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Car drives straight when steering wheel is slightly right

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newtnyc

Member
Supporting Member
Jul 13, 2020
219
128
East
Could have sworn this did not exist until today. Drove for a while and realized the wheel was about 5+ degrees to the right. The car does not pull, does not seem out of alignment. But when the steering wheel is pointed straight, car drifts right. Is this an alignment issue? Even if the vehicle drives straight as an arrow.
 
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I had this issue and it was an easy fix at the service center (wasn't able to get a mobile service out). My steering wheel was a few degrees to the right. Autopilot never had an issue and I only noticed it when driving in Nebraska / Kansas straight roads that my tesla T wasn't perfectly straight.
 
Funny story, service center tells me that it is perfectly normal for the wheel to be slightly tilted. Tesla steering is more advanced they say - it takes into account the gradient/slope and as long as the car drives straight with the steering wheel tilted - alignment is A OK.

What else could it be? Asked I. Nothing, they say. All good.
 
The guy/gal who installed the steering wheel must have been a Republican. :)


OR (depending on the way YOU lean)


The guy/gal who installed the steering wheel must have been a Democrat. :)

(sorry, sorry. . . I just watched The Ghost and Mr. Chicken)
 
Politics aside. I love driving a car the goes straight when the steering is centered. How does one convince Tesla that this really is the way it is supposed to be? Guess I'll report back if I succeed. Can be anything other than an alignment issue?
 
Indeed, Tesla Service shouldn’t need convinced.
It’s a safety issue, the wheel should be straight.
As per @ Barrygold’s link above, alignment could be the issue, or the wheel could be off by one “spline”
Go in with a smile ( or a dozen Krispie Kreme donuts like in the early days ) and they should be happy to make it right.
Kind regards
 
Yes. The steering wheel needs to be turned slightly for the car to drive straight.

Don't let the Tesla SC folks tell you this is normal and within spec! This is BULLCRAP.

The car needs to have an alignment done, not for the alignment per se since your car is tracking straight, but the steering wheel needs to be aligned. And don't let the SC tell you that they can't straighten a steering wheel because they can't remove the steering wheel and shift it over a spline.

Your car needs to go to an alignment shop where they will loosen the tie rods, clamp the wheel straight (or have someone hold the wheel straight), and then tighten things down again. While they're at it they will re-do the alignment too.

I had a new car where the wheel was slightly canted and it pulled slightly too. Dealer service center did the alignment and the car still pulled slightly and the wheel was never straightened. Service manager claimed they can't straighten the steering wheel. Even when I told him a steering wheel can be straightened without removing a steering wheel, he shrugged and said his "technicians" told him they can't straighten the wheel.

I took my new car to a local race shop and I paid $140 dollars to have the wheel straightened. The guy doing my job had me sit in my car and hold the steering wheel straight while he tightened everything down. Their alignment numbers also showed that the dealer alignment machine was out of spec since their numbers didn't match up.

I contacted the dealer service manager I had dealt with and sent him the alignment sheet of my newly done alignment and told him my steering wheel is now straight and that their machine was likely in need of calibration. He thanked me and sent me a check to pay for the $140 alignment and wheel straightening job.

It's amazing how a slightly off center steering wheel can take away the enjoyment of a new car. hahaha. Now my wheel is perfectly straight and the car tracks straight as an arrow and the car is more enjoyable to drive.
 
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Yup. The off center steering wheel becomes the focal point of all driving in the new car. I'm scheduling an appointment and bringing it in. Don't fully understand whether steering wheel itself can be adjusted (not too familiar with these things). I had assumed that the wheels are slightly out of alignment and it seems like some others have had this issue.
 
Yup. The off center steering wheel becomes the focal point of all driving in the new car. I'm scheduling an appointment and bringing it in. Don't fully understand whether steering wheel itself can be adjusted (not too familiar with these things). I had assumed that the wheels are slightly out of alignment and it seems like some others have had this issue.

An alignment and an off-center steering wheel are two different issues (most likely)

A car can be perfectly aligned with an off-center steering wheel. The steering wheel would then need to be adjusted by the tie rods. Don't let the service center tell you they would need to pull the steering wheel off to center the steering wheel.

from a quick search, you can read how to center a steering wheel:

How to Center my Steering Wheel

the problem is a dealership or Tesla service center employs technicians who do not specialize in wheel alignments so they usually aren't done well and many of them might be ignorant on how to actually straighten a steering wheel.

I took my car to a race shop and it was done in 40 minutes - perfectly.