Steering wheel not straight when driving on any straight road

[Jock]

Hi so i bought a new Civic sport in August 2017.
The gear change was rubbish not smoth
After 400 miles the seat bolster collapsed Honda replaced it
The turn signal in the bumper filled with water Honda replaced that
The steering wheel was never straight when i straightened it the car would swerve to the left
Then the alarm went off one morning and i couldn't get it to stop eventually it did on its own
And to top it off i found a bodge repair on the rear passenger door near the handle

So i complained actually i dumped it on the dealers lot and told them to stick it up there ARSE!

So Honda replaced it with another Civic sport bearing in mind these are all brand new cars
I went for a automatic this time and now i have shocking wind noise round the drivers dooe
And wait for it swerves to the left when you straighten the wheel up on a straight road
If you dont the steering wheel is on the piss dips to the right when driving straight
So back i go we take out another new civic 22 miles on the clock same thing swerve to the left
Then another Civic loan car and again to the left.

I have been working with cars since i was 16 and im 50 this year
Of course Honda are denying theirs a problem
We as Civic owners need to get this issue sorted
Dont be shy guys let me know what you are experiencing

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[FKSE7EN]

My steering wheel was also off centered when I bought my 17 Hatch sport, but after an alignment that solved it for me, dead center and no pulling to the sides.

 

[Jock]

My steering wheel was also off centered when I bought my 17 Hatch sport, but after an alignment that solved it for me, dead center and no pulling to the sides.

Thanks for reply its outrages i took a photograph last Monday of a 2017 Civic
Having a 4 wheel laser alignment at a UK Kwik Fit centre so they where paying out of pocket
A Honda customer service person rang me Friday saying you're Civic is within factory tolerances
And no fault found. She lied what she didn't know was the car hadn't rolled a wheel since i dropped it off
And its supposed to be getting looked at tomorrow.

I was also told by the service manager the problem with the New Civic is they focus to much
on gadgets and dont focus on build quality plus its not built in Japan
I would have been better to have bought a 2002 Honda

 

[Tim818]

You’re not the only one, my CTR steering wheel is tilted to the right when driving on straight roads, bugs the hell out of me, I plan to do an alignment next month.

 

[batman900]

A simple 15 minute adjustment of the tie rods will correct a crooked steering wheel without changing the alignment. I did a write up about it on the 9thgencivic forums years ago after 3 trips to the dealer and they couldn't get it right.

Put the car on ramps or more preferably jack stands. Jack stands are better since your messing with the steering position but I'm lazy and use ramps, no issues yet. Get a chunk of cardboard and black sharpie. Use the flat end of the cardboard to draw a straight line on the tie rod across the nut and onto the threads. Loosen the nut, roll the rod forward if your steering wheel is off to the left. Roll it backwards if its off to the right. If its slightly off, 3mm should fix it. If its sitting at like 11 or 1 instead of 12 o clock then you will need about a quarter inch turn. Use a loose tape measure and compare your line on the threads to the line on the smooth end closest to the wheel to see how far you turned it. Do both sides the same and roll them both either forward or backward depending on which side your wheel is off. The tie rods are reversed from either side so visually you will be turning them in the same direction to keep your alignment as it was while only changing the steering position. Tighten the nut and then re-measure, sometimes the nut will pull the rod a tad when tightened. That's it.

Put 60k miles on my 2012 Si after doing this and the tires never wore improperly. Did it for my Tacoma, Rav4, 2017 hatch and yesterday on my 17 Si. Yes all these vehicles had alignment checked and adjusted for free by the dealer when new because it has been my experience through a bad habit of trading in, most vehicles are off when new. I also asked the dealers every single time to please adjust the steering wheel position as it is also always off when I purchase a new vehicle and they never ever get it right. I'm so used to doing it now, it takes me longer to pull the ramps out than to adjust the rods. The only vehicles it's ever been perfect on when new was my 15, 16 WRX and 15 Silverado.

 

[Jock]

A simple 15 minute adjustment of the tie rods will correct a crooked steering wheel without changing the alignment. I did a write up about it on the 9thgencivic forums years ago after 3 trips to the dealer and they couldn't get it right.

