Honda Accord CTDI steering

BaBM78 · 13-02-2008 8:34pm #1

Hi,
Just bought a 2004 Honda Accord cTDI exec and found that the steering seems to veer off to the left if you release your grip on the wheel. Have had 2 different tyre garages check and adjust the tracking/allignment and balance of wheels but the problems is still there, despite both garages telling me the allignment is 100%. There is four new full inflated wheels on the car, so I cant understand why this might be happening. Has anyone had any experience of this before and could offer any advice?
Thanks!

jayok · 13-02-2008 9:39pm

Is there 17" tyres on the car? The Accord suffers a bit from tram-lining with these size tyres. Is it pulling to the left or drifting to the left?

vengeance52 · 13-02-2008 9:58pm

ive the same model and year of accord, and once i get the car tracked, the steering is spot on for me. Mines got 17" on it too.

jayok · 13-02-2008 10:02pm

Yeah vengence52 it is possible to get it 100% bang on. It's possible that the people who tracked it made a mess of it (I've had awful tracking woes in the past) but I suppose the key thing is does it pull or drift - just to eliminate the surface as a problem.

Out of interest, if you had success with getting the tracking done, can you post who done it for you? Might be of interest to the OP?

jayok · 13-02-2008 10:04pm

Actually, reading it again, the OP says if (s)he lets go of the wheel it pulls to the left. So, if the OP whole the wheel straight, does it go straight? i.e. is it the castor (I think is the name?)

Kimbot · 13-02-2008 10:07pm

It could be damage to the wheels, on the left hand side of your car exchange the front wheel for the rear wheel and see if that makes a difference.

BaBM78 · 13-02-2008 10:20pm

Thanks for the quick reply everyone!
The wheels are 17 inch alloys. It is definitely more a drifting to the left than a pulling, if I release the grip on the wheel over the space of 4-6 seconds I would either be in the ditch or in the slow lane if on the motorway.
If I hold the wheel straight the car will definitely go straight, this is more a frustration with a relatively new car than a real practical, still when you pay substantial sums for a car, the steering should of course be 100%!
The wheels incidently are all new and in perfect condition, and fully inflated.
Thanks

Kimbot · 13-02-2008 10:22pm

The wheel may look undamaged to you but it might be under the tyre. Try the wheels switch and if that helps then you know the rims are damaged in some way.

jayok · 13-02-2008 10:26pm

jonny24ie has the right idea. A bit of pain to sort out yourself, but it would rule out the tyres. I know they are new, but maybe one of the ones on the front isn't mounted correctly or something like that (just a guess).

It is still possible that the car just isn't tracked correctly...:(

jayok · 13-02-2008 10:28pm

BaBM78 wrote: »

The wheels incidently are all new and in perfect condition, and fully inflated.
Thanks

Obvious question, was it drifting before you changed the tyres?

BaBM78 · 13-02-2008 10:40pm

it was indeed drifting before and after the tyres were changed. Also, the first allignment garage I took it to, removed all the wheels and rotated them as well to make sure it wasn't a specific tyre issue.

jayok · 13-02-2008 10:43pm

hmmm... dare I suggest it still wasn't tracked correctly?

(I wanted to get my Civic done once, 4 garages later, it was fixed!)

Kimbot · 13-02-2008 10:43pm

Is there any balancing weights on the wheels?
They might not have balanced the wheels when the new tyres went on.

jayok · 13-02-2008 10:46pm

jonny24ie wrote: »

Is there any balancing weights on the wheels?
They might not have balanced the wheels when the new tyres went on.

Balancing would cause vibration, not affect drifting. OP I assume the wheel doesn't vibrate?

I do know that the Honda's use some sort of awkward subframe setup that makes it a b1tch to track if it's adjusted. I has to get a problem fixed once that involved the removal of this and the dealer spent the next 2 days trying to get the tracking right. OP was any work carried out on the car?

BaBM78 · 13-02-2008 10:47pm

Jayok, you could be right I'm sure, the first garage which had three attempts at tracking it still didnt get it right and the second garage had one attempt and got it wrong, maybe I should try another one again?
Johnnie24, the car had clamps and everything on it today which I presume are to balance the tyres.
Thanks

Kimbot · 13-02-2008 10:50pm

jayok wrote: »

Balancing would cause vibration, not affect drifting. OP I assume the wheel doesn't vibrate?

