Brought car in to fix alignment problem (received on delivery this way). Car goes left at high and low speeds. The higher the speed the more severe.

Picked up car, car is fine at low speed. At high speed it will track straight when my hands are off... but the steering wheel is always at a 1 or 2 minutes past 12 o'clock position. If I keep it at 12 o'clock I track left again although admittedly less severe than b4 dealer looked at it.

Question: Assuming the alignment of the wheels is correct, can the wheel be adjusted left or right or is it one piece with the steering column?

 

Yes.

Also see if you have this problem in the same lanes. Don't forget that most roads have a crown to them.

 

i have had many alighments on many cars and if the wheel is croked when going straight its usually because the alignment tech didnt have enough sence to put the steering wheel with the wheel crooked.
it is absolutly imperitive that the wheel be straight and locked secure in place before the alignment takes place.
its poor workmanship on the techs part,

 

I have the same problem. In fact there is a thread on the other tsx forum that discusses this.

http://www.clubtsx.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=4932

I had the same problem when I first got my TSX. Took it in to have an alignment and still did the same thing--veering off to right or left when steering wheel is at 12 O'clock position and regardless of crown on the road. The service guy was not helpful but did acknowledge the problem that I was experiencing. One interesting post was the type of tires that are on the TSX.

"OEM Michelin MXM4's are, to paraphrase a number of reviews on TireRack.com, prone to following ruts and imperfections in the pavement "like a hound after a fox." I have noticed my tires occasionally taking a minor interest in going their own way". --indytsx

It is a plausible explaination. The tires grip the road well and follow the imperfections on the road like flies on you know what. It seems to be less the more I drive. Maybe the wheels are wearing in.

 

Hey TSriX,

I encountered the same exact problem. My car would pull slightly to the left. Took it to the dealer yesterday to get it adjusted. Get the car back and now it tracks straight, except now the wheel is at 12:05 to go straight. If I set it at 12:00 it pulls to the left again. I'm wondering is it that hard for a bonehead mechanic to make sure the steering wheel is straight before they do the alignment? Geez... Anyway, curious if how it turned out for you? I'll be calling the dealership back today to give them a piece of my mind.

 

ryanc44,

Asking me this question is causing my blood to boil again! Here is where I am at:

Brought car back to dealer after first alignment didn't work (other problems were being looked at at the same time - but they are another story altogether). Mechanic understood the problem. He made his adjustment. I picked up the car and after driving a few minutes realised that he had over corrected and now the wheel is at 11:57 at slow speeds but perfect on the highway.

Now I don't know what I want to do. If I were a certain type of person I would probably go back and tear them a new "you know what". But I am not that type of person and this next visit to them will be my fourth in 2 months of owning the car. I think that they are never going to be able to take care of my car the way I expect and I no longer wish to waste my time with them.

I wonder if the dealer actually has proper alignment equipment. They may be straightening the wheel by eye. I will probably go to another dealer and see if they can resolve the issues for me. All in all a very unpleasant experience in a car that I would absolutely love if I could just get passed the 3 problems I am experiencing (whistling driver window at speed, squeeky breaks, wheel alignment)

 

Sorry TSriX, didn't want to get you all upset again...

I have another appointment next week to fix my crooked steering wheel- heaven forbid it's not straight after the second try. I'm curious myself as to what the procedure is for doing a wheel alignment. I find it hard to believe that the equipment is so advanced with lasers and computers and such (or so the dealership claims), but they must rely on a mechanics eyeball to make sure the steering wheel is straight before the procedure is started. I'd love to hear someone with some alignment experience chime in on this one...

I think I'll ask the service rep when I take the car in next week to explain to me how it's done (I'm sure they'll love me for that) and also bring up the TSB information on this subject.

 

I have the exact same problem. I noticed it soon after I bought the car, but because it was so slight, I thought I was just being overly picky. Mentioned it to the Tech during the first oil change and he said that he will readjust he tire pressures thinking that may be causing the problem. It wasn't fixed. My car pulls to the left on the highway, and i have to keep the steering tilted a little bit to the right to keep straight. I let go of the steering and it's a very gradual pull to the left. Finally took it in for re-allignment and although they did do the alignment, the tech did mention that alignment is difficult to do on TSX due to the equipment they have. The problem was not fixed after the alignment and I will be returning soon. This time I will be driving with the Tech to show them to problem.

 

So was he implying that the TSX needed some "special" alignment equipment, or was it that they didn't have sufficient equipment for doing alignments in general? Nowadays I take what these service techs say with a grain of salt... Did they bring up the TSB related to the steering wheel being off-center?

Anyway, I'm cringing about taking my car back tomorrow for the dealership to attempt to fix my alignment again...

 

The first time I went to the dealership, they flat out said they didn't have the equipment to do the alignment for TSX. The second time he just said that alignments were difficult to do on TSX due to their being new. I didn't get a chance to inquire whether the difficulty was due to the lack of experience or improper equipment.

 

I just took mine back to the dealership this morning and as I get more info, things are starting to make a little more sense...

A little background... I took my old CL to this dealership for a 4-wheel alignment and it came back perfect, with the computer printout showing all the before and after alignment specs.

Anyway, after I took my TSX in last week I didn't get a printout, and I inquired why. The Service rep said their equipment hasn't been updated for the 2004 cars- okay, no big deal...

When I brought the car back this morning, I spoke to the same rep and told him that it still felt like it pulled a bit and the steering wheel was definitely off a few degrees. He remembered me because I'm the first to bring a 2004 car in for an alignment, at the same time he had this look on his face like, "damn, we f*d up." He asked around to see if the equipment had been updated yet- he got a no from some other guy and said it should be very soon.

Now the reason for the grimace on his face- He basically explained to me that because they didn't have my car in the alignment computer they had to do the alignment "the old school" way, without laser assistance- hence why it was probably still off. He apologized profusely and said he would call me as soon as their equipment is updated so I can bring it back to get it done right.

I did ask about how the steering wheel is centered before the procedure starts, and he said that there is a lock that holds the steering wheel at TDC when the alignment is done (the mechanic doesn't have to eyeball anything), but there is still a very minor adjustment that can be done at the wheel level for the small out of tolerance issues.

Anyway, this puts my mind at ease a bit now, and does explain why the dealership probably told you their equipment isn't up to snuff for a TSX alignment as well...

Now once they have the car in the system there will be no excuses- then we'll see how the alignment turns out.