Steering wheel isn't returning to center/does this alignment seem fine?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by metamence, Jul 9, 2022.

  1. metamence

    metamence New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 10, 2022
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Hi everyone. I have a 2015 Toyota Prius with around 69,000 miles.

    I recently hit a small box on a narrow street going around 45 mph and I shortly took it to get an alignment afterwards.

    My steering is still feeling strange where it doesn't fully return to center after making a left/right turn. For example, it will stop 30 degrees to the left/right of the center when I release the steering wheel while making a turn. I'll have to make a correction to fully make the turn whereas before I remember just releasing the steering wheel and and my Prius would automatically straighten out. There's also some initial tightness within the first 5 degrees.

    Is my alignment still not good or did I get some damage to my steering/suspension to have the steering behave in this way?
     

    Attached Files:

    #1 metamence, Jul 9, 2022
  2. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 29, 2018
    7,052
    3,693
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Take it back and tell them! Make they correct it. The SHOULD have checked for damage.
    What kind of box? Paper? cardboard? brick? wood? steel????
     
    #2 ASRDogman, Jul 9, 2022
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2020
    11,756
    2,080
    0
    Location:
    Durham NC
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    I wonder if when you smack the box in the road if something moved and did some steering shaft damage or misalignment which is a stretch. But that does seem awfully odd I mean the cars are not that weak in this area but I guess all that stuff does crumple in an accident so maybe hitting the box at that speed something bad happened That's crunch something enough where you're getting this resistance.
     
    #3 Tombukt2, Jul 9, 2022
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    11,900
    4,831
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Take it back and have them fix it! In looking at your chart, they didn't change almost anything, just the toe slightly and none of the other settings changed. Kinda seems like a rip off...

    Usually the part of the adjustment that gets the steering wheel spinning back on its own while driving forward is the caster and they didn't adjust that. But low tire pressure could slow that response down a bit...

    They didn't do enough work on the alignment (obviously) and you deserve to get your money's worth. Take it back and tell them the caster is no longer what it used to be and the data on their alignment sheet is wrong:

    df980335787e4b019fe7d3e6b1361cc8_800.jpg
     
    #4 PriusCamper, Jul 9, 2022
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)