Steering Wheel Crooked But Alignment Okay, What is the right way to fix?

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

After some off-roading and hit some pretty big bumps at speed, and now my steering wheel is about 15 degrees off, but the car is not pulling.

I am in another country where I don’t speak the language well, so looking for some guidance on what should be done to fix this. I took it into the shop, and they pulled the car onto some electronic sensors and said the alignment was fine. They did a very visual inspection (glance?) under the car as well, and were ready to send me on my way.

I showed them that the steering wheel was off, and their solution was to just take off the wheel and put it back on straight. Is this what should be done to fix this problem? I do believe the alignment of the cars is okay because it’s driving fine, but I’m still not sure if there is something else going on that caused the steering wheel to be knocked out of line. I’ve been doing some online searching and I’m not so sure that they are doing the right thing. I see references to “toe” and other things, and I don’t know how to interpret what I’m reading, so thought I’d ask here and see if anyone knew the right way to fix this problem.

Thanks!

2

If the steering wheel was straight and it off now you bent something in the front end.

3

X2 for the bent something.

Plus “Alignment is fine!” doesn’t mean what you think it means. Obviously if the steering wheel is no longer straight, then it is not “fine!” It might be in tolerance - or it might be non-adjustable from the factory, but it is not “Fine!”

So the first step is to find out what is bent.

Is it possible to bend something in the suspension and the vehicle track straight? Yes.