Anybody have issues getting a good alignment on their CL? I have a 2003-S-6 and the alignment has sucked from day one. Dealer aligned it today and it still sucks. Seems like the wheel is at 11 o'clock most of the time while I'm going strait.

 

Maybe the factory accidentally fucked up on the installation of the wheel.

I know that when I installed the CL-S wheel on my Accordv6, my wheels weren't straight when I started. So when I finished, I test drove it, and when i drove straight, the wheel was at like 10 o'clock.

So I had to install it again, this time with the wheels straight forward.

But thats just my guess.

 

When i got my car the Steering wheel itself was not aligned right. They had to center the steering wheel. That is weird. I never heard of anyone else having the same problem. Took it to the dealer and they fixed it in a half an hour.

 

Went to the dealership again today and they fixed it. Went for a test drive with the shop supervisor and he agreed that the wheel was not centered. I'm not sure what he did but he fixed it.

Now I am a happy 2003 CL-6 owner.

Happy 4th of July!

 

[B][SIZE=3][COLOR=blue]the problems with the steering wheels not centered aren't of the vehicle, but of the alignment itself. some vehicles are extremely hard to align and center the steering wheel at the same time i.e. mercedes. you just have to find a alignment tech that really knows how to do a good job. i used to be a front end specialist and i have done my share of comebacks from other techs because of off centered steering wheels!

 

Most likely, if it's not massively off, what he did was took it behind the building, made a sharp turn to the right (since the wheel was slightly angled to the left) and once he reached the steering lock he JAMMED the wheel against the lock really hard once or twice, and that straightened it out. There's a little play in the wheel at the locks just for adjustments like that. If it's off a LOT they would have to take it in the shop, lift it, drop it out, straighten the wheel, and lock it back in.

 

Alignment still not right. I'm bummed. I own a new car that can't go straight. Whimper............

I will try again this Friday.

 

An acquaintance of mine was told it was because the roads out here are crowned when he had problems with his Ford. I love the excuses dealerships come up with.

 

I notice this problem too... but its only on certain roads. Like the last poster said, I was told a long time ago it has to do with the crowning of roads to prevent standing water (I guess). It makes sense to me. If I am in a lane where the passenger side of the road is lower than the driver side, my steering wheel is going to be turned slightly to the left when going straight to compensate.

Of course... this could be completely wrong because I just heard about it word of mouth... but based on what my steering wheel does on high crowned roads it seems to be true.

 

I believe this is actually a TRUE statement.
If you want it to track STRAIGHT, you have to adjust it a little OFF to compensate for the road surface.

For the record, my 2003 was aligned when I had my springs installed in March and it’s been fine ever since.

Shawn S

 

I don't disagree with the road shape statement. My car can't go straight regardless of what lane I'm in on essentially a straight piece of highway.

So, I believe there is something going on with my car.

 

In Northern Virginia (and im sure elseware too) we have roads that actually crown both ways. (for all of you local guys im thinking of I-66) If you are in the far left lane the road is angled down to the left, if you are in the far right lane it is down to the right. The funny thing is if you are in the middle lane there are several portions of the road where your car will be on top of the crown where both angle sides meet. This highway is made of those prefab concrete type slabs so I guess they can't smooth it out like asphalt.

At any rate... my point is even if they did compensate for crowning on your alignment... on some roads it would never be right

 

road crown is avoidable by test driving in a large parking lot or some place similar to that. since speed is not a factor in determining if your steeringwheel/ alignment is on. the reason why some techs can't get your steering whell straight is because either they didn't center your string wheel perfectly before locking it in position or during the toe adjustments the whl/tire assem. is moved someway by accident.. actually if noone can get your wheel centered correctly, if you don't mind the steering wheel being cocked the alignment of the vehicle is actually true, even though they can't get the steering wheel to center, so you don't have to worry that you're tires will wear or that the alignment is off.