Steering Wheel centered?

Hank3

Hank3

Asian Persuasion <><
Contributor
:
2010 Mazda5 GT
Just got my alignment done maybe a little over a thousand miles ago and already my steering wheel is off-center. Alignment is true as the car will go straight if I let go of the steering wheel, but it's noticeably off-center to the right.

Coming from a Subaru, I could adjust the tie rods to correct the issue. Anyone done this before on our MS3s? Wondering if it's the same procedure to do ours.
 
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Hmmm...I rotated the tires right before the alignment because the previous owner never rotated them. 9K miles without rotating smoothed out part of the front tires. I guess I could rotate the tires again to see if it fixes the problem, but I wanted the smoother tires to be in the back for a while to even out the wear.
 
You can't even out radial pull. If this is your problem, find the offending tire and replace it.
 
Kain said:
You may have radial pull.
Click to expand...

radial pull will not throw off the steering wheel like that. radial pull will actually make the car pull to one side.

i actually have the same problem with my speed. just slightly off centered. not too worried about it though.

do all my own work. except had dealer do one alignment under warranty. still came out the same. i can do it myself if it really bugs me.
 
haha, i have the same problem.

I thought it might of came from my Cobb spring install. After installing my springs and accidentally forgetting to get an alignment for 10k or so miles may have done it.

The wheels like yours is slightly off to the right.
 
Yeah. If I leave the steering wheel slightly off-center to the right, it'll drive straight as a nail. But if I hold the steering wheel in the center it'll track to the left.
 
Nope. Bone stock. I rotated the tires @ 9K miles before bringing it in for the alignment. And from what I can tell, that was the first time the tires were rotated.
 
Toe problem in the front will not cause a pull as it can be equalized, but cause the steering wheel to be off center. Get the alignment checked.
 
I guess I'll have things adjusted when I go into the dealer for my windshield TSB. When I got the alignment 1,500 miles ago, the steering wheel was perfectly centered and then just gradually got off-center. I hope it won't do that again. They did the alignment for free since my car was under 12K miles last time. And it still will be when I go in, so hopefully they'll do the service again for free :)
 
I lowered my car 2 weeks ago. My steering wheel is very slightly off center pointing to the left and car runs straight, when i make the steering wheel 100% straight it goes to the right but only slightly.

i went for an alignment and they showed me the printout and i was in the green and said he wasn't going to charge me for not adjusting anything at all. I told him the car very slightly pulls to the right. I DID swap tires from front to back during my spring job and the car had probably 8K on the tires by then with minimal wear anyways.

Does that also sound like ita a tire issue (radial???) the guy told me to cross my tires (like an X) and see if it still happened, or swap them from front to back again to where they used to be. He said a slight pull like that whe the alignment is percfect would most likely be a tire causing the pull.
 
i dont think alignment should be done unless NEW tires are put on, not rotation. cuz then how do yo know that the rear tires weren't the problem with he alignment when you rotated them? if the tires aren't true than how could your suspension angles and steering be?
 
oaklandopen said:
i dont think alignment should be done unless NEW tires are put on, not rotation. cuz then how do yo know that the rear tires weren't the problem with he alignment when you rotated them? if the tires aren't true than how could your suspension angles and steering be?
Click to expand...

i dont knwo what the problem is with it. I had installed springs too tho, and at the same time swapped rims/tired from front to back, so the tires are on the same side as they were before, just front to back, but i didnt have any wobbling/veering until i did that so I thought it was the alignment from doing the springs.

even my camber was in the green with a 1.4 front and rear drop. I was surprised, but the toe was also fine according to the chart, so since the alignment was fine he just said it might be the tires themselves and to try swapping them like an X or put them back where they initially were
 
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