My TL has 143K miles on it, I recently replaced the front shocks because I was getting the floating feeling while driving but it still feels like something is not right. While driving my steering wheel goes every which way that the road takes it and it's very annoying. The steering wheel feels very loose at times. I know some people have said that having the rack and pinion changed out would solve the issue but i'd rather try different options before I pay around 500-600 dollars getting it replaced. Has anyone had this issue eliminated without replacing the rack and pinion? Right now the handling on the car is horrible granted its at stock height.

 

anyone with this issue? fixed it?

 

have you checked your lower control arm compliance bushings?

 

Before additional expenses, here's some reading:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=47

 

So I checked the right side bushing while I was doing an oil change and it seems that the bushing has two tears in it. But would that cause the steering wheel to feel loose? and also make the car steer different directions due to uneven roads? Say I'm on the highway going about 60mph while cornering left (not a sharp left, more like a long drawn out left) if I hit an bumps in the road the car will shimmy back and forth and then re-again stability.



I also noticed some play in what I believe is the steering rack, isn't that suppose to be tight?

 

definitely the compliance bushing. Have the same problem in the TSX will probably have to get it replaced soon.

 

So the bushing will make the car more stable and tighten up the steering wheel? Even though I replaced my shocks the car still has that floating feeling, the front wobbles left and right whenever theres bumps in the road. I'm just having a hard time believing that it'll solve my problem.

The reason is I read another thread where people were saying that their compliance bushings were torn and they didn't have any of the symptoms I'm mentioning

 

The Lower control arm bushing has nothing to do with it. Yes I would replace it but that is not the issue. The part you highlighted in the second picture is your axle. That is also not the issue. Either take your car to a mechanic to check the tie rod ends or google how to diagnose a faulty tie rod end. That is most likely what is causing your issue.

My LCA bushing have been torn for a while by my steering is precise and works fine. Will be switching to solid bushings soon but steering is affected by the hardware controlling it.

 

This is the kind response I was looking for, just researched how to check for it and I will be doing that this weekend while I do a 1x3. I hope this is the cause to my problem. I never really looked into the tie rod because when I took it to midas for there FREE estimate they said everything in the suspension feels tight and only recommended that I change the shocks which I did and that only got rid of the clunking noise when I hit bumps. I really hope this is the fix because I hate driving the car like this, so unstable.

 

It's really annoying to troubleshoot and find the issue. I've been there before. Eric is great for that kind of info. Takes a lot of trial and error to start figuring it out.

 

I know that I wont know this until I take a look at the car but should you always replace the inner tie rod if you plan on replacing the outer one?

 

Only if it has unnecessary play.

 

Quick update, so I have checked if there was any play in any of the components and I didn't feel any. I didn't trust myself so I took it to a mechanic and they also said the same thing and that the alignment is fine.

I honestly know nothing about steering and suspension components so its hard to even pin point whats wrong. The steering wheel still pulls over uneven roads going roughly 35-40+, also on the highway when going 60+ into a slight left/right turn then hitting a bump the car shimmys back and forth feels very unstable when it does this. The steering wheel has a bit of play in it. I'll try driving my friends TL this week and compare. But in the meantime any other suggestions?

In addition: Don't know if this plays a role but I was told from MIDAS that my front motor mount is was broken which I'm the process of getting fixed.

 

Let's see, Midas said everything tight and fine, you found nothing, then a mechanic found everything fine as well as alignment within specs, guess it's not the steering or suspension.

 

This weekend I'm going to check my ball joints, after researching how to correctly check them. I'm not sure if they took the time to check them, i'm assuming that they just did the shake test and visual appearance. When doing both test everything seems fine. The symptoms that occur with ANY play in ball joints align to what my car is doing. I'll report back once i've checked them. Any thoughts on how much it'll cost to replace the ball joints as I don't want to deal with the problems I've read on here with replacing them myself? Might have the tie rods done at the same time.

 

I'll say it isn't the ball joints.

What size, make tires are on the car?

 

235/45R17 Michelin Pilot Sport

 

They're good to go, so how about air pressure?
Some have experienced problems with wander condition, esp. if air pressure isn't correct.

 

They might be a little high, i'll have to check tomorrow...

 

I'm experiencing the same "wobbling" like sloppiness with my tl. Planning on going to get it checked out tomorrow, but I'm curious to know if you ever found out what was wrong with your car.

 

Ive been experiencing the same exact problem on my 07 type-s for 4 months now and no shop has been able to tell me what the problem is. Wondering if you ever found a solution to your problem

 

wait, you said you have pilot sports? the directional kind? if so thats your problem. if thats not it you have to check your rack bushings, sometime they go bad and you can have a loose steering wheel feel or drag to left and right.