i need to align my steering wheel - it's like 5 degrees off of level when i'm driving straight. is this even remotely possible to fix for the "do-it-yourselfer"? if so, can you walk me through it?
i'd have the dealership do it, but it's a long story.
thanks.

 

Try looking for an auto-body shop in your area. It'll run in the area of 60ish-90ish (?) dollars, and thats a quote from my parents Honda Oddessey, a much larger vehicle.

 

Yeah you dould do it but without a scale to measure the degrees. there a few ways to do it , but as stated I would just go to an alignment shop.

 

an alignment at sears auto is 64.99

 

Take it to the dealer. Depending on the milage on your box.

 

No do not do it yourself, you may be buying tires sooner then you think.Heres a message I had posted awhile back:

Even if your steering wheel is "off" a few degrees It does not mean your alignment isn't correct.Your steering wheel can be 180 degrees upside down and still the car can track straight,and the alignment is perfect.No wear on the tires etc.

I do alignments all day long,great job huh?But as long as the caster,camber and toe are correct it really doesn't matter where your steering wheel was set at the time.Now if you hit a pothole and all of the sudden the steering wheel is in a crazy position and the car is tracking to the right or left,get an alignment soon as it would wear the tires.

When I purchased my xB it was cocked about 5 degrees to the left,but the car tracked fine.To correct this problem,take it to a front end shop (that know what there doing)and tell them you want the steering wheel centered.They will have to adjust the toe to do this,while using a device that holds the steering wheel in the correct position to make the adjustments.


I am the type of person an "offset" steering wheel drives me nuts!!! Hope this helps ya---

 

bamabox, you da man.
my steering wheel is driving me crazy. you're right, i don't need an alignment, 'cause i track just fine - 7K on the rubber and they look great. my wheel is just "off" - about 5 degrees to the left. interesting...
what can i expect a steering wheel centering to cost?

 

I swear I remember this being a common problem and the dealers taking care of it for people. Search it up, you might find something so you can take it back and get it done for free.

 

In order to center the steering wheel they will have to adjust the toe, so your looking at the same price as an alignment. Wherever you go tell them off the bat I WANT MY STEERING WHEEL CENTERED, when the alignment is done. This way the Tech doing it will try his hardest to get it dead center, sometimes they can be a bit tricky. Hope this helps.

 

they say they won't touch it - 'cause i've lowered it w/ aftermarket springs. i should've taken it back to the dealer much sooner, 'cause i called the sales guy on my maiden drive home and told him about it. he said - sure bring it on back... he's now gone.

 

I've done many DIY alignments on VWs, but I haven't had to touch my Scion. Centering the steering wheel is usually a simple procedure where you back off one side of the toe adjustment a bit and do the opposite for the other side. The trick is to change both sides exactly the same. If you don't you screw up the toe adjustment.

My xB is a few degrees off, but since it tracks perfectly and tires wear fine I don't want to get it touched. If it works, don't fix it!

George

 

You could check with the dealer, if they Scion is new you are covered for one alignment, I think you might have untill the 12,000. I was getting somewhat of a pull in my XB, so I asked if I had to pay for it, the dealer had said I was coverd for one. Really the first thing you should do is align the car. Since if you don't see anything wrong by performing a visual inspection, a good mech will tell something is wrong by the reading of the alignment sheet. Normally in a new car you shouldn't have any alignent problems unless you might have hit something on the road??!!

 

OK so I am not the only one here with the ****-eyed steering wheel straight out of the box problem. (My steering wheel is turned a few degrees to the left when the vehicle is going straight. Was like this day I brought it home only a week ago) I'm putting a leather steering wheel on this week and really don't want to pay for a whole alignment just for the steering wheel being off center a little. Guess I'll just have to wait until I go back home and have my bro 'line it up for me...(If I can, I am like bamabox in this regard. It bugs the crap out of me!!!!)

 

I like it being slightly off like that. When I rest my arm on the door armrest, it puts the wheel in just the right place to hold it with my thumb above the horn crosspiece.

I'm with George, If it ain't broke... I can only imagine what new problems might crop up to get this little thing fixed...