Car drifting to right

Curio · 21 May 2013 at 16:45

'07 Toyota Camry. Noticed in recent months it was drifting to the right - sometimes quite badly depending on the road. The steering wheel would be straight as it did so. It had its service last week, so I told them to check the alignment. They did, and reported the alignment was indeed out. They fixed it and test drove it - all good. However, it now seems worse than before :mad:

Obviously I'll be taking it back. Just wondering what could be going on? Tires maybe? I think they rotated the tires and checked pressure as part of the service. Could it be a sign of something more serious and expensive?

Just want to be prepared for any technical explanations they throw at me, as I know nothing beyond the very basics.

Thanks!

Clarkey · 21 May 2013 at 16:48

Curio said:
They fixed it and test drove it - all good. However, it now seems worse than before

So it was worse than before right after you got it back, or it was good for a while and then got worse?

acemastr · 21 May 2013 at 16:49

Is the back end 'crabbing' out or is it the front end?

Tracking or a single wheel pointing in an odd direction could cause it, any odd wear on any of the tyres?

brendy · 21 May 2013 at 16:55

Try and find an alignment centre that uses the Hunter system rather than the more common old fashioned systems that can be out by quite a bit.

Curio · 21 May 2013 at 17:04

Clarkey said:
So it was worse than before right after you got it back, or it was good for a while and then got worse?

Right after I got it back. I actually thought it was no different at first, but having driven for a couple days I'm convinced it's a little worse than before. I would have just turned around and gone straight back to the place, however the service center was closed by that point.

Is the back end 'crabbing' out or is it the front end?

Tracking or a single wheel pointing in an odd direction could cause it, any odd wear on any of the tyres?

Just the front end. To give some idea to what degree it's drifting, I would estimate that at 30mph, if I let go of the wheel, it would drift into the curb in about 4-5 seconds. Although it can be worse/better depending on the road.

I assume everything else is good or they would have found something during the service checks....they're usually keen to find things after all.

Clarkey · 21 May 2013 at 17:27

Seems simple, take it back and ask them to do it properly.
However, the kerb? You said right not left, make your mind up

Curio · 21 May 2013 at 17:58

Clarkey said:
Seems simple, take it back and ask them to do it properly.
However, the kerb? You said right not left, make your mind up

Look at my location

Yeah, I know they need it back. I just want to be armed with as much info as possible in case they say something like "ahh, yeah, your X43 flange brackets are shot - that will be 5,000 bucks please"

PobodY · 21 May 2013 at 18:11

Has it hit a kerb at any point? Bent wishbone (for example) could mean that the alignment is fine when the car is unloaded, but as soon as it has weight it in the geometry is all wrong.

Clarkey · 21 May 2013 at 18:12

Ok, I see now

.
Sounds like they just didn't align it properly tbh. It's possible that they did though and the car won't hold it's alignment, in which case it's likely to be a bad bush or ball joint somewhere.