2009 Vibe GT Steering Issues

[kingcaff]

Hey guys just wanted to share my experience so far with my VIBE GT 2009.
Great car overall, bought it three years ago and love it, drives tight and controlled great zip in city driving and decent mpg.
Problems I have just encountered:

Was doing some preventative maintenance including new tie rod ends, ball joints, and four new tires. I installed all the hardware and took the car to get the tires balanced and an alignment. Got the car back a few hours later and the technician said "hey your steering is really out of wack, you probably need a new rack and pinion, your car will drive itself into a turn and the wheel wont straighten, it does this when turning either direction" It was a shock to me since this vehicle was in pristine condition; there was nothing wrong before putting some new front end gear on. So needless to say I drove it to the nearest dealer, it drove like crap, wandering over the road and steering into a corner felt awful and it was not a fun experience by any means, felt like crap going over bumps too!! OhmanwhathaveIdone.jpg The dealer just told me today that my steering column is going to need replaced along with some torque-turning sensors and a few other things, also the electric steering motor which comes attached to assembly will all be replaced. This is going to cost around 950 USD.

Moral of story : Do not "repair things when nothing is wrong with them"..... Blasting myself every minute for this because it was my bright idea to replace some older parts and tires just to prevent future failings. Went from driving great, straight and true to driving like a turd in some poo...

[kingcaff]

I will update with all stats and receipts and dealer findings when they are done, it is going to take a few days till they get the parts in shop.

[gtv237]

There is supposedly a common problem with the steering column but I don't think that was your problem. Vehicles equipped with electronic steering require digital calibration after an alignment. Most shops still don't have the tools to do the calibration. And the problem with GM dealers is that they have no idea what they're doing because the car is designed by Toyota. The technician probably seen the column needed calibration and recommended replacement instead. Either because they didn't know any better or because they're trying to rip you. You might be better off taking it to a Toyota dealer as they have the resources to calibrate the Toyota designed column.

[jolt]

Take your car to a Toyota dealer and have them do a four wheel alignment on it. As gtv237 said, they have the scanner to reset the steering controller after the alignment. Steering Angle Sensor Initialization and Steering Shaft Torque Sensor Zero Point Calibration (Scan Tool) is what is needed after the four wheel alignment, provided that someone didn't short something out and cause damage to the Electronic Power Steering Motor Control Module.