@ok4450: how was this resolved? (if it ever was)
Boggles my mind how many cars were put on the road out of alignment and out of balance…
BillRussell, I have no idea. It’s assumed that the service manager and writers started turning alignments and wheel balances away.
A few weeks or wrestling alignments and balances and every one of us refused to do any alignments or balances.
Based on the pics the OP provided and assuming the steering is dead ahead it seems to me that the problem with the front end should not be difficult to sort out at all.
The OP needs to realize that “Five star rated” and so on may not mean much at all. It could denote an honest, sharp mechanic or possibly not…
Back in the 80s I worked for a short time with a mechanic whom I had known for 10 years. Good guy. EXCEPT when having him perform mechanical repairs. I learned very quickly from working with him what he was like. He soon quit and opened up a shop at home on the edge of town.
EVERYONE loved him and he stayed swamped with work even during economic downturns.
The problem was that most of the people getting screwed over never knew it. I could cite examples of idiocy and flat out thievery untl the cows come home with this guy. He passed away in 2011 so that ended that.
From your descriptions I believe one or more things may be wrong, and I don’t think you’re crazy (though maybe a bit rattled!) Symptoms could be related to the curbing but given how new the car was to you when curbed one should be open to the fact that there also could be defects that came from the factory.
- You shouldn’t be feeling vibration on a smooth road.
- I don’t believe we can tell at this point whether the steering wheel mis-centering was original, caused by the curbing, or an artifact of an incomplete alignment (adjusting toe-in in an unsymmetrical way) - more than once I’ve had to remind alignment shops, even respectable ones, to re-center the wheel. But they should be able to recenter it and keep everything else within spec.
- You shouldn’t be feeling vibrations, especially if not present in an identical car. This usually means something is out of balance - have you had that tire checked (road force machine as others have suggested), or just replaced it? Tires can delaminate following impacts, sometimes much later. A bad wheel bearing can cause a rumble, sometimes quite subtle, as can a loose hub cap (even the little caps on alloy wheels).
- I’m not clear on what is meant by a steering “jerk”, but take it to mean that something like a change in steering force or direction occurs suddenly, as opposed to more gradual and reproducible forces characteristic of torque steer (which sometimes are most pronounced when accelerating while changing direction, such as off ramps or lane changes). If a true jerk it shouldn’t be happening and your mechanics should keep looking for it. A damaged ball joint, bushing, control arm, sway bar or its bushings and fittings (if the car has one), tie rod end, etc., maybe the rack as others have mentioned. A CV joint or bent half-shaft can cause vibration
When a bump or nudge knocks something out of alignment it either caused something to slip or bent something. If the bend is sufficiently subtle then realignment may be all that is needed, but there always should be a thorough inspection for more serious damage. Did it distort the steering knuckle, the strut mount, the control arm, were a ball joint or bushing damaged, has wheel run-out been sufficiently measured (requires a gauge), is the steering rack okay? Some of these require more focused examination than just a look-over.
New car tires generally are mediocre at best and some people elect to change them right out of the door. Given that there is some question about one tire, you might just replace all four now and treat yourself to a quality set that both handle and will wear considerably better.
Until this statement you had me believing that you basically just agreed with the majority of us, although it took a couple hundred words …
… However, suggesting somebody throw away a set of tires on a nearly new car just in case they could be problematic? 
Sure! Along that line of reasoning, why not just treat yourself to a quality new car? I’m thinking Mercedes. 
CSA
1 Like
Nonsense. That may have been true years ago but not anymore.
I don’t know ANYBODY who arbitrarily throws away the set of tires on the car they just bought a few weeks ago, because they’re “mediocre at best”
Most of us on this forum are in agreement that factory tires are often a sort of compromise, often in favor of fuel economy
That said, I’ve known several people that weren’t exactly thrilled with the tires the car came with. And when they were worn out, they went with a different brand
I will suggest it is the wheel itself, I did not see if it was swapped to another position, but after checks and double checks, this seems a probable cause. Aluminum wheels can be fickle.
This was only offered because if she were to replace a single tire at a dealer’s inflated prices she’d be a good way toward a decent set somewhere else. We had bad experiences with OEM tires on our Civic and Outback, both 2006 (the Outback’s vibrated, wandered, wouldn’t hold balance), but this is getting off topic. And maybe Toyota provides better.
Another thing to check for the jerky turning: have seen steering column couplers go bad and do glitchy things - I don’t know what this car uses and it doesn’t seem likely that it would have been damaged by curbing, but easy to rule out.
With this post we are only one away.
My 2006 Ford E-350 had Hankook tires from the factory. First 20,000 or so miles, all was good. Then one developed a separation. Then another. That’s when I switch the entire set out for a different, higher quality brand.
Warranty or not, I wanted tires that wouldn’t come apart on me
@VOLVO_V70 Here is #150. 
OK when i have the car totally straight i dont notice obvious differences in wheels; that photo was with the steering turned slightly. Maybe thats normal? If i have car straight it appears straight.
So just update i saw one of the collision shops today ( i have 2 apts) and i talked to mechanic. He didnt look at anything told me he wants me to come early in AM so he can take measurements. First thing he is going to check is alignment is correct with hand measurement. Based on my symptoms, he said it might be a bent axle that commonly causes whe steering issues i’m having. I looked this up and another symptom is vibration, which i had, and also i saw some people saying at highway speeds it looks like the front of car is kinda jittering side to side, my car does that quite a lot.
