Steering Drifts To The Left

calc · February 9, 2004

When I let go of the wheel on my new ES330 it drifts to the left and is annoying.

I've brought mine in for the third time since I bought it a month ago. They are now waiting for a "bolt assembly", mine being deficient. Some comments please.

Calc

HoeBag · February 9, 2004

bolt assembly? rofl

try getting your wheels rebalanced and get 4 wheel alignment done, a lot cheaper than getting into changing the axles, etc

SW03ES · February 10, 2004

Well at this point its the dealership's problem so I say let them keep it until they make it right...

The ES is very sensitive to different air pressures from one side of the car to the other, this can cause a drift. If the dealership seems to think there is some sort of deficiency in the alignment hardware though, let em try that.

amf1932 · February 10, 2004

I once had a pull to the left in a different car that I owned, so to test it out I put the left tire on the right and the right tire on the left. It actually stopped pulling after this little experiment. Sometimes this pull is caused by the tread wear pattern and has nothing to do with the front end alignment.

poppabear · February 24, 2004

When I changed my tires to asymetrical ones, I got a drift problem. With regular tires, they can solve a drift problem by switching sides, but you can't with asymetrical ones. They are designed to only rotate in one direction. I finally got regular tires, and it solved my drift.

So, try switching your tires from left side to right side.

JudyinTX · February 27, 2004

I've been monitoring this particular topic as my new ES330 has also been drifting to the left. I reported it to the dealership the same day I drove it home last month. They picked it up the next morning and did a four wheel alignment check, only to make extremely minor adjustments.

This did not correct the problem, so when I took it in today for the initial 30 day check at the dealership, I described it again as a 'drift to the left' instead of a 'pull'. I also mentioned that my steering wheel was not completely level & appeared a smitch off to the left.

After trying several things today (to no avail) my dealership just called me and said they found the problem. Told me it was a known problem to Lexus & there's even a TSB out on it, but my VIN # didn't meet the TSB criteria for VIN's involved, so it was slower to come to their attention. But, come to find out, my ES330 had the same problem described in the TSB which has to do with a strut spring not being installed correctly. They corrected it according to the TSB & said it fixed the drift problem as well as the steering wheel. Can't wait to get it back tomorrow to test it out but wanted to go ahead & share the TSB announcement they told me about on the phone a couple hours ago.

JudyinTX

JudyinTX · February 28, 2004

Just so everyone will know, I picked my car up today from the dealership and the strut spring problem on the Lexus TSB mentioned above, completely fixed my car from drifting to the left, as well as fixing the ever-so-slightly off centered steering wheel. It drove like a different vehicle (althought it's always been smooth... it was just a little too much to the left for my taste). ha

I'm elated. Now I can relax and truly enjoy the vehicle rather than being distracted by this problem. Everyone is right, it's annoying. But now that it's fixed, even the steering wheel has a different feel.

JudyinTX

adam1991 · February 28, 2004

Don't laugh at things like "bolt assembly" problems. Honda had an issue a couple years ago where the front end subframe was bolted on a little too far to one direction, causing a drift to the left.

Their solution? Thinner bolts at the front of the subframe assembly, and a large lever. The tech uses the lever to shove the assembly over just a hair and tighten it down in a new location, a location the older, thicker bolts didn't allow for.

Things happen in a manufacturing facility. Good manufacturers make it right to the customer.