Alignment Woes

[Vizwar]

So I threw my alignment out... my bad. It was driving like it was always on ice and the steering wheel center was off.

Goodyear did an alignment but it still feels funny. Kinda like both front tires are toed inward. It's overly sensitive to features in the road (hence the as if it was on ice feeling).

I took it back to Goodyear and they did it again. It's only marginally better now and still feels weird. It's lost all it's nimbleness and it only has 12k miles on it.

Stock Dunlops, good and even in appearance tread.

Original problem MAY have started a few months ago when the dealer rotated the tires. It seemed to pull after that and then I did it in worse with the snow we had.

 

[BC4Runner]

I'd take it to the dealer and let them do an alignment. Toyota offered one free to me during the warranty period.

 

[J.A.]

How exactly did you throw it out of alignment in the snow, hit a curb? The dealer would have done the first alignment for free as stated above if it was close to the initial purchase time.

 

[Annoyed]

I'd give the dealer a crack at it too.

Sounds like mine, though. Steering wheel is a degree or two off center, but it doesn't pull, and it could be described as twitchy; responds to the slightest touch on the wheel, in either direction. Very tight.

But I happen to like that. I'd rather drive something that is tight & responsive as hell rather than something you feel like your steering box is a bowl of mush.

I probably will have the dealer check it in the spring, though, after I put a lift on it. I want to go up just an inch or so in the front & rear, and that will require alignment afterwards. But it won't be warm enough to work on it here till April or May. =(

 

[Vizwar]

Snow here is funny... they will plow the dots off the main roads and completely ignore all others. So you appraoch a main road from a cross street and by the time you hit wet pavement you're already turning your wheel so the side of your tire contacts good traction while still moving straight ahead. Sometimes I was just impatient and others I was honestly trying to be good about it.

Yes, mine is twitchy, but I wouldn't say responsive. When it was very new the steering was heavy, I loved that. Now it's light and a small breeze from a passing VW will blow me around.