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Steering Wheel Off-Center

The car tracks straight but my steering wheel is slightly off-center. I've had my alignment done twice in under 6K miles and it doesn't seem to take for more than

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Old 06-14-2010, 08:14 AM   #1 (permalink)
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Default Steering Wheel Off-Center

The car tracks straight but my steering wheel is slightly off-center. I've had my alignment done twice in under 6K miles and it doesn't seem to take for more than a few days. The dealer told me to contact Nissan customer service to start a case. Is anyone else having this issue?
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Old 06-14-2010, 08:17 AM   #2 (permalink)
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Does the dealership agree that the steering wheel is off center? The reason I ask is because it's possible that the crown in the road is making you believe your steering is off.
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Old 06-14-2010, 08:30 AM   #3 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by Threev8s View Post
The car tracks straight but my steering wheel is slightly off-center. I've had my alignment done twice in under 6K miles and it doesn't seem to take for more than a few days. The dealer told me to contact Nissan customer service to start a case. Is anyone else having this issue?
mines the same way.. If i remember correctly its slightly to the left.
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Old 06-14-2010, 08:32 AM   #4 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by m4a1mustang View Post
Does the dealership agree that the steering wheel is off center? The reason I ask is because it's possible that the crown in the road is making you believe your steering is off.
Yes, they acknowledged that it's off. It's definitely not the crown...I've checked it on many different roads, parking lots, etc.
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Old 06-14-2010, 08:34 AM   #5 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by Daishi View Post
mines the same way.. If i remember correctly its slightly to the left.
So if you straighten it, your car goes to the right? That's what I have, and it came from the factory that way. It only had 6 miles on it so it's highly unlikely that something happened between the factory and the dealer lot.
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Old 06-14-2010, 09:32 AM   #6 (permalink)
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Weird, my wife's Pathfinder's got the same issue...Is it a Nissan thing?
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Old 06-14-2010, 09:40 AM   #7 (permalink)
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Originally Posted by j.arnaldo View Post
Weird, my wife's Pathfinder's got the same issue...Is it a Nissan thing?

uhhh........ to the best of my knowledge all newer cars are designed that way. It's in case you fall asleep at the wheel. So you don't front end plow someone on the road. It goes hand in hand with the washboard shoulder's edge of the road.

N/M I re-read post sorry, you are saying the steering wheel is off not the track. I'll have to look at mine when I get home, I've never payed alot of attention to steering wheel position.

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Old 06-14-2010, 09:42 AM   #8 (permalink)
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mines the same way.. If i remember correctly its slightly to the left.
+1, and I think it is a Nissan thing... My sisters G35/37 was the same way.
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Old 06-14-2010, 09:43 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Mine was perfectly centered but after the LTH install we could not get it back to center. We are going to attempt again this weekend and fix it.
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Old 06-14-2010, 09:49 AM   #10 (permalink)
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Mine's off slightly to the right. I think it was straight when I bought the car but over time I think wheels just get off kilter a bit.

It's definitely not just a Nissan thing. I've seen this (and had it) in all sorts of vehicles. Some pretty bad with higher mileage.
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Old 06-14-2010, 10:07 AM   #11 (permalink)
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mine's perfectly centered from the factory.
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Old 06-14-2010, 11:07 AM   #12 (permalink)
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It's easy enough to fix if you're moderately handy and have some spatial relations skilz... (your alignment guy should be responsible for getting this right, but in lieu of that do the following

If the wheel is off to the left, visualize this:

1) Straighten the wheel (turn to the right)

2) Your wheels are now pointed slightly right. You need to pull them back to center

3) Loosen the locking nuts on the 2 tie rod ends

4) On the left side, turn the tie rod IN 1/2 turn (clockwise)

5) on the right side, turn the tie rod OUT the same amount ((counterclockwise).

6) drive to see if straight, tweak from there. Be sure to make the same changes on each side and you're alignment will not be affected. Be sure to tighten the locking nuts when done.

Wheel off to the right, do the opposite.

I've done this many times and had to do it on my Z as well. Being slightly off drove me crazy!
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Old 06-14-2010, 11:42 AM   #13 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Threev8s View Post
So if you straighten it, your car goes to the right? That's what I have, and it came from the factory that way. It only had 6 miles on it so it's highly unlikely that something happened between the factory and the dealer lot.

Yup. Mine was like that from the factory as well.
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Old 06-14-2010, 12:16 PM   #14 (permalink)
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Yep mine too - slightly off to the left
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Old 06-14-2010, 03:49 PM   #15 (permalink)
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yep
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