I know its been brought up a few times before but Im really at my wits end with how many minor adjustments I constantly have to make in order to keep the car in a lane. Since I took delivery it's been like this and I dont know if its specific to my car but is anyone who previously posted about this still finding that it still exists or have you re-arranged your driving position and it fixed the problem?

Im another drive away from calling the service center to look at it but other than that I dont know if there is a problem or it's simply the attitude of the car.

 

It wouldn't hurt to make sure that your car is aligned correctly, and I'm sure the dealer would help you out by checking it.

But...the car is supposed to point quickly.

I thought it was mostly a characteristic of the SH-AWD cars, but I see from your photo that you have a FWD car.

I don't mind it at all...I think it's great that we can point the car so quickly.

But...it's possible your alignment, while nominally within specifications, might be on the aggressive side. That is to say you could be within spec and have an aggressively toe'd front end.

So the dealer should check for you.

I've had an MDX SH-AWD person complain about something like this. When I drove his MDX, however, it seemed to me it was handling marvelously, albeit a little aggressively and a little quickly for an SUV.

:-)

 

I agree ,I would start with an alignment check. I have not notice this with my TL

 

So far, I've noticed no problem.

 

This just about sums up why I've been hesitant on bringing it in but will definitely do so to rule out a non-spec issue. I was actually blown away by how well the car could pin point in an evasive situation but for every other second the car seems off I'll report back with what I find.

 

No problems here also. I do notice, coming from an "ancient" ('97) Maxima, that the steering is SO much more sensitive. Like you said, I am sure it's stellar during evasive maneuvers.

When I took my car in for the pulsating noise issue (long thread in this forum) I took a ride with the head mechanic. In the process of diagnosing that issue, he checked the align on the road before checking it on the rack. He said that Acura uses a 6 second rule to see if there is an alignment problem before checking on the rack.

Get the car to the top of the crown of a road so the crowning will not influence the test. Get the car going straight and up to speed (55 MPH or so), let go of the wheel and count to 6 Mississippi. If the car did not drift, then you're ok.

Mine was fine on the road (even though I did not complain about an alignment issue) and then checked out fine too on the rack. They put it up there for the pulsating noise isse so they might as well check the alignment.

 

I had the same problem as u. It's not the alignment's problem. It's actually the steering wheel tilted to one side (my dealer said it's due to the design......I was like WTF....)
anyway..... they re-adjusted the steering wheel column for me and the car can go straight now.

Also, check for your wheel balance as well.... although it shouldn't cause you this problem, but I found out 3 out of 4 tires on my 09 AWD TL are out of balance after I got it for 3 months.... ( I swear I did NOT do anything that can damage the balancing... ) the dealer wanna charge me for balancing as Honda won't cover.....but I argued with their manager..and they finally waived the fees........ JYI....

PS: Does Honda's warranty excluded the wheel balancing now? As I remembered my old Odyssey... the dealer perform wheel balancing for free when I brought my car in for services.....

 

You need to find a new dealer! First with the crooked steering wheel as being "as designed". I would have walked right out and never return. Then the 3 months and we'll have to charge you to rebalance. That's BS.

In my pulsating problem (sorry to keep quoting this), they replaced both my front tires, twice, to resolve a balance/vibration issue. Granted they had flat spots that couldn't balance out but still, they did it without me asking or pleading.

I would imagine that there's a point in the car's life where balancing is not free but 3 months into ownership there should be no push back from the dealer with ANYTHING that you find if you weren't the cause of it.

 

Same issue here, but my problem is when I am driving between 0-80 KM/H (canadian) the steering wheel seems to be fine, when I get higher up 80+..the steering wheel is off centre to the right and noticeable. When I centre it, the car drifts left.

I have had it checked twice, once I think they replaced the shims? (thats what I heard him say) and MAYBE an alignment? no clue, and second time they told me its just the design of the car and the way Acura's are is that you always need to feel like the steering wheels needs to be adjusted.

I would think for a $50,000 car you should be able to let go of the wheel and have the car drift straight for a while before moving out the lane.

I made another appointment (my third) on January 18 to have the tech sit with me and see it first hand.