I do know that the Honda's use some sort of awkward subframe setup that makes it a b1tch to track if it's adjusted. I has to get a problem fixed once that involved the removal of this and the dealer spent the next 2 days trying to get the tracking right. OP was any work carried out on the car?

I know it would vibrate but I'm trying to eliminate as much as possible.

The main points are:
Was it tracked right??
Is one of the alloys damaged??
Are they balanced correctly??

If you are near Deerpark pop over to C+F motors and ask for Joe, explain the problem to him and let him take it for a spin. In a matter of minutes he can tell you exactly what your problem is and if its tracked correctly.

jayok · 13-02-2008 10:51pm

BaBM78 wrote: »

Jayok, you could be right I'm sure, the first garage which had three attempts at tracking it still didnt get it right and the second garage had one attempt and got it wrong, maybe I should try another one again?
Johnnie24, the car had clamps and everything on it today which I presume are to balance the tyres.
Thanks

To balance the tyres they would have been removed and put on what looks like a spinning machine. TBH balancing would really only cause vibration and stability. Drift would be caused by tracking, tyre dimensions, road surface, etc.

The clamps on wheels are part of the tracking system. Typically a modern dealer will use a laser alignment system. BTW it should be a 4 wheel tracking system (i.e. all 4 clamps on at the same time). Was this the case?

jayok · 13-02-2008 10:52pm

jonny24ie wrote: »

I know it would vibrate but I'm trying to eliminate as much as possible.

Fair enough. Cool.

JHMEG · 13-02-2008 11:08pm

If it's still going left then either the tracking (front) or alignment (back) are out.

You need to either a) bring it to someone who knows what they're doing, or b) live with it.

BTW, very few alignment places have equipment for doing the alignment precisely. Eg only 2 or 3 Advance Pitstop places have it. Therefore a lot of places will make an arse of it.

Camber and castor can't be adjusted on the Accord (not officially). Balancing is as jayok says: little weights to counterbalance imperfections in the tyres or alloys.

BaBM78 · 13-02-2008 11:21pm

I dont think the tyres were taken off and put on a spinning machine, but one of the times I left it with the garage, so wd not have a clue what they did (to some extent I trusted that these guys knew what they were doing!!)
It was 4 wheel tacking (there was 4 clamps placed on the wheels and computerised equip was used)
I dont think anyone placed any little weights on the wheels to balance them.
What does castor mean? Where is this Advanced pitstop place with the top equip?
Thanks

JHMEG · 13-02-2008 11:30pm

BaBM78 wrote: »

Where is this Advanced pitstop place with the top equip?

You'll need to ring them, I can't remember off the top of my head.

Oilrig · 13-02-2008 11:38pm

Forget about going to the place with the fanciest equipment. Suspension geometry can be hugely complex, the key is to get an operator that understands the interrelationship between the various angles and how adjusting one effects the other etc. Its often down to which angle is adjusted first...

These guys have been recommended by other posters with complex suspension cars, I have no experience of them but they may be worth a try:

http://www.davemccanntyres.com/

maidhc · 14-02-2008 1:09am

Are you sure it is not just the camber on the road? I don't think I have ever driven a car that does anything other than drift a little to the left (or right if you are driving at the wrong side of the road).

BaBM78 · 13-03-2008 10:39am

Got my steering fixed! I took it back to the dealer and asked him to have a qualified mechanic look over the whole car and look at all the things you guys advised me about. He found out that the problem was with the way the back wheels were adjusted previously and they had to re-allign the back wheels. It's much better now.
Thanks!

Green Hornet · 19-03-2008 12:40pm

maidhc wrote: »

Are you sure it is not just the camber on the road? I don't think I have ever driven a car that does anything other than drift a little to the left (or right if you are driving at the wrong side of the road).

Thats true. All cars will drift to the left if driving on the left hand side and to the right if driving on the rhs.

Its gravity.

Most roads are slightly higher in the middle than at the outside. Therefore as the car goes forward it will naturally tend to veer down the slope. I suppose there is some way that a car can be set up to counteract this but the tyres will wear.

The wider the tyre, the more pronounced the effect. It should not be that noticable that the car flies into the ditch like there is no tomorrow if the steering wheel is released though:eek:. Looks like he also had tracking issues which are resolved.

Must say that it is a pain in the ass on a long journey. Wish the roads were flat!;)

Honda Accord CTDI steering

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