Steering wheel off center

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Old Jun 13, 2004 | 01:28 PM
  #1  
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From: Woodbridge, VA
Steering wheel off center

I've had my TSX for 2 weeks yesterday and my steering wheel is off center to the left when driving in a straight line; this is something that was supposed to be checked in pre delivery. I took it in yesterday to have the alignment fix and it helped with that but the steering wheel is still off. It looks like the whole steering column is slanted slightly downward to the right. Should I take it in to another dealer for them to look at? Anyone else have this problem?
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Old Jun 13, 2004 | 02:18 PM
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If you pointed this out to the dealer when you took it in and it's still wrong I'd start looking to another dealer.
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Old Jun 13, 2004 | 04:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Brooks
I've had my TSX for 2 weeks yesterday and my steering wheel is off center to the left when driving in a straight line; this is something that was supposed to be checked in pre delivery. I took it in yesterday to have the alignment fix and it helped with that but the steering wheel is still off. It looks like the whole steering column is slanted slightly downward to the right. Should I take it in to another dealer for them to look at? Anyone else have this problem?
Of course you should take it to the dealer. Sounds like the entire suspension needs a good looking over.
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Old Jun 13, 2004 | 05:33 PM
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me and two of my other friends with TSX have the same problem. Looks like the manufacturer's alignment measurement machine is off by a tiny little bit. Stupid Acura.
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Old Jun 13, 2004 | 08:54 PM
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Same here....I brought it to the two different dealer and still my car drifts to the left and the steering is off center....I thought i bought an acura not hyundai
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Old Jun 13, 2004 | 10:30 PM
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In general, cars are aligned such that they will stay straight on crowned roads - roads that slant towards the right curb (for water drainage). This causes the car to pull slightly to the left on flat roads and even more on roads slanted to the left.

I suspect this is the case for the TSX (mine does the same thing). The rule-of-thumb check is to drive in the right lane of a crowned road, and ensure the car stays in the same lane for 9 seconds. My TSX does pass that test, but it it annoying to have the car pull slightly left on freeways where the road slants leftward.
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Old Jun 13, 2004 | 11:02 PM
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From: Beach Cities, CA
Originally Posted by dowzer
In general, cars are aligned such that they will stay straight on crowned roads - roads that slant towards the right curb (for water drainage). This causes the car to pull slightly to the left on flat roads and even more on roads slanted to the left.

I suspect this is the case for the TSX (mine does the same thing). The rule-of-thumb check is to drive in the right lane of a crowned road, and ensure the car stays in the same lane for 9 seconds. My TSX does pass that test, but it it annoying to have the car pull slightly left on freeways where the road slants leftward.
Hmm...that seems strange...

For my car, I can take it on a flat road and release my hands off the steering wheel and the car tracks perfectly straight. When the road slants to the right, the car will tend to go to the right, and to the left when the road slants to the left. I've not heard about the 9 second rule, but if your alignment is off, then you should have it looked at. Sometimes, there is a bent suspension component that can be the culprit.
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Old Jun 13, 2004 | 11:10 PM
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Originally Posted by CGTSX2004
Hmm...that seems strange...

For my car, I can take it on a flat road and release my hands off the steering wheel and the car tracks perfectly straight. When the road slants to the right, the car will tend to go to the right, and to the left when the road slants to the left. I've not heard about the 9 second rule, but if your alignment is off, then you should have it looked at. Sometimes, there is a bent suspension component that can be the culprit.
I'd love for my car to track like that.

I really didn't notice it when I had the original Michelin tires on, but since replacing those with sticky Toyo T1-S's, it's much more noticeable on my car. The car had around 2200km on it when I changed the tires, now it has 3000km.

I'd like to take it in, but don't want the hassle of what I think will be the probable outcome - that they'll just tell me it's normal or they couldn't find anything wrong. It's not too bad most of the time, but you can definitely notice when the road slants left.
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Old Jun 14, 2004 | 11:22 AM
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I had acura do the alignment Three times. I've tested in every lane left, middle, on the right the car will go straight. I let my buddies drive it and they all agree that its weird how the car will tend to drift left like that. I don't know wat to do...i only had the car for a month.
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Old Jun 28, 2004 | 11:26 PM
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Yep, my steering alignment was slightly off when I drove it off the lot too. I thought I'd tell the dealership when I took it in for my first oil change because I haven't had any other issues.

One could have worse problems to worry about....like getting my first speeding ticket in over 5 years. Haven't had my TSX for much more than a month and I got zapped coming around a blind corner today as I was exiting the freeway on the service drive.....F@#K!!!!

I could tell the cop was trolling to hit his allocation at the end of the month - he seemed a bit sheepish and wrote me for 5 over (said I was doing 49 in a 30 zone).
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Old Jun 29, 2004 | 06:46 AM
  #11  
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My alignment was off when I took delivery on 5/7/03 - it took the dealership 3 tries to get it right. They finally had to adjust the subframe. Tracks perfectly now, & has for 1 year.
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Old Jun 29, 2004 | 01:42 PM
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I got my car back last friday after work. They had it 6 full days. They had told me before when I took it in to have it looked at that the alignment was a "little" off and so they gave it back to me. I then took it back the next weekend and said it's still off. They told me something in the suspension was bent and it would not allow them to align all 4 wheels within spec. After almost a week they actually got it to align within spec and it works great now. I had an 03 Acura 3.2 TL auto for that time as a loaner.
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Old Jul 21, 2004 | 02:43 PM
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I think my alignment is slightly off too. It pulls slightly to the left on freeways, especially when I'm in the left lane. It's kind of annoying but I don't know if I should bother trying to get it fixed. I guess I'll mention it when I go in for my 5K oil change.
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Old Jul 21, 2004 | 03:05 PM
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From: Woodbridge, VA
Originally Posted by o_nate
I think my alignment is slightly off too. It pulls slightly to the left on freeways, especially when I'm in the left lane. It's kind of annoying but I don't know if I should bother trying to get it fixed. I guess I'll mention it when I go in for my 5K oil change.

mine still does the same thing. It is only slightly off but nothing like it was before. I may have them look at it again when I do my 5k mile oil change
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Old Jul 29, 2004 | 06:30 PM
  #15  
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I took delivery of my TSX just three weeks ago, and I too have a steering wheel that's off center. In my case it's off to the right just a few degrees (maybe a quarter inch or less) but it still bugs me. Note that my car does not pull to one side or the other, and that an off-center steering wheel doesn't necessarily translate into bad alignment. I've notified the dealer about it, but I can't decide whether to let them attempt a fix or not. The reported experience of this forum doesn't bode well for success, and the less some greasy mechanic touches my car, the better. Hmm...what to do?
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Old Mar 2, 2007 | 11:09 AM
  #16  
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If your car is pulling to the left, there is a tech service bulletin to replace control arms in the rear and do an alignment due to the non adjustable camber being off. Most Acura dealers I have deat with, Acura of South Florida, Palm Beach Acura and Gunn Acura in San Antonio have been great. After mine was done at Gunn, the car pulled left and the redid the alignment.
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