The allighment seems to be OK but my seering wheel is slightly turned to the left when driving straight. It is driving me crazy. How about yours?

2005 Accord Hybrid
2005 Durango HEMI (wife's wheels)
1998 AUDI A8 4.2Q

mine's fine. Sounds like the alignment was done incorrectly. I've gotten cars back in the past that no longer pulled, but the wheel was turned.

Unfortunately, I think the initial alignment warrantee is only for the 1st 1000 miles or something like that. After that, its considered regular (although not scheduled) maintenance. So you'll probably need to shell out to get it straightened. I don't know the specifics of how alignment is adjusted, and how the steering wheel gets straightened.

A steering wheel issue like this is related to toe-in alignment of the front wheels. However, it may be the case that the toe-in is perfect, yet the steering wheel is off, essentially meaning it is a cosmetic problem. If toe-in is off the same amount for each front wheel, for example each wheel is adjusted 1/16" to the right, then to get them back to the straight ahead condition while driving, you have to turn the steering wheel a little to the left to compensate. The car is not pulling in either direction when this happens. The front tires don't care about the angle of the steering wheel - when going straight ahead, the steering wheel just aligns itself in the natural direction based on the front wheels going straight down the road. (Toe-in misadjustment never causes "pull" which most people don't understand. To have that happen, you'd have to have one wheel pointed straight ahead while the other wheel is pointed in another direction. In reality, that can't happen because the two wheels will just "average out" and either be toed-in or toed-out, but both the same. One wheel straight ahead with another pointed to the right, for example, would just cause a right turn all the time, although a misaligned one, and the car wouldn't be "pulling" - you could bring it to straight ahead just by turning the steering wheel to compensate for the turn. Excessive tire wear would occur with this misalignment, as well as some bad handling, though. Other alignment issues can cause pull, however).

To fix the steering wheel issue, both wheels need to be brought back to straight ahead with the steering wheel centered. (Actually, the proper adjustment is usually for a slight amount of toe-in for straight ahead). It's sometimes difficult to achieve perfection in this, during real-world driving, due to crowns in the road causing a little bit of pull to the right or left, as well as tires themselves sometimes not being perfect and causing a little bit of pull. (If the steering wheel alignment changes after a tire rotation, that's probably what is going on). But it should be pretty close, and the dealer should be willing to fix it. Even out of warranty, it doesn't cost much. It's a pretty simple adjustment. Both steering control arms just need to be adjusted the same amount in the same direction - assuming the car's toe-in is OK in the first place. If it isn't OK, then it's still a simple job with simple alignment equipment.

Honda warranties alignments for 1 year or 12,000 miles.

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thanks for the info, Dale.

How does the alignment physically get adjusted? I know there is specific equipment to measure, but the actual adjustment? I assume its more complicated/robust than a few set screws. Is it something that is done wheels on?

This is one of those things that is certainly not complicated, one just needs to know where the adjuster widget is and how to adjust it (and what effect it has).

If you need an alignment (out of warranty), Firestone was offering a lifetime alignment for $129. I think I paid $79 for my lifetime warranty on my GMC something like ten years ago. Great deal! As I have had the alignment done on my truck at LEAST every two years. Maybe more.

Another thing about alignments: I don't recall the shop, but I had one guy tell me alignment shops will set your car so that it has a slight offset to the right. Supposedly, it's so if you're on a perfectly straight road, and you fall asleep at the wheel, the car will naturally pull to the right, and not into on coming traffic. Anybody else ever hear of this?? I thought it was crap when I heard it.

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The adjustment is the tie-rod ends. bacically you disconnect them from the ball joint and screw them in or out.

As easy as it is, I would let a shop do it. One turn to many, even though the tire looks like its straight ahead, could actually cause to much toe-in/out. The computer equipment the shops use will get it spot on.

Brant

Like another poster said, it is adjusted with the tie rods. Basically, loosen a locking bolt and turn the threaded rod in or out. I have done it myself on a couple of cars, with no problems, but don't officially recommend it. I just put a paint mark/line on the rods on both sides to mark their starting position, and turned both the same amount (note that this means one screws in and one out, and anything other than having both sides change by the same amount will be affecting toe-in alignment) in the right direction to straighten the steering wheel. I had to adjust each more than I expeced (something like 1/3 or 1/2 turn) to finally remedy the problem, and it's a trial and error process. (Adjust, drive, adjust again,....)

thanks!

I don't intend to do it myself, but I hate not knowing how something is done that Jimmy Joe Bob at the shop can do. Like lots of stuff its not difficult, but you need to know the trick and have the proper tools & measurement capability at your disposal.

At least now I know the trick. I appreciate the insight.

I never even thought about it, but since I read Mitaka's post I have now also noticed that my steering wheel is also slightly turned to the left while driving. My alignment seems to be okay because it does not pull one way or another when I let go of the wheel. I figure I will let the dealer know the next time I go for an oil change, which is in about another 2000 miles (I'm at about 10k right now).