Hit curb 10mph brand new Corolla - mild vibration after

After the wheels were rotated, you were supposed to return to the mechanic and have the lug nuts re-torqued after 25 miles of driving. From the picture you posted, you have alloy wheels and not steel wheels. Steel wheels do not require re-torquing. Have you done this?

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@keith on my prior 2010 corolla i was diligent with the 5k mile services, and not once was i told to go back for retorquing and that wasthe dealer.

I’m working all weekend, i’m gonna drive on it and monitor the R turning of the car; monday i’ll ask the mechanic about it.

I was thinking, maybe i have a VERY slightly bent tie rod?

Mechanic #2 noticed steering wheel is crooked. It’s tilting L even when wheels are straight and alignment is confirmed.
Also, i noted over bumpy road or a small pot hole the steering wheel jerks and shimmy like it’s loose, which is another sign.
In addition to the subtle difficulty with R turns, not as tight/precise more “loose”, and a few times, the wheel kinda jerked on a curve angle. I only noticed this when the unaffected R wheel was put on and the suspect wheel rotated to back.

But if the tie rod is bent, it would explain all of those signs - steering wheel is tilted, floppy/jiggle steer wheel over pot hole, and less tight/precise R turn on affected side. What do you think?

Its funny my mechanic pointed out the tilted wheel, i didnt notice it. However he saidalignment is ok. But if tilted after alignment, kinda suggests maybe a tie rod is bent.

If everything was indeed okay, the steering wheel would not be crooked

I suggest you take the advice already given, which is to take the car to a shop which specializes in alignment and front end work. An independent shop, not affiliated with any tire brand.

I, like many of the others, suspect something was damaged during your curb check.

As for tie rods, yes, they often do get damaged as a result of a curb check, along with rims and tires. I’ve seen it a few times

Sometimes, even a relatively slow speed curb check will damage components. The fact that you got lucky with your previous car, doesn’t mean your luck will hold out with this one.

If we are correct, this has nothing to do with warranty. In which case, you either pay out of pocket, or get your insurance involved

@db4690 from what i am reading tie rod is $200, a wheel if required is like $300, this is still less than deductible. As u can see from photo it was a low speed hit, i dobut much in suspension is damaged. Car drives grossly normal its just subtle things like “looseness” on a R turn i am now noticing after rotation. The symptoms i have driving (which started/i noticed after rotation) seem consistent with tie rod being very slightly bent.

I’m gonna run this by mechanic let him know what he thinks, if he doesnt want to inspect it i’ll find another collision shop. This guy does specialize in collision/accident stuff, unlike dealer shop.

Also re:crooked wheel, it can also be its just not center and the tie rods need to be readjusted but are otherwise normal. So a crooked wheel doesnt always mean damage. In my case however i am suspecting it does bcuz i curbed the car and noticed issues.

The advantage of using your insurance, is that you will have some leverage, to make sure the repair is done correctly

What if it’s more than just a bad tie rod, rim and tire?

What if the control arm and/or frame are bent?

At the very least, it means the alignment was not performed correctly/completely. Worst case scenario is something’s damaged

Details details details. Now mentioning a crooked steering wheel explains a lot of things. This is like pulling teeth and gets more convoluted. Was the wheel crooked before the alignment but after the curb hit? If so you’ve got some damage that these guys are not finding so find a better shop. If you bent the tie rod end, that can cause metal fatigue and you don’t want it breaking. You still have the vibration though which is separate.

So, complete inspection by a good collision shop to replace possible tie rod or whatever else is bent. Then good four wheel alignment to correct either damage, what the re-alignment screwed up, and/or because of the tie rod replacement. Then back to the dealer to get a matched new tire and if the vibration is still there, a new wheel. I don’t know how anyone can say the tire is not damaged without a x-ray of the tire, particularly if it was hit hard enough to change the steering wheel.

I like the idea of you test driving a new Corolla from the lot to decide for yourself if the new ones have this characteristic or not. Every car’s steering system is designed slightly differently. this is something you tend to notice more when you switch to another car – like renting a car for a day – and don’t really notice anything about the car you’ve been driving for years.

I’ll add that when my truck develops a toe-in problem, especially too much toe in, it behaves like you are saying, where it won’t go around a turn smoothly, instead one of the wheels seems to jump and squirm a little as the turn progresses. Fixing the toe is how I correct that. Can’t speak to if this relates to your problem as my truck is limited slip 4 wheel drive and that type of steering/suspension/axle tends to be have weird steering effects on low speed turns.

If the steering wheel is crooked, excuse me but it doesn’t require driving another car to determine something was knocked out of alignment or bent. Steering wheels just don’t get crooked for no reason.

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I missed the comment about the steering wheel. If by crooked it means it isn’t centered, that’s how I can tell my truck’s toe has gone amiss.

Pretty sure that a new Corolla from the dealer lot will drive like it should compared to the OP’s that hit the curb and caused problems.

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That wheel suffered more than scratching and scuffing.

