steering issues

[elusive]

hello ..

i got a problem with my 05 Euro Lux..

my steering has been the downside of the entire Euro experience... the car pulls itself to the left when my steering wheel is dead centre ... so in order to drive straight i have to place a slight right side biased on the steering wheel..

this issue occured the moment i drove out of the dealer and has since been supposedly fixed several times ... but it keeps happening ... my tyre pressures are maintained accordingly ... only done 15000kms ..
any tips of resolving it ...

i'm gonna bring it to the dealer as soon as i can ... gonna blow up at them .. :(

[SiReal]

wheel alignment and wheel balance? maybe the car steering wheel wasn't realigned properly with the wheels when it was made (shouldnt be the case though)

[EuroDude]

Its because the Steering linkage not centered when toe was adjusted. Correct it by recentering steering wheel and equalizing lengths of both tie rods, then readjusting toe to specifications. The car needs a proper wheel alignment done.

Steering center is simply the fact that the steering wheel is centered when the vehicle is traveling down a straight and level road. A crooked steering wheel is usually the most common complaint that a customer has after a wheel alignment is performed. Assuming that the steering wheel stays in the same position when you let go of the wheel (in other words, the car is not pulling), then steering center is controlled by the front and rear toe settings. When setting steering center, the rear toe should be set first bringing the Thrust Angle as close to the vehicle centerline as possible. Then the steering wheel is locked in a straight ahead position while the front toe is set. Before locking the steering wheel, the engine should be started and the wheel should be turned right and left a couple of times to take any stress off the power steering valve. After setting the toe, the engine should be started again to be sure that the steering valve wasn't loaded again due to the tie rod adjustments. Of course, you should always road test the vehicle after every alignment as a quality control check.

[bOoStn]

The roads in australia also camber off to the left

[elusive]

thanx to everyone for their replies ..

the dealer has supposedly done re-alignments..but it keeps reoccuring :(

thanx to eurodude for the detailed reply ..

keep it coming

[EuroDude]

Yeah but a sloped cambered road or a non-consistant tyre pressure problem would pull the car left or right.

In this case, the car isnt pulling, its just a steering wheel centering problem. i.e. the car steers left/right when the steering wheel is held at TDC.

I have the exact same problem with my new Euro :(
But at least its not too bad, its only off by one or two degrees.

[elusive]

I have the exact same problem with my new Euro :(
But at least its not too bad, its only off by one or two degrees.


have u rectified the issue or are u gonna put up with it ...cos having owned and driven a number cars ... this is the first time i've encoutered this annoying issue

[nickowns]

I share the same experience as above, but I drove a lancer before and a civic before, they all seem to have the same problem. And these aren't really noticible in city driving when you're going at 60-80, once you hit the highway doing 120ish, the steering problem is quite severe. Lucky the euro's steering is weighted enough for that speed.

[elusive]

I share the same experience as above, but I drove a lancer before and a civic before, they all seem to have the same problem. And these aren't really noticible in city driving when you're going at 60-80, once you hit the highway doing 120ish, the steering problem is quite severe. Lucky the euro's steering is weight enough for that speed.


i find the issue is affecting my driving ... my normal instinct to maintain a centred steering wheel is faced by a car veering to the left so i'm continually correcting the direction ..

the natural instint clashing with the reality of what's happening is very distracting

[nickowns]

yeah admittedly it's annoying, I sometimes feel the the car has a mind of its own and it turns left. :p

[yfin]

Well this isn't much comfort for you but the Euro is a bitch to get steering perfectly straight on a flat road (like Albert Park lake). Dealers will tell you it is normal, the camber in the road, etc and it is ok to get some drift to the left due to the road- but I had drift on flat roads since the time I picked up the car.

Someone once told me they dial in some drift to the left so if you fall asleep you don't hit oncoming traffic. I guess there are degrees as to how much pull is acceptable. I have never found it acceptable.

At my 1000kms service they checked the alignment and said it was fine. I wasn't happy about it. When I got my new rims/tyres at 4000kms I had a laser alignment and they said the alignment was NOT within spec from the factory. Couldn't be bothered going back to the dealer to tell them they were wrong. Anyway, the laser alignment seemed to minimise the pull for a while and then it started happening again (bloody alignment on this car goes out so easily - hit a few potholes and it can go out).

But that said - there is hope! Ever since I got the cusco strut brace and new suspension the car seems to track straighter and drifts much less and this seems to be a permanent fix (for many thousands of kms so far). Or it could just be the many alignments I have had now and the switch to 235 tyres! Who knows.

I just throw my hands in the air on this issue but mine is now leagues ahead of the "old days" when the car was new and the dealer said the alignment and drift was perfecty "fine".

So good luck with the dealer - I couldn't get much help on the issue from them.

[ngupil]

did u only go to honda service center to rectify the problem?
have you go to other places like beaurepair or bob jane??

is the steering problem gradually getting worse by the day?
what i can think of is maybe the bolts that hold the suspension so they aligned together loose? it may sounds odd, but i cant put it any better than that. sorry :(

[nickowns]

Just wondering, so couldn't we request the dealer to put the alignment a little to the right :) hehe just a thought.

[EuroDude]

have u rectified the issue or are u gonna put up with it ...cos having owned and driven a number cars ... this is the first time i've encoutered this annoying issue

My Civic was like that for like two years and I learnt to forget about it. The trick is to not look at the steering wheel, and drive by feel instead.

