Camry still drifting left after alignment

Is the steering wheel properly centered? Notice any smell from the brakes that might indicate a dragging brake? Any reason to suspect the car has been subjected to a major suspension jolt? Have you tried swapping the tires from side to side to see if this has any affect (I know this is unlikely since you have new tires).

I would suggest trying a different alignment shop. The equipment is only as good as the operator. Check with people you know and try to find an experienced alignment shop.

References:

Ah, nothing like moving far left. I'm far left, what the problem? I've hijacked the democrat party.

Thanks Ed. That was going to be my next try. I just thought since it was in warranty that Toyota should do it.

Not a good idea (safety/handling) to vary tire pressure from side to side to compensate!

ED. You JUST might discover that caster and camber are not adjustable on Camry. Check it out. ONLY toe. Maybe you should investigate how many Fords are similar.

There ar a number of ways to apply compensating adjustments to correct a cars tendency (when the reason is difficult to find) to pull to one side, even after correct alignment.

Most aligners just do the job using the specs supplied by the manufacturer and then hand it back. I would ask the aligner to make an adjustment to the castor and/or camber to bring the car back to straight-tracking. The real reason the car pulls, maybe due to a factor everyone has missed or not even checked ie the body-chassis is out of alignment or not 'square'. By this I mean the wheel-base and or track is not equal. There has to be a reason.

Jason

"Philip®" wrote:

Philip, I never suggested that the Camry's caster or camber should be checked or adjusted - ZZZonka Tonka did. The last Ford I owned that did not have adjustable Caster and Camber was a Fiesta. Some of the others reqired a kit to make the adjustment, but all could be adjusted. On the other hand, I have not had an alignment performed on any vehicle I have owned since 1992. I owned a Mustang that pulled as the Camry mentioned in the original message. I was sure the alignment was out, so I took the vehicle to an alignment shop I trust (I did not trust the Ford Dealer to get it right, even though the car was still under warranty). The technician drove the car, checked it on his machine and then explained the problem to me. There was a broken belt in one of the tires (Goodyear Eagles). He took the time to show me the tire and expalin the situation. There was a slight inconsistency in the tread that I never detected until he showed me. He said the alignment was nearly perfect and that new tires would fix the problem. He was 100% correct. The Eagles were near end of life, so it was not a big deal. And the alignement shop only charged be $15 for the whole diagnosis. It is a great shop. It was the tird thime I had taken a vehicle there for an alignment. In one of the other cases, they actuually had to do some work (for a modest fee) and the other time, they told me there was no problem with the car, I just needed new tires, and they sent me off without charging anything. This is the kind of shop the individual with the pulling Camry needs to find. Honest hard working technicians who know thier buisness. As you can imagine the shop I use is always busy. You usually have to make an appoint weeks in advance although they do try to work in emergencies.

Ed

posted:

amount

Ed, you are correct. I misread the post "trail."

Would be nice if people followed the established thread practice of bottom posting.

Well they probably should, although I am not sure what your warranty covers. However, it has been my experience that most dealerships do not have the best front end men. It seems that if they get good at it, they go out on their own.

Ed

Ok,

I have attached the last alignment that they did. I would like to know the folowing:

1. Are these specs normal?

1. Since it is still pulling sllightly to the left, which way do the specs need to be adjusted to counter this action?

Steve

For a starter it seems like they should adjust the Right Rear Toe some more. I assume these numbers came from the dealer - right? If so, they warned you that the right rear toe was originally incorrect and that it might cause "Tire wear, safety, or handling problems." Apparently they adjusted it, but it is still different than the left rear toe (both wheels are turned slightly inward - the right one a little more so). I am not an alignment expert, but I am inclined to think this could contribute to your problem. Did you notice any improvement in the problem after they did the first adjustment?

Regards,

Ed White

I brought my 02 Camry to the dealer as it wanders. I have to make frequent adjustments and really keep my eyes on the lanes. Dealer charged me(only covered under warrant for 1 year) for an allignment....and said allignment was fine but the steering wheel was not straigt up and down. Feels a little better but still wanders. I have under 11,000 miles and am thinking of getting rid of it do to the wandering. PLEASE post an answer to this poblem if anyone comes accross it. I beleive it is a defect in Camry....to many people have complained about this.

Ed,

That was the latest adjusment that they did. I didn't notice any improvement.

Thanks,

Steve

In news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m04.aol.com, Marty009 being of bellicose mind posted:

The steering wheel can only be positioned on the steering shaft one way so .... getting it centered requires balancing the left and right side tie rod adjustments. If your dealer can't seem to get this right, then you'll HAVE to go elsewhere.

The single most effective steering parameter to stop wandering is castor, which unfortunately is not adjustable on many Macpherson strut equipped cars. The Camry is no different wrt camber as well.

You need to take the aligner for a drive and demonstrate the car's problem. I've found mine does 'little wanders' which are small and do not go far enough to warrant a corrective measure at the steering -wheel. This car has done 100,000 miles (160,000 ks) and is 8 years old.

There maybe something else going on: worn strut bushes (meaning the strut's ram-bush),...strut upper mount,...lower control arm bushes or ball- joint (is a 'locating' or non load bearing ball-joint, but will cause wander if worn), worn/sloppy in-board steering knuckle (lives inside the rack boots), worn outer tie-rod joint.

The rear suspension can 'steer' the car if there is any instability in the mounts/bushes as well. The rear wheel toe-in is adjustable, and can cause pulling to one side if incorrect.

Some tires can have a detrimental effect on tracking if they are over-inflated, however I've noticed the Camry is normally tolerant of tire condition. The theory here is: tires which are over-inflated or are the old 'cross-ply' design (not radials) have less flexibility in the side walls. This stops the walls flexing which in turns causes the road undulations to make the tyre follow them, thus causing wander.

Steering instability can be characterised as one or both front wheels moving independant of the steering wheel position. Old Valiants used to go thru idler-arms pretty quickly and a worn example could be picked up by jacking the passenger-side of the front and testing the road wheel for lateral movement. This test can be done on your car on both front wheels to test for worn suspension parts.

Poor front or rear alignment can cause a type of wander, which is really a case of pulling. What happens there is, if the car is pulling to one side, you will have to apply corrective effort at the steering wheel, and, when the car goes over some road-undulations the lessened road contact will allow the car to pull harder or go-further to the side it's pulling to.

Jason

Thanx for the full explanation re wandering. I was driving on I95 yesterday. It was quite windy and the car was really hard to keep in lane. When not in windit is was much better. I have come to the conclusion that the steering is so sensitve that the car wander do to change in road level, wind and all characteristics that would only slightly effect my old 1987 Camry. So, maybe this is more of a stearing problem? I feel in control driving the old Camry...not the 02! Marty

Make sure your tires are properly inflated per the manufacturer's recommendation. Years ago I had a Mazda. For some reason when I had the car serviced by a "pro" they inflated the tires to the maximum pressure listed on the tire sidewalls. It made the car very "nervous." Resetting the pressures to the manufacturer's recommendation cured the problem.

Ed