Cockeyed Steering Wheel

I've had my 08 CX9 GT AWD for 2 days and love it so far. However, I notice the steering wheel is not perfectly aligned. When I am steering straight, the steering wheel points somewhat to the left. Has anyone noticed this? Should I ask the dealer to fix it?

(uhm)

sounds like an alignment issue; dealer should take care of it.

same here. I had dealer to do an alignment. It took them two days because there was a bulletin for 08 models.
The car is only pulling slightly to it's left now (might be road condition as well) but the steering wheel still points to the left. Not much but a little bit.

Damn, Seen alot more problems with the 08 than the 07

same bulletin is out for the 07 model so... Other than that my 08 runs perfectly.

copperredGT said:

I've had my 08 CX9 GT AWD for 2 days and love it so far. However, I notice the steering wheel is not perfectly aligned. When I am steering straight, the steering wheel points somewhat to the left. Has anyone noticed this? Should I ask the dealer to fix it?

(uhm)

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My steering wheel is, I think, misaligned about one tooth to the right. I have decided to chalk it up to "character" for now.

It's the alignment, go back to the dealer and make them realign your front-end.

swilder0123 said:

My steering wheel is, I think, misaligned about one tooth to the right. I have decided to chalk it up to "character" for now.

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Yah man take it in for a re-alignment. Either that or cock your head one tooth to the right and ignore it.

You can do this your self with a jack, stands, and a couple wrenches. For years I had lived with the same problems. Once you see how easy it is to change the toe on your car you will never have to go back unless you hit something. Autocrossers know the tricks with toe in and out but you can also apply this to an un-centered steering wheel.

Get the front up on stands or even ramps. Find the tie rods and loosen the jam nuts. The threads are reversed on the one side so the turning will be back wards. Now if your wheel is off to the left then when you straighten it you have basically toed the drivers side wheel "in" to wards the center of the car and the passenger wheel "out to wards the curb.

To correct this screw the tie rod on the drivers side "in" to shorten the length in toe the wheel out. Small moves here if the steering wheel is just a little off. Then do the opposite on the passenger side. Make sure you turn the tie rod the same amount on both sides, and when you tighten the jam nut back down make sure it does not turn the rod more than you wanted it too in the first place. Doing this will straighten out the steering wheel.

If you are an autocrosser then you can do the same accept toe "both" front wheels "out" a 1/2 turn or so and the car will turn in better. As I said before be precise with the amount turned left and right each time and you will be fine making these adjustments yourself.

If the car is "pulling" one way or another it can be caused by the "crown" in the road or the caster is probably not the same left and right. If this is the case I would take it to the dealer or an alignment shop to have it inspected.

Hope this helps, it is very simple stuff after you do it a couple times. (wrc)

My 07' has been to Mazda 4 times for the alignment, it was pulling to the right. To make a long story short, it was aligned 8 times, strut position adjusted, control arms fooled with, camber and toe in/out adjusted, brand new tires at 12,500 miles (goodyears). Finally they called in these 2 guys from Japan, they are suspension and chassis specialists. One day with my CX-9 and it was all good. But I have to say my dealer service is OUTSTANDING. They were very patient and helpful and insisted on getting my car fixed properly. Hall Mazda in Virginia Beach is top notch!

RVC said:

My 07' has been to Mazda 4 times for the alignment, it was pulling to the right. To make a long story short, it was aligned 8 times, strut position adjusted, control arms fooled with, camber and toe in/out adjusted, brand new tires at 12,500 miles (goodyears). Finally they called in these 2 guys from Japan, they are suspension and chassis specialists. One day with my CX-9 and it was all good. But I have to say my dealer service is OUTSTANDING. They were very patient and helpful and insisted on getting my car fixed properly. Hall Mazda in Virginia Beach is top notch!

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Do you know what exactly was done? I've had mine alligned 4 times also and it still drifts to the left and it is hypersensitive to undulations in the road. Did the tires help at all? I've been told that the Bridgestones might be making the issue worse and they are terrible in the snow anyways, so the car will have new tires before the next winter in any case.

nacra55uni said:

Do you know what exactly was done? I've had mine alligned 4 times also and it still drifts to the left and it is hypersensitive to undulations in the road. Did the tires help at all? I've been told that the Bridgestones might be making the issue worse and they are terrible in the snow anyways, so the car will have new tires before the next winter in any case.

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Apparently, the struts have 4 positions which they can be adjusted, they made several adjustments there and they also swaped out spring mounts too. They switched tires around, experimented with tire pressure too. It was aligned 8 times and within spec and still pulling to the right. They put the tires on and it did not help, they are a better looking tire but do not ride as smooth as the Bridgestones. They have a more agressive tread. They also re-adjusted the camber and made sure it was within spec. But it was the Japanese techs that got it "right". I was also told about the hypersensitivity to road undulations. As a matter of fact they really stressed that to me, and it is true. One min it will be driving perfectly straight and the next it will be pulling to the right or left. I think this is something they should mention to potential buyers as it is a little un-nerving to have to fight with the wheel as road grade changes.