Anyone else having the steering wheel off center?

alexeilb · 10-20-2010, 09:58 PM

I just got my insight on sat, and today was the first time I got to drive it on the highway, besides the high frequency sound the car is pretty quiet and smooth. Although I did notice my steering wheel is not exactly centered. Its tilted slightly to the right, and if I turn it so that its straight I end up going slightly left on the freeway.
Even if I straighten out the car it still want to go left a little. I only weigh 167lb so I don't think my weight is causing the car go left. I was thinking maybe the tires are slightly off, but they got the gray cap on so I figured the dealer filled em up before giving it to me. My second thought was maybe the alignment it off, could that be possible. And if it is, can they still fix it although the car got 180 miles on it?

**Jayemtee** · 10-20-2010, 10:12 PM

Check tire pressure. If that's okay, back to the dealer.

alexeilb · 10-20-2010, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayemtee

Check tire pressure. If that's okay, back to the dealer.

Its ok to check although its filled with something else rather than air? The cap is gray, I think its filled with nitrogen or something. What if it is low, should I just fill with regular air?

**Jayemtee** · 10-20-2010, 11:43 PM

Yes, it's ok to check and it's ok to fill with regular compressed air.

If you have the free time, there is nothing wrong with going back to the dealer right away. The disadvantage would be the time, the advantage would be to build a history of the problem with the dealer in the rare case of there being a recurring problem.

carniver · 10-21-2010, 12:59 AM

Obviously it needs realignment. Send it back to dealer

CraigCA · 10-21-2010, 02:40 AM

I think nitrogen is a green cap. That's what it is on my truck that got new tires from Costco. They fill with nitrogen.

ac7ss · 10-21-2010, 04:12 AM

The color of the valve cap has nothing to do with the content of the tire. Some places use a different color, but I have had green caps on my valves and the tires are only 78% nitrogen.

Ehetleos · 10-21-2010, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carniver

Obviously it needs realignment. Send it back to dealer

+1 to that

Willie Williford · 10-21-2010, 01:02 PM

Also don't forget that most modern highways are "crowned". (For water drainage) Find your self a flat, open, vacant parking lot. Stop. Put the vehicle in D (If automatic) and let it idle across the parking lot. That will tell you if the alignment is off. It should go in a straight line.
My Opinion

Willie

eddgie · 10-21-2010, 02:20 PM

If the car doesn't PULL to the right (tracks straigh with no pressure on the wheel), then the steering wheel itself may simply be crooked on the steering shaft.

Now while we like to think it should be PERFECT, most car companies have a margin that they will accept. I had a new car once that had this condition, and when I took it back, the dealer said that it was acceptable as long as it was no more than 7 degrees from level.

I called the district manager, and he said the same thing.

It was NOT a Honda.. A Pontiac.

So, it COULD be that it is in tolerance.

What happens is that the shaft has splines on it, and of course the steering wheel does too. If the wheels are pointed straight ahead, sometimes the splines ar course enoug that if you fit the wheel on one spine alignment it is off in one direction, and if you turn it so that it alignes to the next index it is off in the other direction.

The fix is to take it to someone and tell them that you want it corrected (though you can easily do it yourself it the dealer says it is within tolerance.

When I had my Pontiac, it bothered me, and when the dealer wouldn't fix it, I did it myself.

IS all you do is loosen the bolts on the tie rod ends and turn the tie rods in and out as needed to correct the situation.

For example, if the care goes left when the steering wheel is straight ahead, this means that the left hand tie rod needs to be lengthened if it is behind the front axle (which is pretty normal). This pushes the front of the left wheel in a bit. Then, you need to shorten the right hand tie rod, which pushes th front of the right wheel to the right a bit.

The key is to make the EXACT same amount of turns on each side. If you lengthen the left rod by 1/2 turn, you must shorten the right rod by 1/2 turn as well.

As long as you take the exact same amount of turns, you will preserve the correct toe-in angle.

I know it bothered me when I had the pontiac, and later, I had to do the same thing to my Jaguar. It is a little thing, but it was just enough that the compulsive creature in me didn't like it. In both cases it was quite simple to correct.

So, if the dealer says that it is within tolerance, any alignment shop can do this. They do NOT have to re-align the car for this condition.

If they refuse to do it without doing a complete re-alignment, call some other shops and ask if they will just do the wheel centering.

Good luck.