Midnight Mystery

Ok, so after not driving the RDX for over a month, I get in and drive it... But the steering feels light as hell, and wobbley, almost...

It feels like driving my old 2001 Toyota Camry...

I feel like I'm driving a pickup truck...

Is this normal? I mean, I know RDX's, well, Honda's in general have light-ish steering, but this feels like complete sh*t!!!

We had a new ignition installed a couple of weeks ago down in LA, so this is my first time driving it since, and it's yucky feeling...

I have an appointment to have the oil changed Thursday, so I'll ask someone at the dealer then, but it feels awkward...

Also, I feel like as a whole, the car feels so freaking weird to me, like WTF...

I'm sorry, im just upset... But please give me some feedback...

I also have other little electrical problems, but nothing affecting the functionality of the vehicle...

RDX10, if you see this, let me know if your RDX felt that way, i know you'll understand...

Thanks everyone, and hello, I know it's been awhile, how's everyone doing...

TacoBello

It's just you.

cu2wagon

Yeah. Based on past history... It's you.

RDX10

Hey man,

Nice to see you again. My RDX had really good steering from what I remember. It was decently heavy and had decently good feel. The only time it got really darty is when I had bad tires (when I first bought it) and was taking really sharp turns at speed it would get really weird and wiggly like you describe. Given the circumstances you stated, I don't really see any reason for it to feel different other than the possibility you adjusted to the feel of another car (perhaps one with heavier hydraulic steering) or even something happened electronically now causing the vehicle to over compensate with the EPS (not sure this is even possible). The other thing is that us car people tend to be VERY sensitive to our cars so you might be imagining things.

You might want to check the condition of your power steering fluid. I doubt it would deteriorate or something like that in the course of a month. My money is on you maybe adjusting to another car and then thinking this one is weird. Drive it for a few more days and take it out on a long good curvy drive and then see how you feel about it. On an unrelated note I had 2 2004 touaregs and 1 2007, all were the same generation pre-facelift. When I drove the 2007 I realized immediately that the steering was WAY lighter than the 2004 ones. I thought I was imagining it until my dad drove it once and also mentioned how much lighter it was compared to the older ones. So sometimes you aren't crazy either. Drive it for a few days and see how you feel. You can get the dealer to check, but they are just going to charge you diagnostic fees as well suggest other stupid fixes. Mine made me replace the power steering pump and do a fluid change when I took it to them for the jumpy steering and I then realized they were guessing and they refunded me the full $550 for that "repair". A set of new wheels later and the feel was how it should have been.


FWIW the steering is VERY VERY heavy (to the point of fatiguing) in my MDX and that's on comfort mode. So not all Honda steering is light lol.

TacoBello

Confirmed... It's just you.

Tomtwtwtw

If you're getting near or past the 100k mile mark and haven't changed the power steering fluid yet, definitely do that. There should be a very noticeable improvement in steering feel and feedback after the flush.

Midnight Mystery

I'm at 192,168, but the lady who owned it before me was pretty good about telling the dealer, "Do everything"... Or at least that's how the carfax and age profile of the previous, original, owner makes me feel...

I know my rack and pump leak a little, it hums sometimes, but not much latly...

However, I don't know if the dealer topped it off when I had the ignition replaced two weeks ago, I never heard anything, but steering feel is "Mushy" like an old Toyota...

I'm getting used to it, but it's noticeable different... I do have around 40 PSI in the tires, but before you condem that as my problem, I've had it that way for about 3 months, and just now it feels weird...

The tires were pretty new when I bought it year ago at 175K, and I had to replace the passenger front tire in September due to a nail in the inner sidewall... As of November tire wear, front to back, drivers side to passenger side was, 7-10-9-9, or something like that...

I put put more air in the tires knowing some would leak out with frequent cold snaps...


But but I can't say anything feels, sounds, or bahaves diffently other than steering feel, which is fine when parked, or driving at extremely low speeds, but after 5-10 MPH, it's lighter, and has more slack in it, it's fine in a really sharp curve, but is odd with minor corrections...


I can can wiggle the steering wheel side to side while 2-3 inches while tracking in a straight line...



It apso also feels lighter when making halfway-tight turns... I know, I can't find a better term...


So, I'll mention it to the dealer, and also ask about an occasional CEL, check emmissions, and sometimes check SH-AWD with it...

