Steering pull to the right (RHD model)

P

pauly69

Member
:
CX-5 Sport 2.2D 175PS AWD NAV Auto, Crystal White
Had my diesel awd auto a couple of weeks now, and frequently noticed a tendency to steer right, this on a UK RHD car. Needs constant albeit slight pressure to prevent steering wheel (and actual steer direction) drift off centre when on flat straight road e.g. Motorway.

Also noticed, perhaps related, when rear view camera is on and steering wheel dead centre the guidelines are not straight - surely they should be straight if the wheels were straight ahead???

Car is booked in to dealer tomorrow but would appreciate any clues or insight in case they try to dismiss my concerns.

Thanks!
 
If the air pressure in the tires are off, that can cause the auto to pull to the left or right.

Also it may need an alignment, though unlikely for a brand new car. But with the shoddy build quality of this car and Mazda I wouldn't put it past them.

Please post up what the dealer said was wrong and what steps they took to correct it. I am curious what it could be.
 
Yeah, I should have mentioned I already checked the basics - pressures OK and tires were installed correct way around i.e. 'outside' out.

Oh, and no wobble at any speed so far up to 80 mph, so despite large number of 5gram weights (10 on one of the rear wheels!), they seem to be balanced.
 
did you or your wife hit a curb/pothole? sounds like you damaged the suspension and caused it to go out of alignment. They might do the first alignment for free out of courtesy but probably not again if you keep hitting potholes.
 
nizzy1115 said:
did you or your wife hit a curb/pothole? sounds like you damaged the suspension and caused it to go out of alignment. They might do the first alignment for free out of courtesy but probably not again if you keep hitting potholes.
Click to expand...

Understand where you are coming from, but definite NO to the question :) Only I have driven the car (which had < 10 miles on when picked up from dealer) and no curbs or bad potholes or similar. Has been doing this since day 1. I agree it likely needs a full alignment check, will have to see if they have the ability.
 
Some dealers including my Subaru dealer would do a free re-alignment <10K miles IF there was pulling etc AND there was no tire/rim damage, indicating a curb/pot-hole was causing the problem. I have ~ 60,000 on my CX7 and no alignment ever needed. Sometimes a slight pulling (always in the same direction) is caused by radial tire belt differences and, a rotation will cure it. Hope you find the problem.
 
By rotation do you know if front to back or left to right would be preferable given this is always pulling to right?
Thanks.
 
My FWD CX-5 is doing the same thing, pulling to the right. Much more noticeable going 70+ mph. I took it to the dealership, after they had it on the jacks about 3 different times with 3 different test drives, they came to the conclusion that it was radial pull, not mal-alignment or tire pressure, etc. They turned the tire around but it hasn't helped. They said sometimes to fix it they just have to replace tires, or move one of the rears to the front.
 
Wow never heard of radial pull before. Will mention to dealer to see if they know about that if they don't find anything wrong with alignment/brakes.
 
Just realised the rear view camera comment probably doesn't make sense to most of you, it seems the predictive guidelines are not included on US/CA/AU models. In UK the lines move with the steering wheel, but on my car they indicate I am turning even with steering wheel and driving wheels straight ahead! Something definitely not right there :(
 
Well not much news today but the dealer admits a problem which is good. They suspect the tracking needs adjustment, and after that are going to recalibrate the steering which they believe will resolve the rear view camera guidelines issue. Booked in again tomorrow, will report updates as I make progress.
 
Dealer had car all day today, but unable to fully resolve the problem. They have reset tracking, tried changing front wheels over (which I think would have identified any radial pull), re-centred the steering wheel but they report they are now out of ideas. They are going to discuss with Mazda next week, so here's hoping for some better ideas from them. I suspect a Mazda tech visit to see my car will be required :(
 
OK, so dealer has obtained procedure to reset steering angle sensor on CX5. Booked in next week, fingers crossed.
I'm convinced it is the steering angle sensor, because other symptoms are now apparent...
1. power steering pull to right (trying to center because it thinks steering angle is left)
2. Reversing camera guidelines falsely indicate I have wheel left.
3. AFS points the nearside headlight left when driving in a straight line (thinks I am driving around a left turn)
4. i-stop only works when I have the wheel turned to the right (which it interprets as straight ahead - a requirement for i-stop to work).

Will report if it gets fixed next week!
 
Finally, fixed :) Not sure of all of the details, but the main bit was resetting the steering angle sensor. Resolved 1,2,4 above - just got to wait for dark to ensure the AFS is OK, but I'm not expecting any problems.

On the downside, they have managed to add several small scratches / marks to the steering wheel 'hub' i.e. the airbag module, around the edges. Purely cosmetic I know but annoying - why can't they just take more care? Undecided whether to have a rant at dealer, maybe I'm being too picky :(
 
RANT RANT RANT RANT...if you wait and something happens to any of that stuff, they'll blame you. At the very least bring it to their attention.
 
Yeah you are right, I'll mention it to them. Why do I feel so bad about telling them, it's not my fault! :( (no need to answer that one).

@Applauso, I'd rather not say until I see how they deal with my complaint. If they don't step up, I'll name and shame.
 
...and this particular saga finally draws to a close!

Dealer did indeed 'step up' and they replaced the steering wheel airbag cover which they accidentally scratched during repair, so all is now good.

Anyone can make a mistake, it's how they deal with it that matters and in this case they responded well.
 
Last edited:
pauly69 said:
...and this particular saga finally draws to a close!

Dealer did indeed 'step up' and they replaced the steering wheel airbag cover for the one they accidentally scratched during repair, so all is now good.

Anyone can make a mistake, it's how they deal with it that matters and in this case they responded well.
Click to expand...

Excellent. Good to Know.
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Steering feels...."Notchy" at highway speeds after getting new tires
Replies
0
Views
1K
sstewart
S
Glaucus
Reasons why a car might pull to a side?
Replies
6
Views
2K
Tchman2016
T
F
cCicking noise when steering wheel is turned all the way to the left
Replies
12
Views
10K
craigo
C

Latest posts

Back