Steering wheel not centered

[asiflicious]

So for the last couple days my steering wheel has been tilted to the left. It was annoying enough that I decided to get an alignment today. I went to a shop that had the laser machine and good reviews. They did the alignment and said it was good to go. I drove it for 30 seconds and turned back around. The steering wheel is now tilted to the right when I'm driving straight. I had them redo it 3 times and no change. I argued for a bit and ended up getting half of my $85 dollars back. The wheel is still tilted to the right. Do you guys think there's something damaged in the suspension or was that shop just incompetent? Anyone else have an issue like this?

[vinylengraver]

When I got my car, the wheel was slightly off-center (to the left)
Got the alignment done and it fixed it. The car tracks perfect, tire wear is non-existent and the wheel is straight. It took the shop several hours but they got the alignment 100% symmetrical side-to-side, in fact this is the first car I have ever owned that is aligned like this, not just "within spec"...
Frankly, I did not think this was even possible... but these guys have been working on BMWs for decades and the shop is very well equipped.
So there.
Maybe you should seek a second opinion on the issue.

[Gangplank]

Call a reputable local Indy shop that does alignments or ask them where they recommend.

Did this just start or did you run over something recently?

[asiflicious]

Originally Posted by Gangplank

Call a reputable local Indy shop that does alignments or ask them where they recommend.

Did this just start or did you run over something recently?

That's the thing, I haven't hit anything recently and it just started this week. I did get my downpipes adjusted slightly and an fmic put in but I doubt either of those can effect alignment

[iminhell1]

If you have adaptive lights, test them too. ... I think there's actually something in INPA you can look at to see if the steering sensor is at center or not, and a way to reset it.

[asiflicious]

Originally Posted by iminhell1

If you have adaptive lights, test them too. ... I think there's actually something in INPA you can look at to see if the steering sensor is at center or not, and a way to reset it.

Can you do this via Carly? My headlights are working fine as far as I can tell but I'll take a look

[tracer bullet]

You might not want to assume your tires are good. I had an alignment done last summer at a reputable shop as well, and left there with a pull to one side and had to correct w/ the steering wheel slightly opposite. I thought they'd done a bad job, but when we swapped the tires left / right in the front (it's OK to do with directionals for a short amount of time) my symptoms completely reversed.

It wasn't them, it was the tires, even though things seemed "good" before I got the work done - I happened to have gone in with bad tires & a bad alignment and they masked each other.

(By "bad" tires I mean that they were wearing funny - not uniformly, it was plain to see once I looked for it)

[elitesales305]

op.. I bought the car with it pulling to the right .. did an alignment at the dealer and nothing... I then rode on 17s in the front and 18 in the rear due to buying 18s with tires that didn't fit up front ..for the 3 days I was ridign like that the car would drive itself.. when I bought brand new conti's o nthe 18's .. the car goes back to pulling to the right...
if you didn't hit anything then this is really weird..in my case I believe the car is sitting a lil lower on the right causing it to pull..the shock isn't blown or anything
my advise.. wich I'm gonna do myself .. is to check all linkage in the front on the side its pulling to while the car is up in the air.. and pull and tug on that shit to make sure theirs no play..
my 2c

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by elitesales305

op.. I bought the car with it pulling to the right .. did an alignment at the dealer and nothing... I then rode on 17s in the front and 18 in the rear due to buying 18s with tires that didn't fit up front ..for the 3 days I was ridign like that the car would drive itself.. when I bought brand new conti's o nthe 18's .. the car goes back to pulling to the right...
if you didn't hit anything then this is really weird..in my case I believe the car is sitting a lil lower on the right causing it to pull..the shock isn't blown or anything
my advise.. wich I'm gonna do myself .. is to check all linkage in the front on the side its pulling to while the car is up in the air.. and pull and tug on that shit to make sure theirs no play..
my 2c

A pull is most likely caused by the tires.

A pull, and the steering wheel off centre, are two completely different things.

Steering wheel off centre just means the tie rods need to be adjusted slightly one way or the other. Alignment can be perfect with the wheel off centre.

[elitesales305]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

A pull is most likely caused by the tires.

A pull, and the steering wheel off centre, are two completely different things.