Also, I've noticed a slight knocking when I shake the steering when parked and shut off...


Thanks for everything!!!


Also, RDX10, go check out my other thread, I had an awesome 2016 Hyundai Elantra GT hatch two weeks ago, which had adaptive steering which was heavy, heavier, and OFF, haha...


Man man that thing was awesome, and fast too!!! It had 90% of the power of the RDX at redline, and felt much more natural in terms off acceleration, it felt like a rocket!!!


Plus 37 MPG highway!!!


I miss my Kia, that's for sure...

But the Hyubdai did t have much mid-range torque, so 4.5K RPM was always happening...


Thanks for everything, but I did get used to the Hyundai like you suspected, but the RDX is worse than I remember...


How's the MDX? Is it still what you wanted?



I hope you're enjoying it, power on everyone!!!

TacoBello

It's just you.

Midnight Mystery

I had the oil change today... I mentioned to the service advisor (there are two, he's my second favorite) about the steering...

I never heard a mention from him after, but my favorite, the lady, really nice, was the one to check us out after...

I don't know if it's me, but the steering feels slightly better, but that 40psi I had put in 2-3 months ago, well, I expected some to leak out, but actually, it has somehow expanded...

I currently read read front to back, drivers to passengers side : 41-39-39-40/41.... Currently about 42°....

But earlier this afternoon, at about 65°, it was 44-42-42-43 (about)....


It was was cold and windy when I put air in, about 6-8 weeks ago...

This may be my problem....

Also, the dealer recipt stated multi-point inspection, and "fluid top-off" with no explanation or details....


Luckily my my brake pads are at 7, 👍🏻

Check in tomorrow!!! Thank you everyone!!!



But this afternoon,

cu2wagon

Yes. Gas tends to expand when the temperature rises. Pressure is proportional to temperature.

Midnight Mystery

So, basically tire pressure is seasonal?

If someone were to fill a low tire (that was previously at spec) on a cold day, the next warm day it will be overfilled...

This is my first personal experience with tires that don't leak a little...

So, next chance I get, I'm letting out 4-5 psi until they're equal... Alright...

Thank you, and I'm getting used to it, I just forget how much better Hyundai steering feel is vs the RDX, the difference is beyond my wildest expectations...

Tomtwtwtw

At 200k miles your tie rods and/or ball joints could also be worn, and both can contribute to a looser steering system. You could have your mechanic inspect those parts specifically next time you have the car in for service.

cu2wagon

Sort of. Pressure will change with temperature. And temperature typically changes with the season. So pressure and season are related, but not directly.

Your example about the cold day and warm day is totally correct, just like you've experienced. And it's all because of something called the ideal gas law, which is really cool. Check it out:

The ideal gas law explains how gases act and basically comes down to PV=nRT,

where:
P= Pressure
V= Volume
n= number of moles of gas (a quantity measure of how much gas is present)
R= ideal gas constant (just trust me here; it's what makes the math work)
T= Temperature

So without getting into a lot of the background, it's possible to compare your tire on two different days as follows. First we rearrange the ideal gas equation so it's all on one side of the equal sign and we get:
PV/nRT = 1

We'll assume that you pump your tire up and then don't let any air out. We'll also assume that no air leaks out through the rubber (a very small amount will, but let's say it's 0 for now since a good condition tire won't leak that much over one day). Since nothing goes in or comes out of the tire over the day, the total system must balance out so we'd say that:

P1V1/n1R1T1 = P2V2/n2R2T2

where the number 1 or 2 represents the pressure/volume/temperature/n/R on day 1 or day 2. Now, since we said before that R is a constant, it will be the same on day 1 and day 2 because, you guessed it, it's *constant*. n will also be the same on day 1 and day 2 because, like we said before, we don't let any air in or out of the tire between days. So, since:
n1=n2, and:
R1=R2,

we can cancel them out. This leaves us with:

P1V1/T1 = P2V2/T2

And we can say that V1 = V2 because the volume of the tire won't change from day 1 to day 2. It's still the same tire and it still holds the same amount of air. So we can also cancel out the V's which leaves us with:

P1/T1 = P2/T2.

Ah! This we can work with. In fact, you can plug in what you know to prove it. Since you tend to know how hot it is each day, you can figure out what your tire pressure would be by rearranging once more:
P2 = (P1/T1)*T2

So as long as you know what you set your tire to (P1), the temperature when you did it (T1) and the temperature of the new day (T2), you can calculate the new pressure (P2).


