Avensis Steering/handling

[Julian2]

Here we are again .My D4D with 215/55 16 Kuhomo (sp?) on the front tends to "tramline" on minor roads with uneven surfaces.It's just as though the car wants to steer itself .I tried going up from the recommended 32psi but it doesn't make much difference.Maybe it's the tyres ,although they've done around 3k miles and the wear looks even across the tread on both sides .Also I just have this feeling that it's more due to the inside wheel .At the back I have two odd tyres a Michelin and an NCT both at 32psi.

I've read a lot on this forum about Avensis and tyres and it seems this car is more tyre sensitive than most .

[Shoto]

Hi Julian. I'm not sure about the particular combination on your car but some makes of tyre don't mix well when fitted to the same axle. Why not have a free check at a tyre fitters? I believe Kwik Fit and others offer such a service.

My T180 is coming up to 10,000 miles from new and is still on the original fit Goodyear Eagles.

The Goodyears seem fairly well suited to the car, it remains to be seen what will happen when the leasing company try to force me to change to Michelins (their normal strategy). The switch to Michelins on my previous car (BMW 320d) was not a success as I experienced an increase in road noise (tyre roar) and the car was much more susceptible to 'tram-lining' along imperfections in the road surface. I guess a number of cars may be sensitive to different tyres, same applies to motorcycles in my experience.

[Julian2]

Hi Julian. I'm not sure about the particular combination on your car but some makes of tyre don't mix well when fitted to the same axle. Why not have a free check at a tyre fitters? I believe Kwik Fit and others offer such a service.

My T180 is coming up to 10,000 miles from new and is still on the original fit Goodyear Eagles.

The Goodyears seem fairly well suited to the car, it remains to be seen what will happen when the leasing company try to force me to change to Michelins (their normal strategy). The switch to Michelins on my previous car (BMW 320d) was not a success as I experienced an increase in road noise (tyre roar) and the car was much more susceptible to 'tram-lining' along imperfections in the road surface. I guess a number of cars may be sensitive to different tyres, same applies to motorcycles in my experience.

Thanks for your views Shoto.

I don't mix tyres on the same axle as it were .I've read a lot of reports about tyre pressures being crucial and that Toyota's pressures are not to be trusted .Also I did notice that as the temperatures dropped to zero and below over the past few days that the "tramlining" was getting a little more noticeable.

Car goes into a dealer next week to get the ever present ABS light sorted .Maybe they'll have some input .