My 2008 Prius leans to the left (car empty). The drivers side is visibly 3/8-1/2" lower then the passenger side. See attached Document for picture. I took the car to my local Toyota dealer for warranty repair. They said that they could see that that car leans, but Toyota says that 1/2" is expectable. When I called Toyota customer satisfaction, they said they were not going to do anything, and that was their final word. I have also noticed several other 08 Prius's leaning to the driver’s side during my travels. Has anyone else noticed this?

 

I have attached more pictures showing the measurements I took on the drivers & passengers side of the car. You can clearly see the difference. Although you can't see the other end of the tape measure, rest assured that it is all the way down to the very level cement driveway. I have seem allot more Prius's with the same issue. Now even my wife points them out to me. I don’t know why allot more people haven’t complained already.

 

Can you also see it with a spirit level?

I'll check the frame around my radiator and the trunk lid of my NHW11. Of course my 03 Prius has over 100,000 miles and I figured the struts need replacement soon enough.

Bob Wilson

 

Checking with a level will be very hard to do (No flat surfaces). I am going to check the car some more this week end. I will let you know what I find.

 

LOL

I'm sorry to laugh... but I've notice a few Priuses (Priii?) that lean to the drivers side. I just assumed that the drivers were over weight.

I would assume that this problem would cause you guys to have abnormal wear on tires and suspension. I haven't looked at all, but are there any sets of nice aftermarket springs? If it's a manufacturing flaw, maybe a set of Coil-Over shocks/struts will take care of it. (You can adjust the ride height of each wheel)

 

I will be looking into aftermarket or touring model suspension components this weekend. It is just aggravating that you have to modify a new car to make it ride level. I doubt there is much call for aftermarket suspension components for a Prius.

 

People have suggested that adding weight on the passenger side might correct the 1/2" lean to the left. Putting 200 pounds in the passenger’s seat with no one in the driver’s seat only lowered the difference to 3/8". I even tried added 200 pounds directly over the right rear wheel, which also only decreased the difference to 3/8". And when I added the weight of the driver, it went back to the original 1/2" difference.

Some have suggested that the lean is being caused by the weight of components in the front of the car (Transaxle, Electric Motors, steering, etc..). If this was true, why is the lean twice as much on the rear of the car? These components are ether in front of, or directly over the front suspension. Even allot of weight at those points, wouldn’t transfer every much weight to the rear of the car. The drivers and front passengers weight are slightly forward of the center of the car. This puts more weight on the front suspension.


Also, why have several people noticed that the lean does not occur in the touring model? I believe it is because the touring model has better, or maybe even the correct rear struts.

My point for this post was to:

1.See how many other Prius owners have the same issue, and maybe didn’t even know about it.
2.Try to get Toyota to correct the issue.

The fact is why should we except this without even trying to get Toyota to correct it? And why should anyone at their own expense, have to make modifications to a new car to make it ride level?

I encourage everyone to do the following if they have the same issue and believe that Toyota should be made to correct it:

1.Call Toyota customer service and file a complaint.
2.If they refuse to fix the problem, file a online complaint with consumer affairs and the Better Business Bureau.

For those of you that try to get the issue corrected, please post your progress. Thank you and good luck.

 

Now you have my curiosity piqued. I will have to go out to the garage and measure my 08 Prius Touring. I'll let you know if in fact it does lean to the left?

 

Aww dang it! From the title I came in here expecting a lively political discussion.

--got nuthin'

 

Ok All: I measured my 2008 Prius Touring where the front wheel well meets the front bumper fiberglas cowling, and where the rear wheel well meets the rear bumper cowling.
ALL FOUR Measurements are exactly 24" to the ground. So, my 08 Prius is perfectly level.