Hey everyone, I just purchased a 2007 Acura Tl Type-S two days ago and didn’t realize this until yesterday that the steering felt pretty heavy. I noticed two things:

1. The steering felt pretty heavy when not moving or at low speed (feels midway between a vehicle without powering steering and with power steering). This doesn’t bother me and after searching, I found that this is pretty much how the vehicle is from manufacture.

2. The second and most concerning problem that I’ve noticed is at higher speeds (on the freeway 60mph+) there is a lot of resistance. I find myself having to grip the steering wheel pretty tight the whole time which made my forearm kind of sore after driving for 1.5 hours on the freeway. The car does steer a little bit to the left when letting go of the steering wheel and can defiantly feel more resistance and struggle trying to switching lanes to the right. Could this just be my alignment?

 

It could be the alignment (my fave Acura shop charges $110 to do it so it's an investment to just check) so I will also say I had a similar problem after I purchased, and for me it turned out to be the tires.

I'm guessing the dealership gave me crusty a$$ tires in an attempt to nickel and dime me (or recoup losses) because I requested alternative rims -- they were all scratched up, and a redo of tint -- peeling and bubbling, [at no charge] before I would accept delivery. My bad for being high maintenance and wanting a presentable new, used car.

Basically, check both tires and alignment. Hope I was of some help.

 

The heavy steering at low speeds is normal.
As mentioned above, make sure your tires are worn evenly, and invest in an alignment for the drifting issue.

 

Thanks, I'll check the tires and give you guys an update. If it's still not fixed I'll do the alignment.

 

alignment will fix the drift, HOWEVER check your LCA (Lower Compliance Arm) bushing make sure its not rip or COMPLETELY trip apart if its then your alignment will go to waste. make sure you have the power steering fluid flush, its also help with the steering feel lighter (just a tiny bit).

 

sounds like your power steering pump may be letting air into the system. Take the cap off the fluid container and see if there are any bubbles in the fluid when the engine is running. If there are, the seals need to be replaced to make sure the PS system maintains proper pressure.

Alignment will help the drift