Steering Steering wheel off to the left and car pulling to the right

ricky_west · 18th January 2008, 21:36

Hi,

I had a set of new front tyres fitted a couple of months ago and also has the tracking adjusted as I was told it was off. After this I noticed that I had to hold my steering wheel slightly to the left to go in a straight line. I took the car back and complained about this and the garage checked the tracking again and said it was fine and said it may just be the tyres wearing in. A week later I was washing my car and happened to look at the tyre size on the driver’s side wheel and it was 215/45/R17 instead of the 225/45/R17 that should have been fitted, the passenger side was the correct size. I took the car back again and they were very apologetic and replaced the tyre with the correct size tyre and also did the tracking again and then took it for a drive. He told me he noticed that the steering wheel was still off to the left and also that the car was pulling to the right under acceleration. He suggested I book it in with Honda to get them to check that something else wasn’t causing a problem because there was nothing else he could do.

I booked the car in with Honda last week, they had a look at it and recommended that I should have geometry check done on the car and that this would cost me £85 unless they found a problem that could be sorted under warranty. So the car went back in today to have this done. When I collected it I was told that the toe had been adjusted slightly but this isn’t covered under warranty so I had to pay for it. I wasn’t too bothered about this thinking that the problem would now be sorted.

So I jumped in the car and headed home and noticed straight away that the problem was just as bad as it ever had been. Don’t know if they took it for a drive after the geometry check but I’m guessing they didn’t or they would have noticed the problem was still there.

Has anyone else had a problem similar to this or any idea what could be causing it? I will be phoning Honda again tomorrow and complaining about being charged £85 and the problem not even being fixed.

civicfan · 18th January 2008, 21:53

I have once had a slightly right-ish car after a tyre change but only for a week or so, it was with my previous car (Citroen C5). The dealer had told me it's perfectly normal because the roads are built a little "slant" to allow water to run to the side, that the geometry was OK and I must let the new tyres "wear in".
Initially I didn't quite trust him, but indeed, after about a week/500 km everything returned to normal.

I would suggest you give it a try and if it doesn't, get the car checked by another dealer - I wouldn't trust these guys any more after this tyre "blunder"

edit: I live in Germany so my car may well have pulled to the right if the dealer was saying the truth - and probably, he was

grasey · 18th January 2008, 22:03

That don't sound too good, let us known how you get on' good luck

kho · 19th January 2008, 09:52

Honda services seem to really need to get their organizational stuff sorted. I've had different issues with honda services but anyway.

I have the sport version civic with 18 inch wheels. now the steering for a start is really fidgety. Hit a pebble, dip, or a rough patch of road and you feel a noticeable pull from the steering. It is annoyingly sensitive to road conditions.

Next time you go for a drive, see if the pull is over a regular patchy bit of road you drive over, or a dip. This happens to me alot and it does cause me some degree of concern. But I'm sure its just a trait of the car playing tricks on my mind. You tend not to notice this in other cars because the steering is heavier which dampens this effect. But thats just what i think.

ASH · 19th January 2008, 11:26

Assuming that the dealer did adjust geometry right, I would doubt the two front tyres just replaced. I've heard from a tyre shop that all tyres are made to slightly drift to one direction, hardｌｙ any tyre is 'neutral'. Some tyres more so than other. I've never bought one, but some cheap never-heard-of brand tyres can be bad.
If your tyres are not directional, it's worth trying to swap right to reft, and front and rear, and see if it makes difference.
Well, it's all IF your dealer did geometry right...

mike_civic · 24th March 2008, 09:25

Let me tell my story.....
I was delivered a brand new type s two weeks ago, more or less.
The following day I left for a small journey for two days.
Straight away I had the problem with the car pulling on the right and I had to keep the steering wheel a bit to the left to have the car going straight....

I phoned to the dealer and told him my problem.
We arranged then to bring the car to service to see it for themselves. The car was sent to be measured for camber etc. Nothing was wrong though and what they did was to inspect the tires to see if something is wrong with them.
They actually found that one tire might have a small problem and what they did was to change the right front with the left rear. The other were left as they were.
Me and my dealer have arranged to make some km for the tires to run like that and then see if the problem persists... Unfortunatelly, the car was corrected but not 100 percent.
So we talk again and arranged for fitting a different set of four tires, used though, so as to be sure that these are ok and see how the car works with these. If the problem vanishes then he will put on four new tires, free of charge, as he said of course...
Moreover, the dealer said that these problems came up not only to me but to few more people, that bought the car somewhere between late 2007 and new... So Honda Greece has contacted with Honda Europe and told the problem. Now they are waiting for some information about it, maybe they have noticed something and sent a "fix" for that, or if the problem is on the tires (michelin pilot sport 225/45 17"), then give some direction on how to put some new ones and of course in the warranty.

gapos · 25th March 2008, 11:16

I have exactly the same problem like mike and ricky. From the first day i bought the car i noticed that the car was pulling on the right side of the road and in every kind of road. I took the car to service for 3 times till now about this problem but no solution was given. There are many Greeks with the same problem and i suppose that the problem has to do with the tires. It seems that the bundle of <<michelin pilot sport>> that the Greek agent was supplied are bugged or something. We ll keep you informed about this issue peeps.

