Toyota Avensis Steering Problem

[celticstar]

I'm only guessing it's a steering problem from the way it feels and what I've read here already.

I've taken it too my local garage for a quick check and they couldn't see anything obviously wrong.

It's a 2001 D4D Estate I bought used in 2004 and has just gone over 100000 miles.

My problems began last year when I took the car to my local garage to have two new (front) tyres and a new starter motor fitted. I was advised that the offside front brake had slight binding and that they had swapped offside front tyre to nearside rear.

I started to get a lot of vibrations that you could feel through the steering wheel at around 60mph so took it to kwik fit to have the wheels balanced/aligned and they said that they had needed adjusting but I found this made very little difference to how the car handled, they also mentioned the brake binding.

I couldn't afford to have the brakes sorted at that time so I stopped using it for a little while during which time the offside parking brake seized so I had to get a mobile mechanic to come out and sort that out before it could go to the garage. When it got there in October it had new front brake discs & pads, offside brake caliper, a new offside handbrake cable and a MOT

The vibrations were hardly noticeable after this, I was a little disappointed that I could still feel something but it was much better. Then a couple of weeks ago it started to feel strange when I reversed out of a parking space and this has gradually got worse and the car is now horrible to drive most of the time. It feels like the wheel is stuck.

After I bought the car I found a Toyota safety report saying there was excessive play in the steering rack bushes and a steering check was required but I don't know if any work was ever done. It's always had that steering 'squeak' but until now I haven't had any other problems with the steering or anything else.

It been a brilliant car I'm just not sure what to do now. The last lot of work cost quite a bit and given it's age I'm not sure how wise it is spending any more.

Any ideas?

Sorry it was a bit long, I'm not sure what might be relevant.

Thanks, Tracey.

[Jamesbelfast]

Could well be a handbrake related problem since you noticed something not quite right after parking.

But in all honesty only a proper investigation would reveal the exact problem and likely cost of repairs.:)

[celticstar]

Could well be a handbrake related problem since you noticed something not quite right after parking.

But in all honesty only a proper investigation would reveal the exact problem and likely cost of repairs.:)

Thanks for your reply. I've got a bit of time before the tax and MOT run out so I think I'll start thinking about a replacement.

[alan333]

It sounds like you might have a problem that no-one has gotten to the bottom of yet. The starter motor replacement will be nothing to do with it.

Firstly the vibrations you originally felt at 60mph... Bad wheel alignment shouldn't give you vibrations at any speed - it's more likely to cause the car pull to one side or feel "vague" at certain corners etc.

However a warped brake disc will give you vibration at certain speeds. Usually a warped FRONT disc can be felt thru the brake pedal and steering wheel whereas a warped REAR disc feels a bit like a wobbly back end. Try braking fairly hard at around 70mph and see if the vibration is more pronounced - if it is then it's probably brake disc related.

If the vibration isn't more pronounced during harsh braking then you could be looking at perhaps a buckled wheel (like the one they changed from the back onto the front - you'll feel a vibration from a slightly buckled FRONT wheel but not really from a REAR one), or a bent driveshaft or something.

A binding brake would make the car feel like the brakes are partially stuck on, and could cause vibration - but the vibration comes from the alleged warped disc and not necessarily the actual bind itself. Try slowing to almost a halt on a level road and see if the car stops as if the brake is partly on - if it does then the brakes are partly stuck on...LOL.

My conclusion - By your description I think you've got a binding brake. This would feel like the brakes are partly jammed on, and it would get worse the further you drive as the brake disc heats up. If you've been driving long distances (or the brake is severely jammed) then you've probably warped the new disc on the faulty wheel. This would give you vibration. Take the car back to where you got the new discs/pads/caliper/cable fitted and get them to check it. If there's a fault I'd be STRONGLY arguing for the repair work to be carried out free.

As a quick and easy check feel each wheel after a run and see if any of them are hot - the warm/hot one's the faulty one.

I wouldn't necessarily think of replacing the car beacause of this - you just need a decent mechanic.

Apologies if I seem a bit patronising in my long winded reply but I'm assuming you're not too mechanically minded. And I absolutely CANT STAND people getting ripped off by poor quality workmanship.

Hope this helps.

Alan :)