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Missplaced Steeringwheel


Nightcrawler
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Hi everyone

I have just bought a 2003 model of Avensis but my steering wheel is a few degrees wrong, it's not much but for me it's irritating.

I have spoked with my local Toyota dealer but he says that he cannot correct this becourse it's too little wrongness.

He told me that the splains are too far between so he can't correct so small difference.

Is this true and isn't that steering wheel completly in the middle when you driving straight ahead on Toyota Avensis?

I have never seen a car that you can't correct the positions very precisely but this can be the first.

Is this dealer telling me right or shall I talk with another workshop?

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Have they checked the tracking? I would have thought that they could adjust it out on the steering without moving the wheel to the next spline.

If in doubt try a different dealer. I had one who wouldn't believe I had a problem with the high lift cams on the Celica. Eventually took it to another garage and they accepted right away that there was a problem.

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A 2nd opinion would help but I suspect that it's not the steering wheel out of alignment but rather your tracking! We'd really need to see a picture of how far it is out or a rough estimate as to how many degrees above/below the level plane it is.

The dealer is probably correct about how little the steering wheel is out and that it wouldn't be worth correcting, but I'm surprised that he didn't mention or check your tracking!

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I think that the only thing they tried was adjusting via the splains on the steering wheel.

I asked him if the error was in the steering position on the wheels even if the car is going straight and don't want to go on either side but still cousing the steering wheel to be a little missplaced.

He told me that could absolutly not be the case, only the steering wheel could be the couse of my problem.

He told me if he moved it one splain the steeringwheel would go from being to alittle to far to the left it would be to far to the right. I question his answer but he could help me any further.

The sad thing about this if you can get the steering wheel straight is that what he did should be on the warranty but if another do it it should cost a little.

Is it really so far between the splains or does he trying to lie to me to avoid doing this job.

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The car is going straight when I brake hard but when I set the steeringwheel where I think it's straight then the car going right a little(not braking when I straighten the wheel).

Could the tracking be bad without the car going on either side when braking hard? and cousing the steering wheel to be a little wrong.

I think the salesman think that I am to accurate but I want to have a straight steering wheel.

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Firsty, make sure all of your tyre pressures are correct.

Secondly, find a straight road to drive along and then take your hands of the steering wheel and see if it pulls or heads to the left or right ( try this on different roads as the camber on the road can have the same effect ). If it does pull to one side then the tracking is out and needs to be adjusted.

If it doesn't pull to one side, then there is little you can do about and will just have to put up with it i'm affraid.

When I noticed my steering wheel not being as level as it should of been, I done the above and then took the car to Mr T. When they checked the tracking, they found it was well out on the front and one of the back wheels was out aswell.

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The car is going straight so it must be the steering wheel then.

Is there any pictures how these splains looks like and is it far between splains on Avensis which makes it harder to correct in small adjustments

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the technician is full of c*rap. i had a car where i had put the steering wheel back on a little out of position. i had it tracked a few months later and hey presto steering wheel is straight again.

i would take it to another dealer. they may not fix tracking under warrenty as it can be knocked out by hitting kerbs etc but still shouldnt cost the earth.

four wheel laser alignment over here costs about 15GBP

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Sorry T600- hadn't refreshed the page before I replied!

Great minds think alike!

but .......

fools seldom differ

Hey no problem - nice to see someone agreed with me :D

I also refuse to believe that moving the wheel a whole spline is the only adjustment option. I don't know how many splines there are on the end of the steering column, but let's say there's about 30 positions the wheel can go on. There can't possibly be more than that can there. That makes about 12 degrees for each change of position.

Of course then, if your wheel's out say 5 degrees in one direction then moving on the splines would put it 7 degrees out in the other direction.

However, if that was all you could do to adjust the position of the wheel, then it seems like most cars wheels would always be a bit out. And they're not are they - they're nearly always bang on.

Re the questions about pulling left - you need to be on a flat road and then see whether car wants to wander left or right when you're driving gently - not braking, not accellerating - let wheel centre itself, don't put any steering input in. See whether car goes left or right then.

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My corolla steering wheel went the same after having new tires and the car re-tracked. Took it to toyota they got it has stright has possible by moving the steering wheel postion on the columb. It was still at a slight angle to the left so they then got the steering wheel dead centre and retracked the wheels problem sorted.

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This should be fairly simple to fix, one side track rod end needs moving out slightly

the other in- depending on which way the wheel is out,best done by somebody who has decent optical alignment equipment [Kwikfit] so that it can be done with the wheels straight ahead, you often get this problem when some idle fitter has only bothered to adjust one of the track rods during alignment,sounds like your garage can,t be bothered

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I don't know why dealer is doing such a confusion about such a simple thing. Here is my advice:

Take the car to the independent garage that does tracking (usualy those that mount tyres do the tracking).

Whenever I go there to do tracking at any car I had, the put a "rail" between steering wheel and brake pedal, so it holds the steering and keep the breaks on. Many years ago they wouldnt even bother "clipping" the steering wheel, but now they all do, otherwise customers don't visit them anymore. The work is very simple, in Portugal it costs 20€. Before they "clip" the steering wheel they put it in very straight position. Somethimes, when they "clip" it, before doing any adjustments, they ask the client to check if happy with the position. EVEN IF the tracking is OK and steering is a bit to the side, they straight up the steering and do adjustment so you get it the way you like. So, go there, forget about your dealer, and ask them to do it with steering straighten up and "clipped" (I belive they do it that way without you asking them to).

The problem of most of Toyota dealers (if not all of them) is that they don't have the equipement for tracking, they simply don't do that kind of work. That's why they are fulling you arround without suggesting to go to independent garage.

Yes, the can move the steering wheel one way or the other by one or more splines, but any of us can do it without going to the dealer.

Simply go to independent garage that does tracking and you'll se your problem solved in half an hour

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Nightcrawler

Your dealer is bulls... you :censor: (hope it is not same dealer as mine)

It is easy to adjust the steering wheel center position. I have Mr T:s own instruction how to do it on a Corolla (used to have one before my Avensis). It would be exactly the same procedure for your Avensis.

I could send you the instruction if you give me your e-mail adress.

// Ulro

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