Hi! I have an AT 06 TL and I have a question about steering wheel alignment. When I have my steering wheel dead centered, my car veers to the right. I took my car in to NTB to get an alignment (along with four tires). They did the alignment yet the steering wheel is still off! I took it back to them voicing my concern and they said that the car is aligned properly and that some cars like Acura and Honda are known to have steering wheels off a little. They said they could either keep it aligned (as is) which will be beneficial for the tires or "alter" it in which case the steering wheel will be more aligned, but will be bad for the tires. I kept it as is... Is this true?? Is there no way to have my steering wheel straightened out?

 

I have a similar issue. Mine isn't so bad, so I doubt I will do anything about it. If I were, I would look up the DIY here on replacing the steering wheel. Once you remove it, you can see it slides onto a gear shaft (for lack of a better explanation). Maybe moving the wheel one gear tick left or right will help rectify your issue.

 

When the alignment is performed, the steering wheel is to stabilized on center, then the front wheels are aligned. If the steering wheel is off center, return it and demand that they center the wheel, which means another alignment as they need to rotate the tie rod ends correctly to get the wheel centered, then check the specs to be certain that they are within limits. Lazy, inept mechanics.

 

That's what I thought... I wonder if I can ever find a good, honest mechanic in PA..

 

I'm sure it can be done without changing the alignment, just a matter of moving the left & right tie-rods equally to center the steering wheel, done equally it won't change the toe-in adjustment.

 

Equally and the correct rotation is the key. Didn't mention it as most wouldn't know where, or which way to adjust without affecting the alignment specs.
Let them do it over.

 

I am having 19" RDX rims, and tires installed on Tuesday, and my steering wheel is also slightly off-center to the left. Are the adjustment of the tie-rods apart of an normal alignment, or would I be charged extra to do this? Just want to know what to expect, since the shop I am going to said an alignment would be $80. I have told them about the steering wheel but this was after the quote for the alignment.

 

It's part of the alignment. The steering wheel is to be centered when the customer picks up the vehicle. Just a note, if the tires that are presently on the car aren't showing uneven wear, no need for an alignment, unless you want to get the wheel corrected.

 

Thanks for the reply. Dumb question, but how do I check for uneven wear? I guess I can look at the tread but not sure how effective that is. Can I use the head of a coin rule to see if the parts of the tread are even across the tire? If they look ok, is $80 worth straightening a steering wheel..it does annoy me a bit so maybe it is? hmmmm lol

 

No question is a dumb question. You can turn the front tires out to see the tread easier and if not worn evenly, or feathering is noticed, time for an alignment. Feathering is when the tire is dragged across the roadway (exaggeration) so the tread isn't smooth as you can feel the difference in running your had up and down on the tread. If the wheel is off center, and an annoyance, have the TL aligned, but make certain they give you the printout of the before and after specs, just to see if there may have been a problem. Most cars can go for many years without an alignment, and sometimes none is needed until suspension parts fail, from wear or striking and object.

 

Thank you once again. I think I remember the shop saying that they would let me know what the before specs are at no charge then let me know if an alignment is actually needed. If it isnt needed then its a matter of if I want them to recenter the wheel, then they would have to do the alignment of the wheels after that is done anyway I guess.

 

going tru the same mess had tow alignments so far on my tl you may have some problems with the front end going to a alignment shop to get mine checked will respond back once i know the real deal