Improper Alignment from Factory

[Tone Loc]

Hello,

Just posting to share my experience. Car has 5400km (~3300 miles) currently. After a long drive from Toronto to Ottawa I noticed that my car pulled to the left and was especially noticeable at highway speeds. This caused me to point the steering wheel slightly to the right when driving straight.

Finally had time to take her to the dealer, apparently the alignment was off from factory. Tire pressures were OK and there was no damage to the wheels, according to the service rep.

The service rep I spoke with stated that it was a known issue and that my alignment was covered under warranty.

Took her for a drive after the alignment and it pulls very slightly but not as bad as before. I am guessing that this is due to 5400km of uneven tire wear. I am putting brand new winter tires and wheels on tomorrow and I will report back.

Hopefully this helps other folks who have encountered the same or similar issue, I know it has been discussed in numerous threads on this forum and others as well.

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[Lust]

Your right rear toe is still a bit off compared to the driver side. I’d have them align again.

 

[turboshawn]

Same with mine front an rear was out of alignment... decent amount of people have reported this across the civic line up

 

[Tone Loc]

I asked the service rep at the time about the rear toe. He said that it was "within spec"...

UPDATE: Installed my winter setup today. Went for a drive around some flat roads. Car tracks straight now with minimal correction needed on our wonderfully maintained roads in the GTA. Yes that is sarcasm lol.

 

[Lust]

I asked the service rep at the time about the rear toe. He said that it was "within spec"...

UPDATE: Installed my winter setup today. Went for a drive around some flat roads. Car tracks straight now with minimal correction needed on our wonderfully maintained roads in the GTA. Yes that is sarcasm lol.

God what a lazy tech. It’s so easy to get the toe perfect on these cars... personally I’d go back but that’s up to you.

 

[nickjohn35]

Damn, you’re lucky. My dealership told me the steering column cover is lopsided giving me the allusion that the steering wheel isn’t straight although it pulls to the left. Oh and they said their alignment machine isn’t updated to align Type R’s yet....

 

[Driveitlikeuboughtit]

Damn, you’re lucky. My dealership told me the steering column cover is lopsided giving me the allusion that the steering wheel isn’t straight although it pulls to the left. Oh and they said their alignment machine isn’t updated to align Type R’s yet....

What did they say specifically about their machine? I have an appointment for this weekend for allignment, but I didn't think to even ask something like if their alignment gear is updated.

 

[nickjohn35]

What did they say specifically about their machine? I have an appointment for this weekend for allignment, but I didn't think to even ask something like if their alignment gear is updated.

They told me their machine didn’t have the Type R specs downloaded to it. I’m gonna ask them tomorrow since I have to take it in cause the rev match system and emission system lights came on along with the turbo not spooling up.

 

[jasonjm]

I asked the service rep at the time about the rear toe. He said that it was "within spec"...

UPDATE: Installed my winter setup today. Went for a drive around some flat roads. Car tracks straight now with minimal correction needed on our wonderfully maintained roads in the GTA. Yes that is sarcasm lol.

You sure bout that?

I personally prefer to be closer to the middle of the spec than the outer edges. On the street I even prefer a street alignment.

I have camber arms and no way I’m going to run -2 rear. My rear camber is -1.0 even, and I’m running 265s on 9.5 inch wide rims. I’m going to get better wear. On the track ya I’ll bring it out to -3 or more.

Just goes to show you how aggressive stock is.

 

[Driveitlikeuboughtit]

You sure bout that?

I personally prefer to be closer to the middle of the spec than the outer edges. On the street I even prefer a street alignment.

I have camber arms and no way I’m going to run -2 rear. My rear camber is -1.0 even, and I’m running 265s on 9.5 inch wide rims. I’m going to get better wear. On the track ya I’ll bring it out to -3 or more.

Just goes to show you how aggressive stock is.

Do you have the rest of the spec available? I just want to prepare myself in case my dealer tries to bullshit me.

Should I push for rear camber of -1.0? I'm also running 265s on 9.5" wide rims - what about the front? Any other tips on what I should push for?

 

[jasonjm]

Do you have the rest of the spec available? I just want to prepare myself in case my dealer tries to bullshit me.

Should I push for rear camber of -1.0? I'm also running 265s on 9.5" wide rims - what about the front? Any other tips on what I should push for?

Unless you have camber arms, camber is not adjustable.

https://www.civicx.com/threads/factory-alignment-procedures-and-specifications.15163/

Look for the sections that say “Type-r”.

 

[ski-line900]

I feel like most of the time my steering wheel is off to the left to go in a straight line. I'm not sure if it's the road tilting to the right, or if I have an alignment issue. If I put the wheel dead straight it start to drift right. It doesn't necessarily pull in one direction or the other. Since the alignment is covered for a year, I have an appointment at the dealer next week.

During normal driving, does your steering wheel favor one side or the other? And does it correspond to what side of the road you drive on?

When they measure, if my specs are not within tolerance, do I have to pay for it?

 

[nickjohn35]

I feel like most of the time my steering wheel is off to the left to go in a straight line. I'm not sure if it's the road tilting to the right, or if I have an alignment issue. If I put the wheel dead straight it start to drift right. It doesn't necessarily pull in one direction or the other. Since the alignment is covered for a year, I have an appointment at the dealer next week.

During normal driving, does your steering wheel favor one side or the other? And does it correspond to what side of the road you drive on?

When they measure, if my specs are not within tolerance, do I have to pay for it?

My steering wheel was off center to the left and I had an alignment done at my local Honda. I swear, the steering wheel was worse when I left. The dealership told me the steering wheel column cover was lopsided, giving me the illusion my steering wheel was off center. I called major BS and took it to a designated tire shop I trust and had them check the alignment and perform one if needed. They printed off before and after sheets. It was like Honda never even touched my car. After the tire shop did an alignment, my steering wheel was perfectly centered. I took the print off sheets to the Honda dealership and spoke to the service manager and was able to get a refund for the “alignment” they did.

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