GoodRevs

Sorry for another one of my threads, just trying to sort out everything before this 2 month warranty runs out.

It seems my 2001 ES300 is pulling slightly to the right. This includes the steering wheel being slightly turned to the right. I did some researching online and a cause I said mentioned again and again is the brakes and calipers. This concerns me because I brought the car in this past monday to have the brakes bled due to being spongy. According to the invoice they performed a "FOUR WHEEL BRAKE SYSTEM FLUSH/BLEED". As best I can remember (as I've only been driving the car since monday anyway) it didn't pull to the right.

So my question is could a brake system flush on all 4 wheels that may have been done slightly improperly be causing the slight pulling to the right that I am experiencing?

Thanks a ton for your help.

llcoolpass

there are so many things that could cause this including what you mentioned.
first you lift the front end, and check for play [holding wheel at 12 an 6, then 9 and 3 .. and trying to make wheel wobble] on both sides. at this time, inspect the axles and any leaks from trans seals.
assuming it passes
then you lower, break lose lug nuts, raise again, remove wheels inspect brakes and tires.
caliper piston can seize, the caliper slide pin can be a place for seize. inspect and lube up.

if it still does it, check the rear , same idea as front.

if that passes, sw the rear wheels to the front, and fmr front to the rear -- test drive it -- see if its radial pull that's causing it.

if it still does it, you do alignment check and adjustment.

if it still does it, internal transmission issue or similar.

ruelpogi

Try swapping the left and front tires. The problem could be tire pull. See if it goes away.

mmlex1987

I don't think it is a good idea to go from left to right. i would just rotate from front to rear to try an eliminate the possible shifted belt issue in your right front tire. Since you just got the vehicle you have no idea when the problem started so as llcoolpass stated, there are many factors that may be causing the issue.

GEORGE_JET

You do not mention in your post if the pull is during accelleration, deceleration, or all the time. It is very significant when you feel the pull. Also you mention a 2 month warranty, I quess that it is safe to assume that you have no clue on the history of the car. Since there is a warranty, I would then assume that you purchased it from a dealer. Did you have the car inspected by a independent mechanic before you purchased.

llcoolpass

george jet caught what I forgot to mention , accel or decel or cruise ....... but still, you gotta check the stuff i mentioned

good pt on the warranty. these kind of posts drive me up the walls, but dont worry, got my happy pills right here. the fact is, you should use your warranty to get the estimate or do the stuff I mentioned. if you get the estimate, then run it by us, then we can give the go ahead ... but practically, you will likely go there armed with the info george jet and I said and just have them fix it as long as it sounds like they are talking about the same stuff.

anyway, happy new years eve ........ it's end of the decade - 1 year, woohoo!!

GoodRevs

I wanted to drive the car for a bit before I replied. Unfortunately we got a good amount of snow this weekend which wasn't ideal for looking at this issue. However, I does not seem to pull to the right under acceleration or while cruising, only while accelerating.

llcoolpass, I appreciate the pointers on what to check on. Unfortunately however I don't have a lift or jack to do that work, and I could see the possibility of it becoming a greater issue if I did work like that on the car and then brought it in for service. I could just imagine them saying, "We'd be happy to honor the warranty, but due to the alterations you performed on the vehicle recently we have no way of verifying if the issue was caused by you." Basically, I have another 45 days on this warranty, let them look at it.

So given that it drifts/pulls only when accelerating, what should I ask they look at, inspect and fix when I bring it in?

llcoolpass

based on what you have said, it would seem most likely, but not only or exclusive, that you have poor alignment, torque steer [not so easy to alleviate without making expensive purchases that may or may not get rid of it] or worn suspension/steering components.
if you can't check the stuff in my post, then a shop will do it for you very easily. it would likely be a free inspection and estimate. call first. go to at least two different places for estimate.
good luck.

GoodRevs

Thanks for the follow up. I'm hoping that the wheels just need to be aligned. That's what first occurred to a few of my friends as well. And it's not very expensive either, correct me if I'm wrong.

3000

Poor alignment
Wheel unbalanced
Tire over/under inflated
That's all I can think of.

llcoolpass

before the alignment, a professional will check the wheel in the manner I described

GEORGE_JET

One other question that I have, is how many miles is on the car? If it pulls only when you accelerate, I would suggest to first check tire pressures. Then I would look at the suspension bushings, and the engine/transmission mounts. Toyota has done a good job at engineering out torque steer, so something has to be abnormal. The most likely suspect is that something is moving when engine torque is applied, and this movement is changing the alignment. If you do not feel the pull on deceleration, I would suspect engine/trans mounts first. Keep in mind that it takes a experience to isolate the symptoms accurately. Since you now have snow, it will be that much harder.

llcoolpass

did i leave out motor mounts? lol good call.
[ just to babble on, my car has a bit of torque steer on hard accel and motor barely moves at all its mounts are so good. this is not proof of anything, im just stating it for the record. ]
i didn't say tire pressures but i suppose i should have. then again a pro will be checking this and will find that.

one thing we left out, does the car look like this?