Woette · 25th March 2008, 16:51

Well i find the civic to be very sensitive for roads that are not even. First week i also thought something was wrong with my spaceship. But when driving on the motorway, it doenst do so. Its rock solid there.
Even a sligt elevation is noticable threw the steering wheel. Its probably due to the firm supspension.
I do hope you guys get this sorted out and keep us posted plz. I am curious to know where the problem is coming from.

grtz

Korkut Varol · 25th March 2008, 18:10

Not in the Civic, but with my previous car I had the same problem.. Evarything was OK but the car pulling to one side persistently. Swapping tyres left-right had solved the problem.

Xmitsos · 25th March 2008, 21:02

i do have the same problem as well...and i have to say that it is really serious problem...
i don't know what am i going to do,if they are not able to give the solution needed..!!!!
how about returnig the car back,and ask one without this serious bug ????

or should i say "deadly bug" ?? ?

mike_civic · 16th May 2008, 13:54

Days have passed but I continued to look into the problem, with the help of my dealer and Honda Hellas. After few checks in my dealer, and with the valuable help of Honda Hellas, an order was made....What was it ?
Well, the whole problem was found onto two big screws at the base of the 'knee' of the front system, that holds and configures the angle of camber/caster. The screws that the type S has, are not configurable, therefore, if there is a problem with the car pulling, it is not correctable.
What they did was to order and install other screws that are configurable ! After they were installed and proper adjustments were made, the problem just vanished !

Of course, I paid nothing!

Thanks a lot Honda Hellas and my dealer, again!

18th January 2008, 21:36	#1 (permalink)
ricky_west Supporter Valve Cap Join Date: 19th October 2006 Location: Saltcoats, Ayrshire Posts: 30 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Steering wheel off to the left and car pulling to the right Hi, I had a set of new front tyres fitted a couple of months ago and also has the tracking adjusted as I was told it was off. After this I noticed that I had to hold my steering wheel slightly to the left to go in a straight line. I took the car back and complained about this and the garage checked the tracking again and said it was fine and said it may just be the tyres wearing in. A week later I was washing my car and happened to look at the tyre size on the driver’s side wheel and it was 215/45/R17 instead of the 225/45/R17 that should have been fitted, the passenger side was the correct size. I took the car back again and they were very apologetic and replaced the tyre with the correct size tyre and also did the tracking again and then took it for a drive. He told me he noticed that the steering wheel was still off to the left and also that the car was pulling to the right under acceleration. He suggested I book it in with Honda to get them to check that something else wasn’t causing a problem because there was nothing else he could do. I booked the car in with Honda last week, they had a look at it and recommended that I should have geometry check done on the car and that this would cost me £85 unless they found a problem that could be sorted under warranty. So the car went back in today to have this done. When I collected it I was told that the toe had been adjusted slightly but this isn’t covered under warranty so I had to pay for it. I wasn’t too bothered about this thinking that the problem would now be sorted. So I jumped in the car and headed home and noticed straight away that the problem was just as bad as it ever had been. Don’t know if they took it for a drive after the geometry check but I’m guessing they didn’t or they would have noticed the problem was still there. Has anyone else had a problem similar to this or any idea what could be causing it? I will be phoning Honda again tomorrow and complaining about being charged £85 and the problem not even being fixed.

18th January 2008, 21:53	#2 (permalink)
civicfan Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 13th September 2007 Posts: 752 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	I have once had a slightly right-ish car after a tyre change but only for a week or so, it was with my previous car (Citroen C5). The dealer had told me it's perfectly normal because the roads are built a little "slant" to allow water to run to the side, that the geometry was OK and I must let the new tyres "wear in". Initially I didn't quite trust him, but indeed, after about a week/500 km everything returned to normal. I would suggest you give it a try and if it doesn't, get the car checked by another dealer - I wouldn't trust these guys any more after this tyre "blunder" edit: I live in Germany so my car may well have pulled to the right if the dealer was saying the truth - and probably, he was Last edited by civicfan; 18th January 2008 at 21:56.

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This thread is about: Steering wheel off to the left and car pulling to the right, it's in Bugs, faults and irritations at the Honda Civic forum Civinfo; Hi, I had a set of new front tyres fitted a couple of months ago and also has the tracking adjusted as I was told ...

18th January 2008, 22:03	#3 (permalink)
grasey Supporter Triangular Exhaust Join Date: 16th December 2007 Location: Cardiff Posts: 220 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	That don't sound too good, let us known how you get on' good luck

19th January 2008, 09:52	#4 (permalink)
kho Valve Cap Join Date: 18th July 2006 Location: Herts, UK Posts: 25 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Honda services seem to really need to get their organizational stuff sorted. I've had different issues with honda services but anyway. I have the sport version civic with 18 inch wheels. now the steering for a start is really fidgety. Hit a pebble, dip, or a rough patch of road and you feel a noticeable pull from the steering. It is annoyingly sensitive to road conditions. Next time you go for a drive, see if the pull is over a regular patchy bit of road you drive over, or a dip. This happens to me alot and it does cause me some degree of concern. But I'm sure its just a trait of the car playing tricks on my mind. You tend not to notice this in other cars because the steering is heavier which dampens this effect. But thats just what i think.