I know you don’t believe me about the possibility of damage existing but so be it. The steering wheel off-center after a curb strike means something was damaged.

I can’t say much for shops who perform an alignment without explaining this to you and without making an effort to center it; although centering it with potential damage is not the answer either.

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OMFG i just ran over a pothole on the turnpike @ 70mph on the left side of my car :frowning: :frowning:
Feeling a course quality to ride now from L side.
I cant win i awnt to get rid of this car
its only300 miles
steering wheel is jacked up, jerks everywhere , horrible scary ride.
cant even get someone to inspect it cuz it looks nice.
I"m so upset and disgusted.

I had a 2010 s - LOVED it
my mom has a 2016 s - smooth wonderful ride

2017 se? Wheel frkin jerks. Jerkis on turn changing lane, jerks if you hit a bump / uneven road, car sometimes wavers going down some roads. Weird noise. No one believes something is wrong. 300miles on this 23k piece of crap.

GET IT FIXED ASAP, and drive carefully. I haven’t had a similar problem in 40 years of driving.

“No one believes something is wrong” ?? if it is behaving as your describe, I find that difficult to believe.

Next time don’t get a car with low profile wheels/tires.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room here: OP, you need to learn to drive. By your own admission you’ve hit a curb 11 times and a pothole at least once. Wanting to get rid of a mildly damaged car because you broke it isn’t a rational reaction. Get the car fixed - take it to a real mechanic and get the job done, and then focus on driving better so it doesn’t happen again.

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You may want to watch your language

Thanks

And it’s pretty obvious what “OMFG” means . . .

OK, I’m outta here. Nothing new to add.

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Hey Bing! Check back! We might learn that the car hit a parked car and large dog before nudging that curb (at 10mph!).

At any rate, I feel that this is going to turn into an insurance claim to cover diagnosis and repairs. I’ve seen side wheel impacts resulting in a bent strut, another possibility.

How is it that somebody qualified to do wheel alignments would let a car go with an obviously off-center steering wheel? I guess that is a rhetorical question because most already have an idea why.
CSA

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@billrussell both mechanics get in car, andsay “wow, this is a NEw CAR!” drive around city traffic, no overt problems = “shes crazy”.
Meanwhile i get car, drive to work on highway, its acting weird AF, wheel shimmies, car sometimes shimmies at high speeds on certain roads, wheel jerks making a turn on an angle… just totally not a smooth ride. “Every car is diff”, yes i know and no properly functioning cars i’ve ever used act like this. Like i drove a charger recently - i hated the charger, but it felt totally safe/normal on road. No one is believing me theres something wrong, so no one is seriously inspecting suspension/steering.

I’ve owned corollas for 7 years, so i find it hard to believe its just the “low profile wheel/tires” unless they changed that on the 2017 cars andnot 2016 or 2010.

@db4690 excuse me but i’m highly frustrated, do you know what its like to spend 23k+ and the car feels worse than a used car on the highway? And i cant even get a mechanic to look at it because the car looks so nice , and in city driving conditions its overtly normal?

@common_sense_answer As stated, the impact was very mild so if something is wrong its probably a simple fix. YOu can look at the wheel and see it wasnt a massive impact, but it was an impact. After learning about cars myself and researching i’m wondering if a bent tie rod/end is the issue leading to the loose steering over bumps, and jerking wheel on angles and such things.

@shadowfax As for the pot hole I hit, I was going 70mph on a highway, i was changing lanes, and the next thing i knew in between the two lanes was a small pothole. There was NO WAY i could avoid this; it was hidden by the road stripes, and if i TRIED to avoid it given the speed and proximity that would have been far more dangerous. If i attempted to abruptly swerve or slow down, that would have been a far greater risk. I am not in the habit of just driving over pot holes. It wasnt a super deep pothole but it did make a thud and a bounce on the L side of my car. Hopefully nothing was damaged, but i do feel the ride is bumpier and courser after that, however i might have just been super anxious given all the PROBLEMS i’m having with this car. I’m gonna drive it again today and see if i still notice the bumpy/course quality.Nothing looks overtly amiss. on the wheels.

While the parking bump was my fault, the pothole wasnt, that was just terrible luck. I can’t help it if i’m having terrible luck. My first corolla purchase was such a joy; this is angst , frustration and regret.

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Please don’t take this the wrong way . . .

You need to stop thinking of this as a new car

You’ve driven it off the lot, had it for a few weeks, hit a curb, and now a sizable pothole

This is also not a warranty issue, as we’ve already mentioned

As such, I again urge you to take the car to a shop which specializes in front end and alignment work. Might as well get the insurance involved at this time

Don’t waste your time at the dealer. They’re clearly blinded by the fact that somebody with a 2017 model car is already complaining about the way the car handles. They can’t think outside of the box

As for unavoidable obstacles, it happens. Several weeks ago, I was forced to drive over a Werner fiberglass ladder on the freeway. It was impossible to avoid, because there were cars directly to the left and right of me, and the guy behind me was tailgating so closely, had I slammed on the brakes, he would have clobbered me

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