Although I may mention it to the dealer next service. Its a brand new Honda after all...

[elusive]

yfin - i share your fustrations!!! i have recieved the same exact response from the dealer time after time of trying to get the problem fixed .. they keep telling me the settings are within factory specs but i keep demo-ing to them the tilted steering wheel to keep the car straight ... their reply is to shrug their shoulders and ask me to call Honda Australia ... grrrrr

i've always brought it back to dealer to try remedy the problem ... unless they're going to pay for the 2nd opinion i'm gonna keep bringing it to them and get them to honour the warranty... could be my last Honda for a long time ...

i guess aligning abit more to the right would help, as time goes by the car would bring itself left and one day would be perfect .. then 2 weeks later will be out ..

i can drive the car as i see it .. but it's just annoying to keep doing it ..

once again ,,, thanx to everyone for your feedback ,, :)

[yfin]

Elusive - I would get a laser alignment done. The dealers I have dealt with don't have that equipment and do a manual alignment. If you go somewhere like Tyre Factory they will do a 4 wheel laser alignment but only charge you for the rear if it is out of spec and requires adjustment. From memory I paid about $45.

I don't know which state you are in but there is also a place in Nunawading (Melbourne) that does an alignment whilst the car is rolling. That was going to be my next plan of attack (but they are not cheap). I never ended up going there as my problem mysteriously resolved itself with the modifications...

[bOoStn]

Yeah but a sloped cambered road or a non-consistant tyre pressure problem would pull the car left or right.

In this case, the car isnt pulling, its just a steering wheel centering problem. i.e. the car steers left/right when the steering wheel is held at TDC.

I have the exact same problem with my new Euro :(
But at least its not too bad, its only off by one or two degrees.


Ah, sorry. I miss read the post

[elusive]

yfin - i'm in NSW .. i'll definitely consider an external wheel alignment consultation should the dealer give me crap again ..
cheers .. :p

[yfin]

yfin - i'm in NSW .. i'll definitely consider an external wheel alignment consultation should the dealer give me crap again ..
cheers .. :p

Cool - but be warned. After winging about it and checking the alignment once or twice - they will eventually tell you the Honda warranty does not cover wheel alignments. They will say it around the time you receive a blank look from the service desk as if you are making the whole issue up.

Well that is a prediction anyway!

[Tobster]

I have many of the same issues in my 06.

I find that there's a small dead spot without much feeling around centre and the Euro has a fairly fast steering response (2.6 turns lock to lock?) so I things things tend to catch up with you before you realise. That along with the fact that the standard car tramlines fairly easily too. The wider the tyre and the stiffer the sidewall, the more tramlining, but you get good steering response.

Changing to different tyres when the time comes might help.

I'd bet that those with 16s and narrower higher-profile tyres won't find it as much of an issue.

I tend to particularly notice it because I've come from a TF Magna -- whose dull steering is notorious.

I feel a bit like I drift all over the lane a bit sometimes, but I still prefer the direct steering to lack of feel. The more I drive it, the more I find that it really is a car that feels so strong and planted when driven hard, but that makes it feel a bit fidgety when you're just cruising.

[elusive]

hello all ..

just an update on the situation...

I called the dealer to book a slot to have the steering/alignment looked at ... did the usual stuff to go thru the service history ... and something caught my attention ..

"our records indicate on the last visit, a service-rep test drove the car with you to show the problem has been resolved.." blatant lie that was!!!! I pick the car up after work and how would the service rep have accompanied me for a test drive when he was the only person left at the dealership!!(cos someone has to be there to hand over the carkeys for clients collecting their cars) went on bickering with me that the entry would not have been put thru if it didn't happen... i told him,"it didn't happen.." this went on for another few mins which added to my frustrations of the dealer .. :(

this was finally compounded by him asking me if i have factored in the car does follow the camber of the road ... i just said ''look my car doesn't steer straight when the steering wheel is centred even on a flat road when there's no camber!!!!!!!!"

finally he told me to come in tuesday morning to have it looked at ..

wat a bunch of wanks!!!

thumbs down for the service at Collins Honda Rockdale!!!!:thumbdwn:

[EuroDude]

I despise dealers.

[Ferrarista]

Mine is the same but its because its lowered.

Good year actually played around with it so the left front actually points in abit (not visibally noticable) so that i can drive with the steering wheel straight

[elusive]

Mine is the same but its because its lowered.

Good year actually played around with it so the left front actually points in abit (not visibally noticable) so that i can drive with the steering wheel straight


yes i was thinking a very slight toe-in would help ..

[aaronng]

Wow dodgy dealer. My dealer goes through each service/repair item with me, and asks if I agree. At the bottom I sign the report if I agree with everything. That is why I still go back to them for my oil changes and let them charge me $2 for "wiper fluid". They treat me good, I treat them good.

[EuroDude]

$2 for "wiper fluid"? :eek:

Is that with an additive? Or is that just for water and 10 seconds labour?

[elusive]

Wow dodgy dealer. My dealer goes through each service/repair item with me, and asks if I agree. At the bottom I sign the report if I agree with everything. That is why I still go back to them for my oil changes and let them charge me $2 for "wiper fluid". They treat me good, I treat them good.


they go thru the job they have done with me everytime as well ... but the entry put into the system i mentioned earlier was not something i signed off on ..


should i take it to an external wheel alignment before or after my appointment with honda this coming tuesday ...

is $50 for laser alignment normal ???