[YungC]

Two questions:

What cause the steering wheel being off center?

Also is it easy to adjust?

Yung

 

[Jerry O1]

Your steering wheel should be centered. If it is not, you should have your wheels realigned.

Jerry O.

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2001 Odyssey GG LX

 

[nemogira]

Well several people have reported it being off center. So it's not totally uncommon. Although it wouldn't hurt to have it checked by the dealer anyway.

Here are some old reports of it being off center:
http://www.odyclub.com/ubb/Forum20/HTML/000088.html

-Nestor

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2000 CCS EX-NAVI

 

[FW_in_OKC]

I noticed that my steering wheel is off center also, to the right just slightly. I will put it in the shop for alignment next week.

 

[gfawkes]

Mine has the same problem, but under different circumstances:

1. '01 Ody went into Honda last week to get tranny replaced. Problem was low rumble at 1500RPM/50MPH that many of you complained about. Yes, it is now fixed.

2. Now, however, steering wheel is slightly off to the left. It steers ok with no pull so it's tracking ok.

3. Also, steering wheel is "out" on the right hand side. This means it is about .5" closer to the drivers body than the left side. Weird.

Honda said the tranny work may have caused this and will correct it. I'll let you know this Fri. what the result is.

 

[DP]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by gfawkes:
1. '01 Ody went into Honda last week to get tranny replaced. Problem was low rumble at 1500RPM/50MPH that many of you complained about. Yes, it is now fixed.
</font>

Was that the only reason for the replacement? I regularly experience this kind of rumble as well, but did not consider it worth complaining. Is that so serious?


[This message has been edited by DP (edited 01-08-2002).]

 

[TheNance]

We have had 2 transmission replacements on our '00 Ody, at 2 different dealerships. Both times, when we got the car back, the steering wheel was off center, to the right. My understanding is that it isn't exactly a problem with the wheel alignment. I think the mechanic said it has something to do with "adjusting the beam".

We've put about 4K on the current tranny. Seems quiet and smooth. Fingers crossed.

 

[gfawkes]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by TheNance:
We have had 2 transmission replacements on our '00 Ody, at 2 different dealerships. Both times, when we got the car back, the steering wheel was off center, to the right. My understanding is that it isn't exactly a problem with the wheel alignment. I think the mechanic said it has something to do with "adjusting the beam".

We've put about 4K on the current tranny. Seems quiet and smooth. Fingers crossed.</font>

 

[gfawkes]

DP: Yes, this was the only reason for replacement. The bottom line was my wife and I found it annoying, and when I mentioned it in passing to the Honda service rep, at the first tuneup, he took the lead, took it for a test drive, and began the problem diagnosis. I one point I was concerned that it seemed invasive but he said it was only a 1 day swap.

TheNance: Did they write anything on your service invoice on what "adjusting the beam" means or what caused it?

 

[TheNance]

Perhaps they are two separate things.

After the first transmission was replaced, the technician did an aligment and he also put "shift beam" on the invoice. He said he did that because Ody's tend to pull to the right. As we drove home (500 miles - we were on vacation), we noticed the steering wheel was off center to the right. So, our dealer did another "alignment". We were concerned that we had put 500 miles on our new Michelins with the alignment off, but the technician said that the problem with the steering wheel would not cause uneven wear, that it wasn't exactly a wheel alignment problem.

I looked back at the paperwork, and the second time the transmission was replaced, the steering wheel was off center to the left. Again, they did a "4 wheel alignment" to fix it.

 

[FW_in_OKC]

I took my Ody to the shop yesterday and they checked the alignment and centered the wheel. I'm happy now! The off center wheel was somewhat annoying. It only took them a couple hours and the dealership provided me with a 2002 Honda Civic to drive while mine was being serviced. That made me very happy.

Fred

 

[gfawkes]

...took the Ody back and they adjusted the "alignment" but unfortunately it's back off the right...back to Honda again

 

[dvcamp]

I had my tranny replaced about 6 months ago. When I received my van back, my steering wheel was also slanted to the left. I called my local Honda back and they stated that they could take care of it. I ended up replacing my tires before going back to Honda. While replacing the tires they also did a 4 wheel alignment. Took care of the steering wheel issue. It seems the Honda service people do not pay attention to the steering wheel alignment once they change the tranny. Poor attention to detail if you ask me!

 

[leeodys]

Yes: when I first pickup my new 99-EX,
I immediately the steering wheel off center
and the car pulled in our direction. Two
different dealers (Hopkin & Anderson in Bay areas) service-men refused to help correct
the problem; they blamed on fireStone tire
for "conisity" problem, and the "road crown"
In one word: dealers staff were not honest!!!

 

[accordian]

I think the reason they can't seem to get the steering wheel straight is that they don't sit behind the wheel to center it, they lean in through the driver's window. If you haven't noticed, the steering wheel on the Ody isn't parallel to the dash. The right side is closer to the driver than the left. They are all this way, it's just the way the vehicle is designed. When you lean in through the window the center the wheel, it may look centered, but from the driver's perspective it is off to the right. To correct this on any car with rack and pinion steering, they simply lengthen the left tie rod and shorten the right by an equal amount. The steering wheel being crooked in and of itself will not affect alignment or tire wear. Something else would have to be off, like caster, camber, or total toe to do that. It's just a nuisance.

 

[gfawkes]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by accordian:
I think the reason they can't seem to get the steering wheel straight is that they don't sit behind the wheel to center it, they lean in through the driver's window. If you haven't noticed, the steering wheel on the Ody isn't parallel to the dash. The right side is closer to the driver than the left. They are all this way, it's just the way the vehicle is designed. When you lean in through the window the center the wheel, it may look centered, but from the driver's perspective it is off to the right. To correct this on any car with rack and pinion steering, they simply lengthen the left tie rod and shorten the right by an equal amount. The steering wheel being crooked in and of itself will not affect alignment or tire wear. Something else would have to be off, like caster, camber, or total toe to do that. It's just a nuisance.</font>

I agree, I had the steering wheel off center after my tranny was replaced for the 1500RPM/50MPH rumble.

I thought it was me, but I too noticed that on my '01, the right side of the steering wheel is 0.5" closer to the driver's body than the left side. Honda dealer said that I was imagining things but I measured both sides to a reference point on the seat and this is indeed the case. Honda dealer says this is normal.

The Honda (Helm) service manual on page 17-27 has an exploded view of the steering column and there are lateral adjustments (absorbing plate guides) for changing this. I'm going to ask my dealer to have another look.

 

[accordian]

There can't be much adjustment, and I doubt they can remove the angle. I put the alarm on my LX, and in the process I had to remove the plastic cover around the steering column. It is distinctly wedge-shaped. No way to make the steering wheel parallel to the dash. FWIW, I had an '85 VW Quantum with the same design quirk.