Steering wheel "center" different from vehicle "straight"

Question

I just had a 4 wheel alignment done on a vehicle.

While taking it for a test drive, I noticed that the steering wheel is not quite centered for the vehicle to drive straight.  It's not pulling in either direction on it's own; it's just that "straight" for the vehicle is not exactly the same as "centered" for the steering wheel.

I don't know whether or not it was like that before the alignment was done.

Given that the vehicle is not pulling to either side, is this an alignment issue, or purely an issue with the steering wheel?

Is it easily correctable?

Shobin P · Accepted Answer

First of all, that is the job of the shop where you did the alignment, not just the wheels they should also check if the steering is aligned with the position of the wheel (they are entitled to do so).

Solution:

You can definitely take it to the station back and show them the problem; there is a good chance that the engineer might have forgotten to do the steering alignment (that's what I would do if I was in your situation).  Plus, for them its like a 10 minute job and they should not make a fuss about it.
There is a very good DIY on the net but it requires you to pull up your car on an ramp and I don't think many of us have ramps in our houses anyway, check out this post (or archive if link broken) for information on how to DIY.

Adrian Sicaru · Answer

I think that your problem is caused by the incline of the road. The driving surface is not straight but slightly inclined to the sides for water drain (like this / ). So, in normal driving conditions, when driving straight, the steering wheel will be slightly tilted to the left (for right side driving). Go on an empty road and drive on the other side of the road and you will notice the steering wheel will be tilted slightly to the right.

Answered by Adrian Sicaru on May 18, 2021

Kirk · Answer

There is a splined coupler where the steering shaft attaches to a u-joint prior to exiting the firewall (you should be able to see this under the steering wheel/firewall area) and going into the rack and pinion or steering box. Normally, to align the wheel to the tires you point the tires straight a head, loosen the coupler, pull the coupler off the splined shaft and re-orient the steering wheel, re-tighten, etc. If you are not familiar with this, or feel comfortable, I suggest you take it back. Plus you paid for a service, they should make it right.

Now if this is steer by electric, I have no idea, I have not messed with those before...

Ola Jamiu · Answer

don't give yourself to much stress on this the problem came from two fixing (1) there is a joint from the tyrod End and the suspension look for professional Engineer to help you adjust it or (2) the steering knuckle under the steering wheel inside your vehicle to reset it for you am sure it will be OK

Answered by Ola Jamiu on May 18, 2021

juhist · Answer

I have driven a car where the steering wheel center was slightly off-center when the wheels were straight. No problem at all. As the problem was slight, nobody complained about it in mandatory yearly inspection. I drove the car 40 000 km like that. No accidents at speed whatsoever.

If you had a 4-wheel alignment done, this was probably caused by the alignment so it's their job to fix it. But otherwise I wouldn't care about the problem.

If I were buying a used car that has this problem, I would carefully check the wear pattern of the tires. If the date code on the tires is old, and no unusual wear has occurred (and the car hasn't been in an accident), I would say to the seller that it's very suspicious that the steering wheel is off-center and that it could be the sign of an improperly done alignment, so the problem of steering wheel being off-center needs to be fixed and the alignment needs to be checked. So, I would negotiate the price way down. If the seller agrees to sell the car for reduced price, I would drive away smiling, fully well knowing that I got a good deal, and not do anything to the problem of steering wheel being off-center.

Steering wheel "center" different from vehicle "straight"

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