Steering wheel almost 1/4 turn to the left when moving off

[Casa1862]

Can anyone help, the steering wheel on my Lexus IS300h moves to the left by almost 1/4 turn when moving off, you can keep it in this position and the car still move forward straight until about 10 mph, when corrected the car pulls to the left and has a steering shake up to about 35 mph, after this the shake goes particularly at motorway speeds.

The tyre pressures are fine, I don't think it could be wheel balancing as it happens as soon as you move off and steering shake only at low speed.

I've had the alignment checked at STS using a Hunters machine and they say it's fine and no adjustment needed.

Any suggestions, I think it could be a steering fault, the car is covered under warranty but I've been advised by Lexus of a £250 diagnostic fee if problem not covered under warranty, hence just want to make sure I've covered all bases before i drive it to them.

[E-bmw]

Casa1862 said:

Can anyone help, the steering wheel on my Lexus IS300h moves to the left by almost 1/4 turn when moving off, you can keep it in this position and the car still move forward straight until about 10 mph, when corrected the car pulls to the left

Your description isn't great here, so I am struggling to get exactly what you mean, so I will try with what you say.

So, if you hold the wheel in the 1/4 turn to the left position does the car continue to drive straight ahead?

[ARHarh]

You have something seriously wrong with your steering and you need to get it looked at before driving it again. From your description I have no idea what could be wrong, but I do know it should not do what you are describing.

[MissChief]

This could be a tyre problem as well. I had a car that did similar to this and it turned out the front left tyre had delaminated internally but the tread was still attached. Get all your tyres checked.

[Casa1862]

E-bmw said:

Your description isn't great here, so I am struggling to get exactly what you mean, so I will try with what you say.

So, if you hold the wheel in the 1/4 turn to the left position does the car continue to drive straight ahead?

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry, what i meant was, when moving off, if you let go of the steering wheel it 1/4 turns to the left on a perfectly flat road, but the car still seems to travel straight. It never used to do this, always was perfectly straight, now you have to correct the steering wheel and it shakes up to 35 mph, the car still pulls to the left at any speed and you need to hold the steering more positively then before.

[Casa1862]

MissChief said:

This could be a tyre problem as well. I had a car that did similar to this and it turned out the front left tyre had delaminated internally but the tread was still attached. Get all your tyres checked.

Tyres are all good, I checked them, they where replaced about 3 month ago with 4 new Michelin tyres.

I also had new disc and pads done at the weekend, however the problem was there before the brakes done.

[GreenV8S]

Casa1862 said:

Can anyone help, the steering wheel on my Lexus IS300h moves to the left by almost 1/4 turn when moving off, you can keep it in this position and the car still move forward straight until about 10 mph, when corrected the car pulls to the left and has a steering shake up to about 35 mph, after this the shake goes particularly at motorway speeds.

You have a serious fault in a safety critical system. Get it recovered to a garage able to diagnose it - that would be a main dealer if it's under warranty. If you have to move the car before then, treat it as though a wheel could fall off at any moment ie stick to very low speed and be prepared to do an emergency stop at any moment.

Casa1862 said:

at motorway speeds

You're driving at motorway speeds in a car with a major steering fault?

To put this into perspective, those symptoms make me think of something slipping in the steering column, or a ball joint loose or failing in the suspension or steering, or a loose rack mount. Any of these could develop into total loss of steering control and/or the wheels steering themselves in random directions. The thought of somebody knowingly driving at motorway speeds with symptoms like this is horrifying.

Edited by GreenV8S on Monday 10th February 14:25

[E-bmw]

Casa1862 said:

E-bmw said:

Your description isn't great here, so I am struggling to get exactly what you mean, so I will try with what you say.

So, if you hold the wheel in the 1/4 turn to the left position does the car continue to drive straight ahead?

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry, what i meant was, when moving off, if you let go of the steering wheel it 1/4 turns to the left on a perfectly flat road, but the car still seems to travel straight. It never used to do this, always was perfectly straight, now you have to correct the steering wheel and it shakes up to 35 mph, the car still pulls to the left at any speed and you need to hold the steering more positively then before.

Yeah, as others have said you have a potentially MAJOR issue with your steering/suspension that NEEDS to be sorted ASAP.

Just another point, whoever did the alignment, don't take it there, as there is clearly something going on that any competent mechanic working in the area should have noticed/checked first.

[Casa1862]

I initially assumed it would be a tracking or balancing issue as I didn't notice the turn of the steering wheel to the left when moving off until this weekend.

[E-bmw]

Casa1862 said:

I initially assumed it would be a tracking or balancing issue as I didn't notice the turn of the steering wheel to the left when moving off until this weekend.

Wobble could be balancing amongst other things.

Steering pulling is never tracking as the wheel just centres in a different position in the middle of the misalignment, it does not do what you are experiencing, at least by my understanding of what you have said.