My Honda has an issue where I am constantly correcting the steering. Especially if I’m driving on the freeway, I have to constantly keep adjusting the steering wheel to keep the car headed straight. It’s become more obvious now with the coronavirus as I’m driving much less often, so the problem is much more noticeable when I get on the freeway. It happens around town too, but driving around town is stop and go and it’s not as difficult to keep the car heading straight. Any ideas before I take the car to the dealer and get told I’m imagining it?
Excessive play in the front suspension and steering could cause what you’re experiencing. So could badly worn tires. Any good alignment shop can tell you if what’s wrong. How many miles are on your Honda?
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I’m guessing that you have a suspension issue. But just for the heck of it, I’ll ask this: Does your vehicle have Honda Sensing? Honda Sensing steers for you (assists really) on the highway and in some other situations. Is it on? And are you fighting it? If not, ignore this. If your vehicle has it, start there.
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Old tires can do this. A car needing alignment can do this. A 4 year old car likely doesn’t have any other issues, but that’s no guarantee it doesn’t.
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Hence my asking how many miles are on the car, which we still don’t know.
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Good thought @GorehamJ, but I’m almost certain the CRZ did not offer LKAS in any of its trim levels.
+1
But, 2 days later, we still don’t know the car’s odometer mileage or the condition of its tires…
I have a little over 17,000 miles on the car. I bought it new and it’s been like this since I bought it.
No to both. Should have stated initially that it’s been like this since I bought it new. Can’t be the tires as it was like this at the 122 miles it had on it when I bought it.
It’s been doing this since I bought it new, so it shouldn’t be the tires. Appreciate the responses though. Just about everyone suggested a tire issue, but the car had 122 miles on it when I bought it and it’s been like this since day one.
My 1999 Civic had a wandering tendency when new. I had two dealers check and align it. The second said the first had done it wrong. The wandering continued. On my own I discovered there’s an adjustment on the steering rack: a bolt held in place by a lock ring. After a few times of setting it a little tighter and a little looser I found a sweet spot. The car has over 190,000 miles and never needed another alignment until I installed a new (used) steering knuckle after a crash a couple years ago.
Would have been nice to know that at the beginning.
And I disagree with you. It very well could be the tires. Some brands wander more than others making the steering feel vague.
Take it into the dealer and tell them the steering wanders and you’d like to see if they can make it better. The car’s alignment might very well be within specification BUT, there is enough room in the specs to improve wandering. Adding a little bit more “toe-in” (that is the proper technical term) at the front and the rear can help this tendency quite a bit.
Why have you lived with this for 4 years? Didn’t you test drive this car before you bought it? We always suggest a LONG test drive of any car you want to buy.
Are the tires correctly inflated? Overinflated tires might wander more.
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+1… even though the OP will have to pay for whatever the “cure” might turn out to be.
When my car was delivered in 2010, I quickly noticed that it needed almost constant steering correction. When I took it back to the dealership a few weeks later, they found that the alignment was “off”, and they aligned it properly–under warranty. If I had waited more than a few weeks, they might have claimed that I had whacked a curb and that this wasn’t a warranty issue.
This is not something that I would have ignored for 4 years.
I’ve lived with it for this long because, as you can see, I don’t do a lot of driving. And most of it is local. I test drove a CR-Z before I bought, but they had to find this one. I wanted a 6 speed and the one I test drove was an automatic. You’re right, I should have taken a longer test drive in this car. Water under the bridge now. Now is probably not the best time to go to the dealer, what with the plague. I hoped that someone else might have experienced this problem and could give me some tips to talk to the dealer about so I don’t waste a lot of time debating the problem with them. In my experience, dealers tend to argue with women when we have issues with our cars.
Thanks for your response. Most of the responses question why I let it go so long. And they’re right, I shouldn’t have. But it’s really difficult getting a dealer to listen to a woman about car issues. The first time I took the car to the dealer it was for an oil change and it took them almost three hours. And they acted like I was a bitch when I complained about it. It just makes it harder to bring up problems when they don’t take me seriously.
Do this…
You might shock the service writer when you use the term “toe-in” but he will understand it. It will cost you money for the alignment, though.
With a vehicle that is longer under warranty, there is really no compelling reason to go to a dealership for an issue that could be dealt with by a good independent alignment shop.
Start asking friends, neighbors, relatives, and co-workers for recommendations on alignment specialist shops in your area. If you can find at least two people who were satisfied with a particular shop, that is an indication of where you might choose to go, rather than to the dealership.
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I agree. No need for a dealer. A good alignment shop can do as well and probably better. They specialize in concerns like yours.
If the dealer was rude and you are out of warranty (is it over at 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first?) that relationship need not continue.
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