Problems with Steering

[nks_bb]

Just wondering if anyone has/had the same problem as I do with steering??

I find that I am alway having to steer my car to the right, just to go in a straight line. Almost to the 1:00 position just to keep the car straight. And just to try it out, from a stop light at a minor intersection, I straighted out the steering wheel and drove it straight with out controlling the steering wheel, before I could get to the other side of the intersection half the car was already on the otherside of the street (oncoming traffic side). Is this an alignment issue, and if so, could I get the dealer to fix this since I've only had the car for 2.5 weeks. It's really starting to get annoying.

 

[mspdfreak]

Yep, it's in need of realigning. And I wouldn't wait too long to get it done. Those tires will be bald in no time!

 

[Swerny]

Alignment bud. Alignment is covered under the "adjustments" section of your warranty. It is covered for free for the first year or 20,000 kms, whichever comes first.
I would get yours fixed now, and again right before the 1 year/20 K expires. I did.

 

[GotTurbo?]

also check your tire pressure

 

[MetalSpeed]

Yup same thing happened to me to back and steers like a charm.(hump)

 

[Crock]

Alignment is covered under the warranty? I have 7K miles and the car pulls to the right.

 

[jersey_emt]

Alignment is covered for the first 12K miles

 

[TX Speed Demon]

Also check to make sure the bolts that hold your control arms to the subframe are tightened up. One of mine came loose and on another the nut actutally came all the way off. My car was pulling to the right and felt like it had a broken strut when going through long hard turns. I tightened these back up and haven't had a problem since.

I must say I don't think this is a common problem. It was probably caused by improper repairs from an accident I had last summer.

 

[KyRaceFan]

i better go get my car aligned then... i got 200 miles left.

 

[nks_bb]

Damn dealer won't do an alignment for me. He wants me to take it back to the place I got my winter tires and have them rotate my tires. I then told him that i just had it put on and everything is new,here's a brief outline of our conversation..

Dealer:"it don't matter, have them rotate the tires and check the tire pressure"
Me: " well they just did that less than a week ago"
Dealer: "That's what it is, alignments don't cause cars to pull left or right"
Me: "really??
Dealer: "Yeah, take it back to the tire place"
Me: "So should I bring it back here when I get my stocks on, cause it was doing that befoer I had my winters put on.
Dealer:"................."
Me: " Well??"
Dealer: "Ummm. Yeah, I'll do it when you have your stocks back on"


I mean what the f*ck is that. He then tries to explain that he can't do the alignment because the tires are not the same size. dammit it's only 0.01 inch difference.

 

[Mach 3.5 Turbo]

The thing about alignments not causing the car to pull is true. Usually, it's a bad tire, or low pressure that causes this. A bad alignment just causes uneven wear, and make the car harder to center after a corner. Tires naturally are adjusted to pull the car to straight. If your "toe-in" is out (the usual alignment adjustment), your car either centers itself too hard or too soft. It doesn't pull to one side. The steering wheel might be rotated a bit, but the car can't pull one way. When you take your car in for an alignment, they usually only adjust the toe-in and nothing else. If your camber/castor is different between sides it will cause the car to pull, but you pretty much have to wreck the car to knock these out of adjustment. On our cars, I don't think there even is adjustable camber/caster (due to having struts). That's why we have to buy camber plates if we lower our cars. Check your tire pressures with an accurate gauge. If you continue to pull to the right, put a little more air in the right side. If this doesn't fix it, it could be a broken belt, or a dragging brake, or you somehow DID knock the camber/castor out. I'd play with the pressures, and it that doesn't work just put the stock wheels back on and tell the dealership to honor their warrantee. I understand their arguments, but the guys there never explain what they really mean. He may be right, but it's total crap about not being able to align your car witht the winter wheels on. He's just trying to avoid work

 

[t3ase]

Thread moved to MSP Rims, Tires, & Suspension.