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Toyota Corolla Electric-Assist Power Steering (EPS)

98 messages,  Last post on Oct 29, 2009 at 2:09 PM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Corolla, Steering, Sedan

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#96 of 98 Re: steering - improved!! [terceltom] by gerrya Oct 28, 2009 (6:34 am)
Replying to: terceltom (Oct 28, 2009 5:41 am) You kinda have to decide which way you want it to be, I guess. He could just as well have set it up to track straight in the left lane but drift right in the slow lane. Set up the way it is now, it tracks without any effort in the slow lane and drifts ever so very slightly to the left when in the fast lane - but you're not supposed to be out there unless you're speeding or passing, in which case you had better be hanging on tighter anyway. Can't have it both ways.   I do wish I'd done a longer test drive when I bought the car, but I doubt I'd have picked up on it even if I had. The car bounced around a bit on the road, but it didn't strike me as unusual at the time. My 2 previous Corollas were quite susceptible to buffetting from crosswinds, so I put it down to the same thing - it was a typical January winter day in Ontario, not exactly ideal conditions for a test drive. I put snow tires on for the winter, and I kinda put it down to that for a while - snows can affect your steering. But I got concerned when I put the OEM tires back on in the spring and it still wandered. Foolish me, I should have got it aligned much sooner.   There's a young guy working at the same place as me who commutes long distance with an identical car. He has had no issue or concern whatsoever.   On a happier note: I don't know how accurate the in-car fuel economy readout is, but running little over the limit (105 km/h = 65 mph) the economy on this car is incredible!
#97 of 98 Re: steering - improved!! [gerrya] by zikzak Oct 29, 2009 (12:11 pm)
Replying to: gerrya (Oct 28, 2009 4:54 am) That makes so much sense. Thank you for the possible soluation to our problem. I've talked to my wife & daughter about your suggestion, and although the dealer said it was OK during it's last oil change, I will issist on seeing them perform the check....instead of taking their word for it. Again, thank you. Replies to this message: dantz (Oct 29, 2009 2:09 pm)
#98 of 98 Re: steering - improved!! [zikzak] by dantz Oct 29, 2009 (2:09 pm)
Replying to: zikzak (Oct 29, 2009 12:11 pm) My assumption all along has been that these cars were the victims of bean-counter mentality. Some decision-makers at Toyota probably thought that it made the best economic sense to reduce the steering caster to the minimum acceptable level in order to reduce the load on the EPS motor. This would allow lighter steering, a lower wattage motor, a smaller alternator, a smaller battery, lower wattage cabling, etc., and the result would be a measurable cost and weight savings, plus of course a slight increase in fuel efficiency. The flipside, of course, is the unacceptable reduction in directional stability. They made their choice and they took their chances, but it looks like the buyers have noticed it after all, and complained about it, so I'd say that in retrospect it was the wrong decision.   However, I'd be very wary of increasing the caster beyond design spec. It might introduce a whole new spectrum of handling issues. Better to wait until Toyota redesigns the steering geometry so that everything works the way it should.

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