Hi everyone,

Currently to drive straight with my car I have to drive with my steering wheel to the left no matter the type of road I'm driving on. I've taken it to Lexus twice and they checked the alignment stating that its fine doesn't need an adjustment. I recent put winter tires on with steel rims and it still drives the same. Does anyone else have this issue? What would it be?

 

Is the steering wheel off-center but the wheels straight? Common sense would dictate that if the wheels were turned to the left, the car would also go to the left. Is there abnormal wear on the front tires? If you let go of the steering wheel while driving does the car pull to the left?

 

thanks for the quick reply...

for the wheels to be straight I have to turn the wheel maybe an inch to the left. If I let go of the wheel it drift slightly to the right. If i put the wheel dead straight it will go straight to the right. I can sometimes change a lane with just holding the steering straight. I've ensured the tire pressure is at 33 PSI and i've also asked the dealer if the tires show any sign of uneven wear, they said no.

 

Well from your description, no abnormal wear, it sounds to me that your steering wheel requires alignment - not the wheels. The steering wheel must be removed and straightened to match the wheels. I don't understand why the dealer didn't see this.

 

Are you sure that what you think you are seeing is not the result of the way that roads are normally crowned, which, on most roads, will result in a properly aligned vehicle drifting toward the shoulder because of that crown?

I've found that, whenever I've gotten an alignment and I am checking to try to determine that it was done properly, it is easy for my mind to be deceived and to imagine that the vehicle is poorly aligned because of the power of suggestion. Besides the crowns on roads, most roads have enough undulations and other imperfections, and driving over them can cause the vehicle to drift in one direction or the other. Even other factors, such as the wind and the weight distribution of passengers and cargo can cause the vehicle to drift.

One check that you might do that is not perfect but that might be more revealing is to find a large and very flat and level (empty) parking lot. If you center the wheel and drive at a relatively slow speed, is the vehicle going straight? When the car is going straight and if you take your hands off of the wheel, does the steering wheel move by itself to an off-center position? If the vehicle maintains straight tracking on a perfectly level surface and if the wheel does not move by itself to an off-center position, it is likely that the alignment is okay.

 

I also think more than likely that the perceived problem is due to the crown of the road. Most roadways slope towards the right and you need to steer a bit to the left to compensate. I went through this same issue on my Audi when I first got it. It was very precise and unforgiving, compared to the American or Japanese cars of the time.

 

The fact that your steering wheel is 1" to to the left to go straight is not normal on an all flat road. My steering wheel is almost always 100% straight when going straight.

 

Thanks for everyone advice. I will go to a flat parking lot and see if the car goes straight while the steering wheel is straight. I also go to the dealer at the end of the month and I well get them to do an alignment inspection.