Yes, it's got tight steering. I noticed during my test drive, and my friend who drove it the other night blurted it out almost immediately. I'm sure that was a design choice, and you get used to it very quickly. It's definitely not designed for the pinkie-spinner crowd, which is why I laugh when I see someone's parents driving a TL.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned tire pressure - if the steering effort really bugs you, pump up all your tires so they get harder and they will turn more easily.

 

Some words from a test of the 305HP '09 SH-AWD version of the TL. Notice the word "LIGHT" on the new better handling version.

With the 19" wheels and Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s, the TL SH-AWD possessed seemingly endless grip. During the few times where I probed the TL's limits, the car exhibited pretty good balance.

The two-ton heft of the TL SH-AWD was well masked by the tires' tremendous grip, the wonders of SH-AWD, the light steering feel and the TL's phenomenal new brake package, but all of these attributes can't quite cover for the sheer bulk of the vehicle.

 

These words won't work with the 3rd gen TL-S, the 3rd gen uses hydraulic steering while the new TL uses electric steering. As well the steering on cars with SH-AWD are much lighter than ones with FWD

 

The words heavy steeering & good handling don't work either.

 

The manufacturer decided to leave the steering direct, and hydraulic, without the "speed sensitivity" and electrical input, and I'm happy for that. You cant feel the torque steer on the car even when driving hard, and going thu bumps, the wheel doesn't jump left and right like it used to on my Maxima. The tight steering is nice when youre driving the car hard thu the twisties as well. At first it seemed strange to me, but I got used to it and I like it. The only thing that I would like is the steering wheel to be a little smaller and thicker..

I was given a 2010 TL (FWD) loaner last time I was at Acura, and when I was driving the car out of the lot, at first I though the steering was broken, it felt like its totally disconnected from the wheels LOL. I could turn the wheel with one index finger... I didn't like how light the steering was.. I felt all the bumps, the steering wheel would go left and right when going thu rough patches of road and hitting the gas, and you definitely felt the torque steer. But I like the way the wheel itself was, it was smaller and thicker and felt great in my hands..I wonder if I can swap the steering wheel from 4G to my 3G and make all the buttons work..hmmm

 

Ahhh, the 2-year, bi-annual bump.

 

From what I know... Stiff steering results in better handling while light steering doesn't. This is why when I drove my friends Lexus the steering is so light. I can be wrong though. =) Its my driver perspective.

 

It is also speed variable - i.e. higher assist at low speeds, little to no assist at high speeds. Maybe OP's got some kind of electrical fault in the steering system?

 

It's neither. Better steering assist can increase the driver's feel of what the front tires are doing.

Lexus has the world's worst, most numb steering ever.

Normally when powersteering is overboosted it's very light but you can't feel what the tires are doing. When you're at the limit this is a bad thing. You should be able to feel through the wheel when the front tires are starting to slip.

If it's underboosted, it can give you better road feel at the cost of being harder to steer. It can also be just hard to steer without good road feel. There's a happy medium somewhere. Having no boost at high speeds is a very good thing.

If you had ever driven a non assisted car with a manual rack, you can feel ever pebble, you can feel everything the front tires are doing.

FWD is naturally going to numb the steering up a bit. The TL HAS to be a little stiffer than normal to help with the torque steer. RWD can be lighter and at the same time give better feedback to the driver.

 

Ahh, thanks for info!

For RWD, my M3's steering doesn't feel light actually.

 

Yeahhh... nothing like a 2 year bump
even if it was totally incidental lol

 

Well, after driving the car for a bit over two years, I can say that I really like the tight steering. It always gives me tons of feedback when the tires are close to the traction limit - I never wonder what's going on! This must be the point of the steering setup.