My only concern is, when they do some adjustment, it may throw it off on lower speeds, i am really confused what to do here, but I really don't feel this should be like this on a brand new car.

I will go to my next visit and then speak to Acura Canada if there is no resolve.

 

I tried the "6 mississippi" thing this morning and I couldn't keep it straight for more than 5. Took it to my shop, checked the alignment and it was spot on. Dunno. Never heard the 6 second rule from honda management and do a lot of warranty work for them. I called Acura technical line and they have never heard of this either. Sounds like Acura of Boston is giving you a fast line. One of the reasons why they didn't fight my lemon law claim, they knew I was an informed customer.

 

Possible. But my car kept straight for at least 6 seconds when we did the test. So when I saw it was "true", well, I really couldn't argue. I was in the car with the mechanic.

 

I did some more testing - I notice the steering wheel off centre in the far left lane of the highway, maybe the "crown" theory they gave me about the road is true, as I move to the centre lane or far right I notice the wheel can remain straight with no problems.

 

I make a number of adjustments but I don't think there's anything wrong with my steering per se. For me, the weighting seems off and the steering just lacks that "on center" feeling.

 

The lack of on centre feel seems to be a characteristic of many SH-AWD cars. In the DC area I know someone who finally traded in his MDX because he didn't like having to pay so much attention to his driving.

Do the non-AWD TL's drive the same way?

I have a DC2 ITR K20A that I use on the track, and it has a fairly aggressive alignment.

So the TL SH-AWD seems just perfectly rock steady to me...but I could be prejudiced.

Maybe we're just supposed to pay more attention to our driving? LOL.... I dunno.

 

I LOVE the way the steering feels in my TL. "On-center" to me means the resistance to turning the wheel off-center. Not only is there none on the TL, there is close to no play in the steering.

The car tracks like a laser, and sure some corrections are needed on less than smooth pavement. I can live with it. Like George, I relate the steering characteristics to that a a track-tuned car.

 

Guys, I have a service apointment tom. Will it cost me or is this covered under warranty?

 

In my opinion it should be covered but given your dealer's past track record I would ask first!

 

I've never, ever been charged for scoping out an issue that may be covered by warranty. If a dealer wants to make a charge for finding nothing wrong (i.e., cannot duplicate condition) on a potential warranty issue, I'd find another dealer. That's just total BS. I had an 05 Accord V6-6spd that popped out of 3rd gear. On the 3rd visit to the dealer, it performed for them and I got it fixed under warranty. Not only did they R&R the linkage and bushings that I thought were the problem, they replaced the entire gear set and output shaft! They did not charge me for any of the prior visits.

That being said, unless the problem I'm having is a threat to safe operation or really an annoyance (like my trunk lid button not operating when it's below freezing - my ONLY problem in 10,000 miles on this TL), I usually wait until a routine service stop.

 

Ahhh....the old 6-6 TSB. :-)

 

Sort of related question - does the TL seem to have more than normal slight vibration/movement in the pedals than your used to with any other car? i just feel the pedals to be so sensitive, either just while crusing, or even if your crusing and just touch the side of your brake pedal, you always feel slight vibrations/movements with the road/driving.

am i the only one who notices this or is this pretty consistant with others as well?

 

^^yes I noticed this too. I think it has a lot to do with the 245 profile tires.

 

^ +1 I think it's the OEM tires.

 

just wanted to be sure its not something else loose - so its normal, wierd, but normal

 

They are telling me something is wrong with the rear differential, will update again when I have more info.

 

looking at the pic in your avatar you have a fwd right?

 

Yes sir

 

then you do not have a rear differential.So what could be wrong with something you don't have?

 

Do I have tech in my title? I'm reporting back what they told me. I havent seen the car in a week and info has been slow.

 

i didn't mean to sound ignorant and i know you do not have tech in your title.Just if the dealer told me it was the rear diff on my front wheel drive car i would of asked questions.Must just be the service advisor telling you something just so they feel there keeping you up to date.This way even if they have no clue whats wrong you think there making progress.Hope everything works out keep us informed on what they find