jirik

When the steering wheel is in the position that corresponds to going directly straight, it is actually turned little bit (about 5 degrees) to the right. The misalignment is not large, but is noticeable and annoying because it is a new car.

I reported this to the dealer and the answer was that it is OK, it cannot be aligned better because there are some discrete steps how the steering wheel can be aligned and aligning it one step to the left would overshoot and make it misaligned in the opposite direction.

Is it true? I never experienced anything like that with my other cars.

mp3coupe

jirik
First thing I would do is check your tire pressure. Second thing is to find a few nice roads to drive on. If it has more then a few lanes try each lane. Then turn around and drive on the opposite side. What you could be experiencing is the crown in the road. How many miles are on your car? How does your tires look, are they wearing funny?

The statement from the dealer is kind of true, when you perform an alignment you center the steering wheel and lock it with a spring loaded clamp that sits on the seat and 2 arms hold the wheel. From there you adjust the tie rod ends. Now the wheels are straight and so is the steering wheel. However when you take it down the street the crown in the road will make the steering wheel off center. Some guys compensate for this but it’s a gamble.

jirik

mp3coupe,
Yes, this is the first thing I did, and the dealer even rotated the tires, but it didn't make any difference. I can notice the problem on any roads (the car is not that new, it has over 5000 miles on it).

I forgot to mention that the misalignment has been there from the very beginning since I bought the car new some 4 months ago.

mp3coupe

Could very well be your out of alignment. Getting an alignment done under warranty is hard to do... Potholes, curb shots, ect many places will say no, or give you the above excuse...Remember one thing the squeaky wheel always gets the grease.... Call Acura and raise a stink, go back to the dealer or just talk to the service manager and tell him to "good will it" or you'll go else where for services and required maintance i know all the holes in this field

Southbound

Have you had the car since it was new? If so, has the wheel been off center from the start, or has it slowly moved that way? Does it pull to the left when you let go of the wheel, or does it go straight down the road? Have you done any suspension mods?

I have 7500 miles on my 2002 TLS and just rotated the tires. The wheel has been perfectly centered from the beginning and has not drifted. Nothing changed when I rotated the tires. The wheel is still centered and the car still tracks true. The wear has been very even between tires, and It tracks straight down the road when I let go of the wheel. SO SHOULD YOURS!

It is TOTAL BS to say that they can't center the steering wheel!!! All you need to do is move BOTH tie rods the same amount in the same direction. If while driving straight down the road, your steering wheel is cocked slightly to the right... Then BOTH tie rods need to be adjusted by the same amount in the direction that moves both tires in a right turn direction. Now you will be turning slightly right when the wheel is cocked slightly right. Thus, the steering wheel now corresponds to the correct position of the tires. Now when you drive straight down the road, the steering wheel will automatically position itself to the left and become centered. YOU HAVE TO MOVE EACH TIE ROD BY THE SAME AMOUNT or the toe in will be affected. And the amount needed may take some trial and error to get it "spot on" BUT IT'S A STANDARD ADJUSTMENT WITH INFINITE SETTINGS. The only thing that would make it jump from 5 degrees right to 5 degrees left would be if you removed the steering wheel and put it back on at different teeth in the spline. Some LAZY shops center the steering wheel this way, but PROPERLY adjusting the tie rods will allow you to fine tune the position, and should be the method to follow.

You shouldn't have to put up with a crooked steering wheel while driving A NEW LUXURY CAR WITH 5000 MILES! I am anal about that situation myself. If it's the slightest bit off, it drives me nuts... Yes certain roads will tend to pull the car one direction or the other... but INTERSTATE highways have a standard pitch for rain runoff. Car manufacturers typically set alignment specs to compensate for this slight slope. The wheel should be straight most of the time.

Do as others have suggested... MAKE THE DEALER DEAL WITH IT... You bought an Acura NOT a GEO SPECK! If they want your future maintenance business, they should take care of this under warranty. It would be different if it had been damaged or had 50,000 miles on it. But if it's stock IT'S WRONG!

GOOD LUCK!

Mr Hyde

An Alignment will fix that problem easily, not sure why the dealer told you that BS and didnt bother to check yours first. If you bought the car and the steeing wheel was like that from the start, make them fix it, plain and simple by doing an alignment.

All they have to do is put the car up on the alignment rack with the steering wheel dead center,(they have specific steering wheel holders just so that what you are complaining about does not happen) then loosen the appropriate parts, do the alignment, make the adjustments, and then retighten everything; nice and simple. Wheb your car was alligned before, the wheel probably just wasnt dead on center. Dont take anything less than a new aligment by someone who knows what ther are doing as the solution.

jirik

Guys, thanks for your responses. I went back to the dealer and told them what you wrote. They agreed to do the alignment and it is fine now.