignment racks.. and that they lack the ability to get an exacting alignment.. plus some techs just don't care to get it "perfect".. they think "within specifications" is good enough, it's not..

also your thrust angle should be Zero.. if the toe in from the front and the rear toe in numbers aren't close.. it can cause a thrust angle difference which can also cause wandering..

Hope that helps.. oh one more thing.. the reason you think the rack and pinion is damaged is because it feels so loose, that's the toe in part of the alignment not being adjusted correctly.. it's amazing how 0.1 degree can wreak havoc in toe in..

The alignment on mine is fine.. but it's hyper-sensitive to road crown now since the toe in is set at 0.00 degrees.. I would prefer a -0.01 for a less high-strung steering.. it's fun, but the 0.00 degrees requires me to constantly keep both hands on the wheel.. later on i will have this corrected a different dealer (again, better alignment rack)..

 

Mich, you rock! This seems to be exactly the problem with my tC!

Would anyone happen to have Scions corporate number so that I can address this issue with them and finally a dealer?

 

i rock!!

not a problem glad i could help out.. I was going through the same thing and just today I finally got the answers I was needing..

i just looked up scion's number it's 1.866.70.SCION they'll hook you up with what they call a "customer advocate".. basically a liason for you to get help.. keep us posted on how it goes..

also.. a better alignment rack can also help.. this rack on hunter's website is awesome.. like when you get a wheel alignment the steering wheel isn't straight? this machine actually tells the technician how to make sure the steering wheel is straight.. very cool, my steering wheel is perfect (just have to get the toe in tweaked later on).. here is the link http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/al...883T/index.htm I believe a good machine also help, but a good technician helps too.. i think they rely on each other..

hopefully scion can help steer you to a good dealership with good tools.. glad i could help..

 

I test drove a tc, and notice both hands needed to be on the wheel to keep the car wandering off to the left...I asked the person helping us with the test drive and he gave me this bull ____ answer about how the road is at a slight degree for the water to run off and is causing the car to "wander" to the left....The wandering was bad. I let go of the wheel and it began to veer left at a very rapid rate. To throw some emotions in there, my g/f thought I was purposely trying to get as close to the edge of the street as possible, one of the things she hates me to do. Even my ____ty sunfire stayed straight for a good 1/2 mile before I had to readjust the steering. The tC's alignment was jacked up and caused me to constantly adjust the steering to keep it straight. Just my own $.02

 

I think this has been talked about before. My tC also gets some weird wandering. Also the alignment seems to be off a little to the right.

 

Is your steering wheel a bit crooked? Because mine is. And i'm thinking taht since my car is over 10K miles, they will not fix it for free? can anyone clear this up

 

I just called scion corporate and gave them an earfull in regards to my alignment and my "fixed" rear hatch which still doesnt close!


They will be contacting me back asap......lets see if they live up to it......I'll let u know what they say!

 

I took my car to the dealer today to get the alignment checked out. They checked it out and took it for a drive. The service manager claimed that the wandering to the right was normal due to the road crowns. When I told him my old car never did that he said that its due to the sport suspension. Funny. my grand am GT had a sport suspension too. Any one have any thoughts on this?

 

my tC pulls as well, glad to hear its not just me

the dealership has fixed the alightment once, yet the car still pulls a little still

 

every road has a crown or is uneven. thats life, all cars "wander" to some degree and no matter how many times you explain that to people they always say "but my car is supposed to go straight"
use your heads and realize its NOT going to happen

live with it, even a perfect allignment wont fix that, keep both hands on the wheel and stop trying to make your car drive itself and the dealer didn't have to fix much, they just want you crazy people to shut it