Put the car on ramps or more preferably jack stands. Jack stands are better since your messing with the steering position but I'm lazy and use ramps, no issues yet. Get a chunk of cardboard and black sharpie. Use the flat end of the cardboard to draw a straight line on the tie rod across the nut and onto the threads. Loosen the nut, roll the rod forward if your steering wheel is off to the left. Roll it backwards if its off to the right. If its slightly off, 3mm should fix it. If its sitting at like 11 or 1 instead of 12 o clock then you will need about a quarter inch turn. Use a loose tape measure and compare your line on the threads to the line on the smooth end closest to the wheel to see how far you turned it. Do both sides the same and roll them both either forward or backward depending on which side your wheel is off. The tie rods are reversed from either side so visually you will be turning them in the same direction to keep your alignment as it was while only changing the steering position. Tighten the nut and then re-measure, sometimes the nut will pull the rod a tad when tightened. That's it.

Put 60k miles on my 2012 Si after doing this and the tires never wore improperly. Did it for my Tacoma, Rav4, 2017 hatch and yesterday on my 17 Si. Yes all these vehicles had alignment checked and adjusted for free by the dealer when new because it has been my experience through a bad habit of trading in, most vehicles are off when new. I also asked the dealers every single time to please adjust the steering wheel position as it is also always off when I purchase a new vehicle and they never ever get it right. I'm so used to doing it now, it takes me longer to pull the ramps out than to adjust the rods. The only vehicles it's ever been perfect on when new was my 15, 16 WRX and 15 Silverado.

What you trying to say? Fix the damn thing even though i have a warranty

 

[W1NTER]

I'm from Asia and out of the factory, I too have pulling to the right (off-center)

Dealer said it was fixed (saw them with the alignment machine) but it is still slightly pulling.

Went to a 3rd party shop and it was fixed quickly.

 

[batman900]

What you trying to say? Fix the damn thing even though i have a warranty

What I’m saying, is how to easily fix it if you don’t want to spend hours at a dealership who probably won’t be able to fix it, or money at a reputable alignment shop who will be able to fix it. All the dealership does is hook it up to their machine and if it says good then they say it’s good. That’s all they will do 99% of the time, period. A reputable alignment shop knows how to get it perfect with or without their machine. I’ve been through this with various brands of car, not just Honda. I don’t have too much OCD but I definitely do with my steering wheel for some reason.

 

[CivicXI]

Could it be the steering wheel itself isn't on properly?

 

[Tim818]

Taking my car into the dealer tomorrow, I’ll update you guys to see if they fix the crooked steering wheel.

 

[Tim818]

Update: the dealer’s system for the 2018 cars weren’t even updated for the alignment rack....big LOL, I’ll give you guys another update once I get it fixed.

 

[erbee]

Mine is crooked to the left since 20miles even more so when I put 2 after market wheels on . But the car tracks straight with both hands off the wheel at 80+ mph. Bad alignment or tire rod ?

 

[batman900]

I had already adjusted my rods to straighten my steering wheel when I wrote my how to above, but my car has always pulled to the left since new. So at my recent first oil change I asked them to check alignment, the rear end was off at no surprise since darn near every new car isn’t aligned properly be it due to shipping or whatever. Got the car back and my steering wheel was wayyy off to the left now. For fun I went to a different dealer and asked them to straighten it. It came back wayyyyy off to the right, like at 2 o clock instead of 12. Put it on my ramps, adjusted rods a hair more than a quarter inch backwards and it’s straight as an arrow now plus no more pull. Feels perfect. I encourage anyone that can change their own oil to give it a try because it’s that easy. As long as you draw your lines beforehand you can always put it right back where it was if you are worried about messing it up.

 

[Tim818]

Update: just got back from the dealer, they fixed the crooked steering wheel and now the car drives straight on the road with a straight steering wheel, didn’t have to pay a thing, I guess that Honda Care pays off

 

[batman900]

Any dealer for any manufacturer will do it for free up till like 12k miles. Whether they do it right is hit or miss. Glad it worked out for you.

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