My steering wheel sits at 11:00 when driving straight. It doesn't pull to either side, it's just at 11:00. Just after I noticed it, I had the car aligned with new tires and they said nothing was wrong with it alignment-wise an it should be fine. Is there anything that could have slipped in the steering linkage to cause this? Has anyone ever had this happen?

A day or two before I noticed it, I did take a left turn really sharp and fast and hit some rutted pavement at the same time, I'm thinking it happened then.

 

When they aligned your car, they may not have centered the steering wheel. When you hit those ruts, do you think the alignment got pull out? Or does the car seem to still track true? If so, you can just center the steering wheel. This can be accomplished in the engine bay where the steering column attaches via a kind of universal joint. The joint must be separated and the steering wheel turned the appropriate amount, then the joint re-connected.

 

Yeah, the car still tracks straight when I take my hand off the wheel and I guess that's why I didn't even notice anything until I looked at the wheel and it wasn't centered. I wasn't sure if it was possible for the column connection to slip. I figured it would be a splined connection or fitted somehow to prevent that. Thanks!

 

A change in front toe can cause the steering wheel to be off center without pulling. Are you positive they really checked the alignment?

 

When you got your alignment you could of asked them to fix the steering wheel. They don't charge for this service. I would take it back and tell them your situation and see if they would fix it for free.

 

mine sits at around 11:45 even after an alignment. It seems like it's within an acceptable tolerance range but I'll check that u-joint.

///Robin

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TrueDrezzer
mine sits at around 11:45 even after an alignment.

 

I did tell them that the wheel was off center and I guess either they forgot or they assumed an alignment job would correct it. Anyway, I'm taking it back and getting it reset, hopefully they won't try to recharge me.