Here's an example (for real):

Here in Houston, it's been changing weather pretty drastically. We've had up to 15 degree changes from day to day. So one day was 75 and the next was 60. Well, I filled up my tires on day 1 (75F) to 37psi. The next day when it was 60F, they were reading around 31psi on the onboard TPMS display. Does that make sense?

P1= 37 psi
T1= 75F
T2= 60F
P2= ?

P2 = (P1/T1)*T2
P2 = (37/75)*60
P2 = 29.6 psi.

My display said 31. Which is pretty darned close to 29.6, when you factor in sensor error and rounding, etc.

Now, that's a really long explanation of how it works. The simple idea though, is that when the weather gets cooler your tires will lose pressure and when it gets warmer, they'll gain pressure. The same can be seen when you go on a long road trip. Your tires get hot from driving and will go up in pressure, which is why it's important not to over pressurize them before setting out, because they'll gain pressure as you drive.

General rule of thumb I use (since I usually live places that don't have huge temperature swings) is to adjust pressure at least 4 times a year when the seasons change.

cu2wagon

Oh, and regarding the steering comparison between your older RDX and a newer Hyundai steering. Also factor in that your RDX suspension and steering components are older and have had some wear. The bushings have broken down a little bit and things have gotten loose. The new Hyundai is still tight and factory fresh. So they'll quite logically feel different.

Not that there's really anything wrong, just that it's different. Like if we both wore the same size shoes... If you put my shoes on, they'd fit, yes, but they'd feel odd because they've conformed and worn in with my feet.

It's just different.

Illustro

I was at the Acura dealer some 2 months ago and had all fluids replaced on a 2007 in the family but when I asked about steering fluid they said they never change it just top off. So the dealer will apparently never change the fluid.
​​​​​​
So even a good owner who changed all fluids, it excluded steering fluid.

DRR98

DIY
Change the power steering fluid too by using a mity-vac or a turkey baster to remove as much of the old fluid as possible and then refill with fresh fluid.

Tomtwtwtw

After some research, I actually did mine my disconnecting the upper hose (return hose) to the tank up front and pouring it out. Then, I managed to squeeze a 32oz tumbler down next to the tank and pointed the hose to it and covered with a towel to avoid splash (if you can source some plastic tubing and route to a bucket outside the engine bay, it's much easier). Next, have someone else fire up the car and let the p/s pump get all the fluid out. Start car, slowly turn steering wheel from lock to lock a couple times (helps greatly if the front end is lifted slightly). Kill it as soon as the fluid stops shooting out, you don't want the pump moving just air for any extended amount of time. Then reattach hose, fill tank, start car again and turn wheels and keep filling the tank until it's at the full level and steady. This will get you a nearly complete fluid exchange.

Midnight Mystery

Thank you for the advice, but I don't have the marbles for that....

The air pressure was gaining and gaining, so I dropped it from 42-44 to 38, but want want a little extra in there... I haven't driven it yet, but I plan to power drive it in a few minutes, so we'll se...


And I am noticing a slight whine from the rack and pump, but the steering is smooth and fluid is at a pretty good level...

Well see!!!

Midnight Mystery

It's a long story, but I now have a 2008 Toyota Camry SE i4... Bright red w/gray leather!!!

I still have the RDX, and turned down a 2008 Accord LX for this!!!!


Like I said, it's a long and complicated story, but this is what's happening...

Illustro

You said you replaced the front right tire due to a flat. Is it the same tire as the old one? Same size, make and model? Every little difference will impact driving experience, different tread pattern, model, different wear pattern.

My advice is to rotate the tires so that the new/replacement tire is on the rear set and not the front (if it isn't already). The difference in feel of steering can be night and day.

Midnight Mystery

I had the dealer order the exact same tire (Bridgestone Dueler H/L) which I have no idea if it's a good tire.... It's newer than the others, but it isn't noticeably different... Front drivers tire is wearing faster, no side to side pull... Dealer never mentioned that anything seemed wrong regarding that in the several times they've had it in the bay....

I cant ant rotate the tires because I have locks with no key... And have no lock on the front wheel with the new tire, it just has the five basic ones now... Which I don't care because nobody's going to steal these old wheels...