Being car ignorant, the dealer mechanic took me under car to show me “everything is ok” and i asked her “why are they uneven” cuz they were obviously uneven. She didnt answer. So its funny he thought this was potentially the issue based on my description and i noticed it to be uneven with my eye. Steering also off slightly, dont know if that is related.
Anyway i have to make apt to take car there early.
I’m still going to see second guy on weds; early apts are very hard for me and the first shop is so far away, so hopefully second guy is also capable of diagnosing and fixing this as he is closer and willing to see me in afternoon.
But you switched tires after 20,000 miles of use . . . not right after buying the new car off the showroom floor, as ken suggested some people do
1 Like
I have a friend that had the tires switched before he took possession of a new car. But he worked out a deal with the dealer first where he just paid the difference in value of the tires and labor to swap them. I think one of the mechs got a deal on the OEM tires and everyone was happy.
I still shudder at the thought but I had another friend that had a brand new Harley shipped directly from the showroom to a customizer. They did all kinds of modifications to the entire bike before he ever put one mile on it. Lots of brand spankin’ new parts in the pile afterward…
UPDATE
So i am back from my final appointment. I expected this to be another waste of time, but it wasnt at all.
I get ready to tell the mechanic “you arent going to feel it, it’s very subtle” describing the issues i am having. Right away he is like “WTF your car is pulling to the right”. He’s right; if you have the steering wheel totally straight, the car veers off to the right. It is slightly cocked to drive straight, but if you do that, it stays straight. I dont have to convince him of anything, this is enough for him to think something is wrong.
I explained i already had it balanced and aligned. He quickly measures the distance beween my front and back left tires (unaffected) and front and right tires. He informs me the front right side is 10mm shorter; my front right tire is apparently pushed in 10mm. I"m thinking to myself “wow this is completely obvious i am pretty shocked no one until now could see this”.
So i get into the office they tell me because of this sign, it is almost certain i have a bent control arm or bent steering knuckle orboth. However they also tell me they cant be sure until they get it on a lift and do a comprehensive diagnostic and take measurements. They also warn me i might need a new steering rack based on the steering issues i’m having. I ask if its possible the tie rod has bent as that has similar symptoms, and they explain on my car, new toyotas, the inner tie rods and the steering rack are actually one piece! What a rip off. So even if the steering rack isnt damaged if your tie rod is bent they have to replace the entire rack and pinion, so basically this repair is the same thing on newer cars. Impressive scam, toyota. A cheap part that bends easily is now part of an expensive part so you always need the expensive part evenif the rack itself is fine.
So i’m both cautious as well as relieved at this point. I didnt leave the car there yet for them to do proper diagnostics because i want to verify myself he wasnt lying about the wheel being pushed in 10 mm. Thats something i can easily measure myself, and if he is honest about this i know he isn’t trying to just sell me a new front end for no reason.
He said the repair cost will likely range between $500 for best case scenario, to $2300 if i need a control arm, steering knuckle, and rack & pinion/tie rod end.
Even if $2300 thats still cheaper than my deductible and 3 years of premium increase for sure. So i wont open a claim.
Well good, and bad news.
'tis true, but still much sooner than I had anticipated.
Too bad it was not the wheel being fickle as I suggested as a possibility. It sounds like you have a good mechanic, and you may have to pay for a diagnosis, but you are on the road to repair. Bummer for a hit of 10 mph costing upwards, hoping it turns out to be less expensive options.
1 Like
bummer indeed.
The mechanic actually told me the same thing happened to him. He hit the curb at 10mph and trashed his whole front end.
He was like “i really hope u dont need steering rack” but he was saying it in a way that was like “you probably do though” lol.
1 Like
So to sum things up…
It was a single car accident (collision) and it is still possible that the repairs will exceed what many people would pay for out of pocket (insurance claim). I have $0 deductible on my insurance, but I don’t bump parking stones. 
What about the other mechanics and alignments and balances? Did you have to pay them? What about the wheel? Did this latest guy say anything about the possibility of a bent strut?
How do I know all this? I saw it many times when I managed a body (collision) shop.
I hope this turns out to be the more minor scenario, but one way or the other it needs to be fixed and fixed correctly.
Advice: I would only allow the use of factory Toyota OEM replacement parts (car is under warranty).
My deductible is is $500, and my premium will definitely go up at least that much biannually, for many years. Even if i need whole new front end, I would not open a claim. A claim makes financial sense only if repairs exceed 3k IMO.
I had the car aligned once, and balanced once, and i paid for both services. I had the alignment verified, for free - the dealer simply checked that it was still aligned (after I paid for the first one). I dont know how my front right tire can be back 10mm while being in alignment, but I’m also not a mechanic. I do allow for the possibility this shop is trying to upsell services/parts and I intend to measure that myself to make sure they aren’t lying.
He didnt mention a bent strut, he did not check the wheel either.
I absolutely will only use toyota suspension parts, i’m not stupid contrary to what some of you might think (lol). I have no interest in putting inferior steering/ suspension components on my car. I wonder if I can at least get parts warranty since this is literally a new car.
I kind of figured something(s) was bent in the front end. Ten MPH is not a fast speed but when near 2 tons of car is applied it’s a major hit.
As for warranty, forget it. Warranty is for factory defects in materials or workmanship; not collision issues.
1 Like