Steering wheel off centre just means the tie rods need to be adjusted slightly one way or the other. Alignment can be perfect with the wheel off centre.

pulled to the right out of dealer.. pulled to the right with 4 brand new contis and a alignment from dealer..ohh and 4 264's that were checked with a machine to make sure they were true..
that's why I'm going this next route..

[asiflicious]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

A pull is most likely caused by the tires.

A pull, and the steering wheel off centre, are two completely different things.

Steering wheel off centre just means the tie rods need to be adjusted slightly one way or the other. Alignment can be perfect with the wheel off centre.

My car doesn't pull, it's just the steering wheel is off center

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by asiflicious

My car doesn't pull, it's just the steering wheel is off center

Should be a five minute adjustment of the tie rods by a competent alignment tech.

[chadillac2000]

Originally Posted by MightyMouseTech

Should be a five minute adjustment of the tie rods by a competent alignment tech.

This.

Here's a portion of my build thread where I had to correct an unwilling tech's laziness. If you adjust the tie rods the same amount, your alignment will not be affected.

While I was under the car with access to the tie rod ends, I also took this opportunity to remedy a problem I'd been having since my last alignment. Since getting the car back, it tracked perfectly straight, but the steering wheel was off center; sitting about 2 inches to the left. This bothered me to no end, especially considering how much time I spend in this car. Using this DIY I found, I put ramps under the front tires and loaded it up, loosened the tie rod bolts slightly, adjusted the tie rods by the same amount and voila, the steering wheel was sitting perfectly straight. Worked like a charm.

(Pictures borrowed from the thread linked above)

[zx10guy]

And the alignment tech should ensure the steering wheel is dead center before starting any adjustments. I had to go back to get my care realigned because the tech didn't have the wheel set dead center before aligning the car. The alignment tech also has a tool which holds the steering wheel in place while the adjustments are being made on the suspension.

[Winn.Nguyen]

Your car is in Portland right? Take the car to matrix integrated to perform the alignment and tell them what you are experiencing. I think they might be able to sort it out.

[Apex1.0]

You can fix it yourself as stated above. If the total toe is good, you can just move both tie rods in the same direction to straighten the wheel.

[Horigan]

Yep. Half the time I get an alignment it's not centered enough for me and I end up adjusting the tie rods myself.

If there was a sudden change in steering wheel position, then something happened to the suspension that needs to be investigated.

[onenutt]

Originally Posted by vinylengraver

When I got my car, the wheel was slightly off-center (to the left)
Got the alignment done and it fixed it. The car tracks perfect, tire wear is non-existent and the wheel is straight. It took the shop several hours but they got the alignment 100% symmetrical side-to-side, in fact this is the first car I have ever owned that is aligned like this, not just "within spec"...
Frankly, I did not think this was even possible... but these guys have been working on BMWs for decades and the shop is very well equipped.
So there.
Maybe you should seek a second opinion on the issue.

Hey Vinyl!
I also live in the GVRD and was wondering which shop you had the alignment done at?

[asiflicious]

Originally Posted by tracer bullet

You might not want to assume your tires are good. I had an alignment done last summer at a reputable shop as well, and left there with a pull to one side and had to correct w/ the steering wheel slightly opposite. I thought they'd done a bad job, but when we swapped the tires left / right in the front (it's OK to do with directionals for a short amount of time) my symptoms completely reversed.

It wasn't them, it was the tires, even though things seemed "good" before I got the work done - I happened to have gone in with bad tires & a bad alignment and they masked each other.

(By "bad" tires I mean that they were wearing funny - not uniformly, it was plain to see once I looked for it)

That actually sounds like what I have. I'm going to check the tires tonight

[asiflicious]

Originally Posted by vinylengraver

When I got my car, the wheel was slightly off-center (to the left)
Got the alignment done and it fixed it. The car tracks perfect, tire wear is non-existent and the wheel is straight. It took the shop several hours but they got the alignment 100% symmetrical side-to-side, in fact this is the first car I have ever owned that is aligned like this, not just "within spec"...
Frankly, I did not think this was even possible... but these guys have been working on BMWs for decades and the shop is very well equipped.
So there.
Maybe you should seek a second opinion on the issue.

I took it to a second shop for a second opinion and they said the alignment looks great and that "your steering wheel was a little off so we adjusted it". I don't really think they did though because there has been no change. I guess I'll just have to take it to BMW