Steering wheel centered?

[Coley50]

Hi

Since collecting my car last Wednesday noticed the steering wheel isn't centered when going straight, slightly off centre. When centered goes towards the centre of the road but only very slightly.

I have mobile technician coming to fix charge port cover not opening when pushed aswell as the steering wheel issue on 21st October but wondering if he would be able to sort the steering wheel issue or end up having to go to SC.

Anybody had the same issue and if so how was it resolved?

Cheers

 

[Artiste]

Mine has been the same since I got my car 12 months ago. Never got round to doing anything about it.

 

[OneTinyFish]

Same. Can’t do anything about it from the island at the moment.

 

[MrBadger]

Some steering wheel alignment issues have been put down to wheel alignment and adjusted accordingly. This also indicates a potential more fundamental (adjustable) issue than the wheel just isn't on straight - they are normally splined so little fine adjustment..

 

[pgkevet]

Same. Can’t do anything about it from the island at the moment.

You can. Vanilla-air is correct that there may be an element of alignment issues involved which is more fundamental than just a wonky joy-stick. At the simplest you monitor tyre wear 'cos they ain't cheap or you have a word with local garage. The garage in my village is pretty pragmatic and practical. I had my aged 200SX in there last week for a minor issue and asked about alignments for my S (since Tesla charge £200 squid for that). Their attitude was that unless they see tyre-wear they rarely recommend aligment (local cheapskates owners) but do get a few folk who request it on newer more expensive stuff. And whilst they do have a laser they often do older cars old-school with a ruler. And they quoted £20 for my S (which may be just for the fronts). They also let me lurk about and generally ask questions, get in the way while they do stuff to it. They have permanent ink marks on their big hoist for positioning my S for a lift after a string of punctures they fixed.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Best get an alignment done. This has cropped up before and often the front alignment has been found to be out. You don't have to get that done at an SC, especially as if they find the alignment is "within spec." they'll charge you.
Taking any car it to an independant alignment specialist every 12 months for a check is something every car owner should do in any case so it's not a bad idea to find one and build a relationship with them for the future.

 

[OneTinyFish]

Oh wow okay, good plan. My car’s alignment seems okay in that it’s dead straight on the roads it’s just the steering wheel is slightly off centre.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

Oh wow okay, good plan. My car’s alignment seems okay in that it’s dead straight on the roads it’s just the steering wheel is slightly off centre.

That doesn't necessarily mean the car's alignment is perfect, but in any case the order of adjustment should be steering wheel first, then set the front alignment to the specified angle.
Taking the steering wheel off and moving it around on the splines isn't good practise and probably won't be precise enough to get it perfectly straight anyway.

 

[Avendit]

Mine was off on delivery, but it turned out the alignment was waaay out. Fixed at service center for free, and the car was much better for it.

Still not convinced it's 100%, but I'm a perfectionist about this kind of thing.

 

[jamherber]

Mine was delivered the same. Logged it at under 100 miles so SC 'sorted' for free - they said the alignment was way out - it now no longer wonders but the steering wheel is now even more out of centre. Won't bother going back (4 hr round trip to my nearest SC) so will either live with it or get a proper 4 wheel alignment done locally.

 

[phil4]

Mine was also off at delivery... I didn't fancy the idea of driving to an SC to have it sorted, so will just live with it unless something else crops up.

Getting a proper 4 wheel alignment at some points sounds like a sensible thing to do.

 

[RichieC]

My steering wheel is very slightly off centre too - has been since delivery 12 months ago. It's never really bothered me that much, getting a wheel alignment done seems like a good idea, especially if it fixes this "issue". I'll probably wait until i need new tyres and get it done.

 

[OneTinyFish]

I stopped by our local tyre fitters to discuss alignment today.

They were unsure about aligning a Tesla in case there was any additional electronics side adjustment that needed doing after the phyiscal alignment. Is this the case?

 

[Avendit]

Nope, just make sure you or they have pucks incase they need to Jack it up not on the wheels.

 

[OneTinyFish]

Nope, just make sure you or they have pucks in case they need to Jack it up not on the wheels.

Pucks (which I feel should come with the car) were my first purchase.

 

[Dangerous Fish]

My steering wheel is very slightly off centre too - has been since delivery 12 months ago. It's never really bothered me that much, getting a wheel alignment done seems like a good idea, especially if it fixes this "issue". I'll probably wait until i need new tyres and get it done.

If your alignment is out, particularly front toe, your tyres could wear unevenly and need replacing much sooner, so it makes mores sense to get it done now.

 

[Sixer]

I had this issue just after delivery. Alignment was fine and SC said steering wheel has no adjustment as it’s not on the old fashioned splines. My steering wheel is still very slightly off center but no tyre issues after 8k miles.

 

[Avendit]

Doesn't that just mean your alignment is equally out on both sides?

 

[Dangerous Fish]

It doesn't necessarily mean the toe setting is out of spec. if your steering wheel is off centre.
What it means is either:
1. They didn't ensure the steering wheel was properly centered before doing the alignment at the factory.
2. They didn't do the alignment properly regardless of where the steering wheel was pointing.
3. The alignment was done right at the factory and the wheel was centred but went out of alignment before it was delivered to you.

In any of these cases it's best to get it checked rather than live with it IMO.

 

[pgkevet]

It doesn't necessarily mean the toe setting is out of spec. if your steering wheel is off centre.
What it means is either:
1. They didn't ensure the steering wheel was properly centered before doing the alignment at the factory.
2. They didn't do the alignment properly regardless of where the steering wheel was pointing.
3. The alignment was done right at the factory and the wheel was centred but went out of alignment before it was delivered to you.

In any of these cases it's best to get it checked rather than live with it IMO.

4. They slapped the whole thing together without giving a sh!te and heaven knows what else will fall off soon. However the car will be attractive to dogs....