Purchased the 2009 Venza because I loved the size and it was clean as a whistle for a used car!! Sadly within one week of owning the car it became apparent it was difficult to drive. It would pull to the right, then sudden;y shift to the left, then back to the right. It would also pull randomly when stepping hard on the brakes. Literally could feel the steering wheel under my hands shift to left and right. It was challenging to keep it on the road.
I spent hours on the web trying to find a similar problem to see if there was a recall or information on how to fix it. I didn’t find anything at that time.
I assumed it needed an alignment. I took it to Les Scwab and they did it but the problem was still there. They recommended I take it to another place because they had a 4 wheel alignment machine. I did and they aligned it again. Same problem. So I took it back to the dealership I purchased it from. They aligned it again and said it was done. It still wandered on the freeway on the way home. Was told it was the "crown of the road". NOPE!
I took it to my own mechanic and he confirmed there was a wandering problem. I took it back to dealership again. This time they rotated tires, checked brakes. Said they couldn’t find anything wrong. Still wandering after this. Took it back again. They changed the steering column. They said it was fixed. Still same wandering problem on the way home. Took it back again. Drove with the mechanic and he acknowledged the problem. They fixed the brake pads and calipers. Said it was fixed. Picked it up…same exact problem.
The dealership finally traded it back for a different car. I was SUPER bummed because I loved every other thing about the Venza.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
Purchased the 2009 Venza because I loved the size and it was clean as a whistle for a used car!! Sadly within one week of owning the car it became apparent it was difficult to drive. It would pull to the right, then sudden;y shift to the left, then back to the right. It would also pull randomly when stepping hard on the brakes. Literally could feel the steering wheel under my hands shift to left and right. It was challenging to keep it on the road.
I spent hours on the web trying to find a similar problem to see if there was a recall or information on how to fix it. I didn’t find anything at that time.
I assumed it needed an alignment. I took it to Les Scwab and they did it but the problem was still there. They recommended I take it to another place because they had a 4 wheel alignment machine. I did and they aligned it again. Same problem. So I took it back to the dealership I purchased it from. They aligned it again and said it was done. It still wandered on the freeway on the way home. Was told it was the "crown of the road". NOPE!
I took it to my own mechanic and he confirmed there was a wandering problem. I took it back to dealership again. This time they rotated tires, checked brakes. Said they couldn’t find anything wrong. Still wandering after this. Took it back again. They changed the steering column. They said it was fixed. Still same wandering problem on the way home. Took it back again. Drove with the mechanic and he acknowledged the problem. They fixed the brake pads and calipers. Said it was fixed. Picked it up…same exact problem.
The dealership finally traded it back for a different car. I was SUPER bummed because I loved every other thing about the Venza.
- Shelly D., Cottage Grove, US