I took my car in for service this week because of a dead battery and while the car was there, they told me the tech noticed that I had a power steering leak. They said they went ahead and replaced my power steering rack and refilled the steering fluid.
I went to pick up my car yesterday and the steering feels a lot stiffer than before. Is that normal? Is the new rack maybe tuned differently or something? At first I was thinking that I got used to the steering on the loaner (09 TL) but the more I drove mine yesterday the more I started feeling it was too stiff.

Should I take it back in or is this just the way the steering is supposed to feel like in the first place? For reference, while parking, I am having a hard time steering with one hand for example. It was not like that before.

Any comments, thoughts or suggestions appreciated.

Thanks!

 

I had the exact same problem on my '06 when they replaced the rack. It seems stiffer than it did when new. I also wondered if I had gotten used to the rental car. But when the girlfriend drove it and brought up that the steering was stiff, I was convinced. However it goes away in about 500 miles, nothing to worry about.

 

Its a relief to know Im not crazy. I have about 3k miles left of warranty so anytime anything feels different I take it to the dealership while its on Acura's dime! The people at the dealership probably think Im a hypercondriac. I bet they are counting down until my warranty is up. Hahaha,

Well, I will just wait like you said.

Thanks for the reply!

 

Yeah same thing happened with my car. Fluid in the rack. Once they replaced it they even told me it would seem harder but that was maybe 8 months ago or so and it feels normal to me. But when I get into a different car, i almost jerk the wheel because my TL still seems tight compared to other cars.

 

Did any of the above have a modified/dropped suspension? If so did they try and blame it on the mods?

 

Mine is lowered about 1.25" in the front. They didn't give me any problems but the lead tech is a big time Acura enthusiast.