19th January 2008, 11:26	#5 (permalink)
ASH Wheelnut Join Date: 29th September 2007 Location: London Posts: 84 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Assuming that the dealer did adjust geometry right, I would doubt the two front tyres just replaced. I've heard from a tyre shop that all tyres are made to slightly drift to one direction, hardｌｙ any tyre is 'neutral'. Some tyres more so than other. I've never bought one, but some cheap never-heard-of brand tyres can be bad. If your tyres are not directional, it's worth trying to swap right to reft, and front and rear, and see if it makes difference. Well, it's all IF your dealer did geometry right...

24th March 2008, 09:25	#6 (permalink)
mike_civic Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 21st February 2008 Location: Piraeus, Greece Posts: 628 Thanks: 11 Thanked 14 Times in 14 Posts	Let me tell my story..... I was delivered a brand new type s two weeks ago, more or less. The following day I left for a small journey for two days. Straight away I had the problem with the car pulling on the right and I had to keep the steering wheel a bit to the left to have the car going straight.... I phoned to the dealer and told him my problem. We arranged then to bring the car to service to see it for themselves. The car was sent to be measured for camber etc. Nothing was wrong though and what they did was to inspect the tires to see if something is wrong with them. They actually found that one tire might have a small problem and what they did was to change the right front with the left rear. The other were left as they were. Me and my dealer have arranged to make some km for the tires to run like that and then see if the problem persists... Unfortunatelly, the car was corrected but not 100 percent. So we talk again and arranged for fitting a different set of four tires, used though, so as to be sure that these are ok and see how the car works with these. If the problem vanishes then he will put on four new tires, free of charge, as he said of course... Moreover, the dealer said that these problems came up not only to me but to few more people, that bought the car somewhere between late 2007 and new... So Honda Greece has contacted with Honda Europe and told the problem. Now they are waiting for some information about it, maybe they have noticed something and sent a "fix" for that, or if the problem is on the tires (michelin pilot sport 225/45 17"), then give some direction on how to put some new ones and of course in the warranty.

25th March 2008, 11:16	#7 (permalink)
gapos Burning hands!!! Locking Wheelnut Join Date: 9th January 2008 Location: Nikaia, Athens Posts: 127 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I have exactly the same problem like mike and ricky. From the first day i bought the car i noticed that the car was pulling on the right side of the road and in every kind of road. I took the car to service for 3 times till now about this problem but no solution was given. There are many Greeks with the same problem and i suppose that the problem has to do with the tires. It seems that the bundle of <<michelin pilot sport>> that the Greek agent was supplied are bugged or something. We ll keep you informed about this issue peeps.

25th March 2008, 16:51	#8 (permalink)
Woette Triangular Exhaust Join Date: 7th October 2007 Location: Leuven, Belgium Posts: 284 Thanks: 3 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Well i find the civic to be very sensitive for roads that are not even. First week i also thought something was wrong with my spaceship. But when driving on the motorway, it doenst do so. Its rock solid there. Even a sligt elevation is noticable threw the steering wheel. Its probably due to the firm supspension. I do hope you guys get this sorted out and keep us posted plz. I am curious to know where the problem is coming from. grtz

25th March 2008, 18:10	#9 (permalink)
Korkut Varol Triangular Exhaust Join Date: 31st October 2006 Location: Ankara, Turkey Posts: 461 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Not in the Civic, but with my previous car I had the same problem.. Evarything was OK but the car pulling to one side persistently. Swapping tyres left-right had solved the problem.

25th March 2008, 21:02	#10 (permalink)
Xmitsos Triangular Exhaust Join Date: 28th January 2008 Location: Koz. GR Posts: 252 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	i do have the same problem as well...and i have to say that it is really serious problem... i don't know what am i going to do,if they are not able to give the solution needed..!!!! how about returnig the car back,and ask one without this serious bug ???? or should i say "deadly bug" ?? ?

16th May 2008, 13:54	#11 (permalink)
mike_civic Supporter Magic Rear Seat Join Date: 21st February 2008 Location: Piraeus, Greece Posts: 628 Thanks: 11 Thanked 14 Times in 14 Posts	Days have passed but I continued to look into the problem, with the help of my dealer and Honda Hellas. After few checks in my dealer, and with the valuable help of Honda Hellas, an order was made....What was it ? Well, the whole problem was found onto two big screws at the base of the 'knee' of the front system, that holds and configures the angle of camber/caster. The screws that the type S has, are not configurable, therefore, if there is a problem with the car pulling, it is not correctable. What they did was to order and install other screws that are configurable ! After they were installed and proper adjustments were made, the problem just vanished ! Of course, I paid nothing! Thanks a lot Honda Hellas and my dealer, again!