Crooked steering wheel or off center - how to fix

There is nothing more annoying than driving a car that has a crooked steering wheel, even if it is only slight it can really grate on your nerves. First of all the good news, more often than not this is not a sign that anything is drastically wrong (especially if it is only slightly off center), and as long as your tires are wearing OK and your car is driving fine you may be able to fix it by yourself. (if you have an airbag you can't do it yourself and will probably kill yourself if you try.)

How to straighten a steering wheel (non airbag).

1./ Remove the cover which may be screwed on or simply able to be flicked off with a screw driver.

2./ Undo the bolt on the spindle that holds the steering wheel on, but don't remove it fully you need to use it as stopper, or else when you yank on the steering wheel and it suddenly comes loose it will probably smack you right on the nose!


3/ Loosen the steering wheel, by pulling sharply on it.

5./ Remove the stopper and pull off the steering wheel first however unclip the horn wires that may be clipped to this part of the steering wheel.

6./ There is normally a plastic ring that controls the indicators, this should also be slightly off center, so center that first and then replace the steering wheel placing it in a centered position.

7./ Tighten securely - you don't want your steering wheel falling off while you are driving!

8./ Test and see if its now ok, if not continue adjusting until it is.

How to straighten a Steering wheel with an Airbag.

If your steering wheel is crooked and you have an airbag, you need to get a wheel alignment done on all 4 wheels of your car and the wheel alignment technician needs to properly center your steering wheel when they do it. If you have just had a wheel alignment and now your steering wheel is off center you need to take it back and ask them to do it again!

Disclaimer: This should only be attempted by competent automotive technicians, or by someone under the supervision of one. This site accepts no responsibility for any harm that may come to anyone that trys this, if you are not sure what you are doing, it best not to try.

NEVER attempt to remove the steering wheel yourself if it has an airbag, they are an explosive device and you will seriously harm or kill yourself.

Wheel Alignment - Facts of Tracking

There are some things that you need to be aware of when it comes to Wheel Alignments. For many years I worked as a wheel alignment technician doing car, light truck and heavy truck wheel alignments.

Wheel alignments are a specialized job and I recommend that when you are considering getting your vehicle aligned that you try and find a wheel alignment specialist rather than just your local tire shop unless you are sure that they have an experienced and competent technician as well as up to date and calibrated equipment.

A wheel alignment from technical perspective consists of three main areas, the most common of which is Toe in and Toe out.

Toe
In many of today's modern vehicles this is sometimes the only part of wheel alignment that can be easily adjusted. Toe is the most common form of tire wear. In the diagram below this is a birds eye view and shows an example of toe in if the tires were tending the way of the arrows.

toe : birds eye view

Camber
Camber is if you are looking at the wheels front on amount of negative or positve degrees that they are sitting at. Most race cars for example have quite a bit of negative camber as this can assist when cornering at very high speeds. On many cars this is not easily adjustable however it is always measured and any issues should be pointed out to you.

camber: front on view
Castor
The last measurement in regards to a basic wheel alignment is castor. Castor is in laymans terms whether one wheel is physically further ahead or behind the other. Often for example if you crash into a kurb this could push the left hand side castor angle back behind the right hand side. Again not actually adjustable in many of todays cars however should be measured and issues reported to you.

You should ask for and receive a print out of the wheel alignment before and after specifications and report. Check they have the right vehicle details and that any variations from the specifications have been either addressed or explained. A common misunderstanding by vehicle owners is that all parts of a wheel alignment can be adjusted on every car and this is simply not the case.

Camber of the Road
Another thing to bear in mind is that most roads have a camber of their own heading sloping towards the edge of the road. Most roads are not flat so expecting your car to drive in a perfectly straight line is not always a reasonable explanation. In New Zealand we drive on the left hand side of the road and most cars should and will pull slightly to the left. This is actually very safe because it reduces the chance of drifting into oncoming traffic if the driver is not paying attention.

If you have any questions you are welcome to ask them.