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Alignment and steering angle question. Have to hold wheel at angle to go straight...
In the last few months I noticed my alignment get worse. I had the car aligned at the dealer almost a year ago and it wasn't great but livable.
I recently took it to a well regarded shop who specializes in alignments. After the job was done they were very straightforward and said the wheel was still not perfectly aligned.
What is interesting is that if I hold the wheel at say a 5-10 degree turn to the right the car will drive perfectly straight. No pulling.
It's just that to drive straight it's always that angle of the wheel to the right.
If if I let go over the steering wheel the car will drive straight and where the steering wheel naturally falls is with that 5-10 degree to the right angle. When driving I can also feel the normal on center dear spot is to the right at the same 5-10 degree angle.
So in the end it's still a bit weird driving the car.
To my mind it's as if the steering wheel was attached to the car turned to the right a little.
The alignment guy suggested going to benz and having the steering angle reset so as to tell the wheel where true center actually is. I didn't think our steering wheel was electronic (drive by wire) like that so that didn't totally make sense to me.
Do do any of you guy know if that's the case or if there is some other mechanism to tell the wheel where true center is? I feel that is the source of the problem. Or should I just get another alignment job and that is the problem?
Get the alignment redone at the dealer. Go to another dealer if you have to. I always have trouble getting my BS aligned and requiring 2-3 visits.
Resetting the steering angle doesn’t make sense. The most important part is centering the wheel straight using the in car tool before starting the alignment process. Forgot what the actual tool is called, but it literally holds the wheel center while adjustments are performed under the car.
Get the alignment redone at the dealer. Go to another dealer if you have to. I always have trouble getting my BS aligned and requiring 2-3 visits.
Resetting the steering angle doesn’t make sense. The most important part is centering the wheel straight using the in car tool before starting the alignment process. Forgot what the actual tool is called, but it literally holds the wheel center while adjustments are performed under the car.
this makes a lot of sense. It does feel like the steering wheel just wasn't centered when aligning...
the shop I took it to are considered one of the best but non dealer. Is it just a matter of literally holding the steering wheel center somehow during alignment and considered a routine thing or is it some device only the dealers will have and I have to take it to the dealer?
You can reset the steering wheel take it off and move it a few teeth to the left.
If you are doing it just make sure the steering clock is moved with the wheel (used for traction assistance)
Steering wheel relative angle is 100% adjustable by any competent alignment shop unless something is bent. I had mine done this past weekend. Took two or three tries to get it set right, but I just drove it around the block then came back and gave feedback about which way it needed to be adjusted. Four wheel alignment with the most modern equipment out there, including the three wheel adjustments and putting the car up in the air each time took an hour from start to finish.
Again, unless something is physically bent that's preventing the wheel from being put into the right position, a competent shop can do this. It's routine for any car really.
Take into account road crown. Typically my steering wheel is roughly 10 degrees clockwise in the left lane on the highway, as the road is sloped for rain, etc. Right lane... perfectly straight.
12-06-2018, 02:41 PM
