Steering Wheel question

fjon

I realise this is going to make me sound like the most pedantic person ever, but anyway...

The steering wheel in my car seems to be "crooked". In other cars when the car is going straight, the steering wheel is also straight - i.e. the manufacturer's logo in the middle will be exactly the right way up.
On mine however, when going straight the wheel is at an angle.

So is it worth getting fixed? Is there an easy solution? Or should I just grin and bear it?

fletch

fjon wrote:

I realise this is going to make me sound like the most pedantic person ever, but anyway...

The steering wheel in my car seems to be "crooked". In other cars when the car is going straight, the steering wheel is also straight - i.e. the manufacturer's logo in the middle will be exactly the right way up.
On mine however, when going straight the wheel is at an angle.

So is it worth getting fixed? Is there an easy solution? Or should I just grin and bear it?

Not sure but that would wreck my head also

Peace

fletch wrote:

Not sure but that would wreck my head also

Its the same in my car and has been for a year or two now. The service needed a new air bag unit but when they put the wheel back on it wasn't 100% straight.

Jildy

This was most likely caused when the car was being tracked.

If the steering wheel isn't kept 'straight' while the wheels are being aligned then this will be the result. Next time you are getting tyres, get the wheels tracked as well and tell them to sort this out.

Jildy.

fletch

All I know is I wouldn't dare going messing around with the steering wheel, what with airbags etc. Send it to a main dealer if I were you

edmund_f

interesting question..

in simplest form probably just the steering wheel was not centered the last time the tracking was done, just needs to be recalibrated.. would not cost much

may be more serious, bad tracking or damaged suspension.. get thee to a professional to check it out...

first thing to to is to check front wheels for wear (lock steering over to one side, so you can see the entire tyre, check for uneven wear)

same thing happened to my 156, have to renew all the top suspension links, but mine was accompanied by a loud squeak, so i knew it was not going to be somethign cheap to fix..

hope this helps..

fjon

Jildy wrote:

This was most likely caused when the car was being tracked.

If the steering wheel isn't kept 'straight' while the wheels are being aligned then this will be the result. Next time you are getting tyres, get the wheels tracked as well and tell them to sort this out.

Jildy.

Phew! I was hoping someone was going to say that! That is what I thought it was as well. If that is the case I will just get it fixed with my tyre change.
Or could there be any other causes? If it was something to do with the airbags it would be a bit trickier I'd say.

Downtime

I had the same problem and I borught the car to DC Quick Fit and they said my tracking was waaaayyyy off and fixed it, as my main dealers repairs did not do such things.

mike65

fjon, what car do you have and year? If its olde worlde then re-alligning the steering wheel is pretty straightforward - pop off the centre bose and undo the securing bolt straighten wheel (with of course the road wheels in the straight ahead position before you start this proceedure!) and retighten bolt.

If on the other hand you have airbag its a job for the garage...how much out-of-true is it?

Mike.

ps I am assuming the road wheels are correctly aligned in the first place.

fjon

mike65 - it's an 01 Seat Leon, so unfortunately a job for the garage. I would say it's 10/ 15 degrees out.
I have not been driving it long, so the Wheel Alignment or Tracking might be at fault. I could get these fixed to see if it makes any difference - definitely the cheapest option after DIY. Or do you reckon it won't make a difference?

mike65

10-15% is'nt much so its proberly the road wheels rather than the steering wheel. Get the tracking done at somewhere like quik fit or Advance Tyres. You'll prolly need to book the car for a slot.


Mike.

AMurphy

Couple of reasons why it may off center. Main one someone making all the alignment adjustments from one side only. So you have one long rod, one short, the wheel off center and the long/short rods will often cause uneven tyre edge wear.

First, in an empty car park, highway, etc. find the wheel center/straight ahead.

Then go full lock in each direction and determine if it goes the same number of degrees to the right and left to full (stopped) lock. If not the rack (rods) are off center. In which case they should be adjusted to equal to center the wheel.

If it takes exactly the same No of degrees to lock to R & L the rack is centered, but the wheel itself is off.
In which case simply detach the steering shaft from the rack or "U" joint near the rack and realign, usually accessible down near the pedals. This does not raise the problem of the AB deploying.

DO NOT turn the wheel several revolutions while disconnected. It may be fun, but you can break coiled wire connections to the buttons and AirBag in the steering wheel.

Good to have the wheel centered, asi t prevents that Indicator switch instant off/never off between sides.

fjon

Thanks all for your help. After getting the tracking done for €30 the problem seems to have been solved. The Kwik Fit center said it was badly out of alignment.

Seth Brundle

re Kwik Fit - from what I have read on the net (not always the most reliable source!), mainly from the newsgroup uk.rec.cars.maintenance Kwik fit will say that something is wrong with your car just to get a sale!
Browse through http://groups.google.ie/groups?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-10,GGLD:en&q=kwik+fit just to see what I mean.
Over the years there have been stories of where people were told things needed replacing the day after it already had been, etc...

fjon

kbannon wrote:

re Kwik Fit - from what I have read on the net (not always the most reliable source!), mainly from the newsgroup uk.rec.cars.maintenance Kwik fit will say that something is wrong with your car just to get a sale!
Browse through http://groups.google.ie/groups?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-10,GGLD:en&q=kwik+fit just to see what I mean.
Over the years there have been stories of where people were told things needed replacing the day after it already had been, etc...

Interesting...
However, all my dealings with them so far have been good ones. I go in and tell them what I want done, they do it quickly and for a resonable price, and don't try to sell me anything else. Maybe it depends which one you go to...

Moanin

I have the same problem with my steering wheel.This happened afer I got the wheels tracked.literally when I drove from the tyre centre, I noticed the the steering wheel was not straight.The car seems to drive in a straight line when I take my hands off the steering wheel(No pulling to left or right).Would this affect tyre wear?Should I bring it back and get them to rectify this?.

Thanks

AMurphy

Moanin wrote:

I have the same problem with my steering wheel.This happened afer I got the wheels tracked.literally when I drove from the tyre centre, I noticed the the steering wheel was not straight.The car seems to drive in a straight line when I take my hands off the steering wheel(No pulling to left or right).Would this affect tyre wear?Should I bring it back and get them to rectify this?.

Thanks

If the reason it is off is one of the rods is now longer than the other, Yes while it travels in a straight line, it will cause excessive side wear on one tyre or the other. In extreme cases the car wouls also go sideways on encountering a dip or bump.

Removing and replacing the steering wheel does not solve the problem, only makes the steering wheel look right.

Easy way to check if the rack is off to one side.
let car drift/coast to a halt in a straight line.
Mark the 12 o'clock position with white tape, marker, etc.
Jack both wheels off the ground.
lock to stop to the left, record the number of turns and degrees to lock.
Do the same to the right, if exactly the same, the rack is centered and the steering wheel can be adjusted.
If not the the rods are of unequal length and need to be balanced first.

And if the problem is the wheel comes to a different 12 o'clock position on turning from the right or left, then the rack tube mountings are loose.

Moanin

Thanks A.Murphy.I am only talking about maybe 2-3 degrees out.Would this cause alot of uneven wear on the tyres?I think I will bring it back to where I got it tracked and get them to sort it?They will prob say it's okay (Too much work for them to correct it)

Seth Brundle

Moanin wrote:

Thanks A.Murphy.I am only talking about maybe 2-3 degrees out.Would this cause alot of uneven wear on the tyres?I think I will bring it back to where I got it tracked and get them to sort it?They will prob say it's okay (Too much work for them to correct it)

well then demand your money back - if you paid for the car to be aligned properly, surely then it should be aligned properly!