(1) Car Information:
-Year/Trim: Scion FRS 2013 10 Series
-Millage: 110,000
-Trans: Manual
-Location- Lower United Sates ( never in the north)
(2) Problem:
My steering wheel does not always point straight when driving straight. Straight position wanders with steering wheel 10 degrees clockwise after left hand turn and/or intense bump and/or elevation change in road. Creates hazard. I pucker the poop shoot every time turning left at speed. I describe the issue as feels like the car is tripping over itself.
What is going on Scotty!!?!?!?!?
(3) Problem Origination:
Ran over rubber wheel choc with front RH/Passenger side wheel. Swerved left , hit it, then ran off road. Insurance covered initial body work in late 2021 into 2022. ( New bumper, side rail bondo)
(4) Symptoms (since wreck, some days are worse, some days very minor):
-Increased bump steer
- Floaty suspension
- When steering wheel angle locks clockwise, small to large jerk back to center as steering wheel returns to 0 degrees. This typically causes ABS to turn on. I reduce speed.
-when steering wheel angle locks clockwise, I can jerk steering wheel to return to center, hit bump to return to center, or wait to be jerked back. If road is even, I can drive over a mile with steering wheel positioned/locked 10 degrees clockwise. (At times when jerking steering wheel back to center ABS engages. At times I feel like I can hear a small grinding sound as I jerk the wheel, which may still be ABS but no ABS light.)
-Pinball effect, when issue happens at speed (typically on uneven and/or change in elevation chicanes on freeway) , jerk back to center starts left to right death wobble. Feels like controlling a floating bull as the gauge cluster lights up like a Christmas tree.
-Long left hand freeway ramps if taken at speed starts ABS on left hand wheel. NO ISSUE when turning right at speed.
-When ABS engages. Light does not always go off unless intense ABS. When car is put in Trac Off, ABS still engages with Issue. No change in symptoms.
-Problem intensifies over uneven roads or large change in elevation
-Increased speed on even roads with less than ~10 degree steering wheel angle variation left or right , NO ISSUE
-Increased inside tire wear. Bald tires wander worse then full tread tires.
-(other)I know I probably need new bushings, front suspension sounds like bag of rocks when going over minor rough terrain at parking lot speeds.
(5) Work that has been done over 1 year period to try and fix: ( At first Service would not believe me and shrugged me off)
-Multiple Alignments by Dealer
-ABS Diagnostic by Dealer
-New steering rack assembly including inner an outer tie rods by Dealer (This hardened the steering and helped stop the pinball effect)
-Steering angle recall by Dealer
-Computer codes reset by dealer
-New Brakes by me (Helped reduce ABS intervention at lower speeds)
-New rotors by me
-Added Brake Fluid
-New Tires (Current tires Micheline AS4, Previous Micheline AS3/+, will need 2 new tires soon from front end issue chewing them up)
-Reducing/increase tire pressure
(6) Documentation
I am at a loss here. I love my car. I have no clue what is happening. When I even attempt spirited driving, its not possible unless I speed through the ABS warning and loose half my steering ability. With the bump steer back to neutral wheel, I've almost had various new wrecks solo and with other cars. I have written this long format in the hopes all this information will lead to a solution. I also know dealership service is not the brightest, had 4 visits for the same cam plate oil leak when the car was under 30,000k miles and still under bumper to bumper.
Realize once you had something all bets are off. Things can get bent that you can't adjust for with front and alignments. I would start by going to the best friend and alignment shop. You can find one that does rebuilds of racks and stuff and see what they say
Welcome new member. Tough one.
Only hunch I have is the wheel bearing. Could cause erratic steering, noises, and ABS problems (the ABS sensor is mounted in the hub/bearing assembly). I believe your bearings are made by Subaru, which is known for weak bearings (but inexpensive to replace). Only thing is I would have expected a bearings problem to have been noticed by now.
just a thought.
