# Steering Wheel Not Centered?



## M1Tanker (Mar 17, 2011)

Wife and I have test drove a couple of different Cruze's and it seemed that on every single one, the steering wheel was not centered and appeared to be turned to the left while driving straight?

Is this normal? It seems to me that the toe adjustment may have been off on the first one, but to see it in two of them made me scratch my head.

Anyone else noticed this?


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## Blackbelt Jones (Mar 3, 2011)

We have not seen this on our Cruze LS; it rides straight w/ no pull either to the left or the right.


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## M1Tanker (Mar 17, 2011)

The car drove straight as an arrow with no pull, but the wheel was off-center to the left.


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## robertbick (Jan 1, 2011)

I have not seen this issue at all in my test drives or my current Cruze.


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## SilverCruzer (Nov 30, 2010)

Could be that its just a new car, but I don't recall any car I have driven in the past that holds a straight line as much as my new Cruze.


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## Blackbelt Jones (Mar 3, 2011)

M1Tanker said:


> The car drove straight as an arrow with no pull, but the wheel was off-center to the left.


Oh, I see what you are saying... the car drives straight, but the streering wheel itself appears off center. I never noticed that on our LS, but I will check when I get home from work.


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Probably just road crown.


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## M1Tanker (Mar 17, 2011)

I thought it was road crown also but then I drove in the other lane of a 4-way and it was the same.


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Hrmm I would bring it up to that dealer. Ask them to have one of them checked out for alignment issues.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

JDM-USDM Love said:


> Probably just *road crown*.


...another vote here for *road crown*...especially noticable through the new electric power steering: when you 'let go' of the wheel it'll stay centered because the electric motor doesn't 'feed back' the mechanical 'pull' as the old hydraulic steering did.

...that being said, the steering wheel on our LTZ is centered. I first noticed this lack of re-centering on my 2009 Vibe, which also has the electric power steering, so I was able to easily recognize its symptoms in the wife's LTZ.


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## Spaceme (Jan 20, 2011)

I brought my Chevy Cruze LTZ back to my dealer for just this issue. Stearing wheel is cocked slightly to the left and my car seems to want to pull to the right sometimes. My alignment is within in the limits according to my dealer. The rear passenger side tire's camber was more than the driver's side which could be causing the imbalance but it too was also within in the limit. Even if it wasn't though, there is no provision on the Cruze to adjust rear camber like on other cars. I am learning to live with it.


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

70AARCUDA said:


> ...another vote here for *road crown*...especially noticable through the new electric power steering: when you 'let go' of the wheel it'll stay centered because the electric motor doesn't 'feed back' the mechanical 'pull' as the old hydraulic steering did.
> 
> ...that being said, the steering wheel on our LTZ is centered. I first noticed this lack of re-centering on my 2009 Vibe, which also has the electric power steering, so I was able to easily recognize its symptoms in the wife's LTZ.


Correct me if I'm wrong but the EPS systems still work off a torsion bar before mechanic imput is put in by the driver right? If so, what degree of steering wheel rotation is required before the EPS system applies input?


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...it's not that simple; driver input goes "to" and "through" the ECM, then back to the motor and finally to the rack & pinion mechanism (steering rack).

...here's some info, bottom half talks about GM EPS: Electric Power Steering


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## M1Tanker (Mar 17, 2011)

So...I'm guessing due to the EPS assist they are all gonna have non-centered steering wheels on most roads then???


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

Spaceme said:


> I brought my Chevy Cruze LTZ back to my dealer for just this issue. Stearing wheel is cocked slightly to the left and my car seems to want to pull to the right sometimes. My alignment is within in the limits according to my dealer. The rear passenger side tire's camber was more than the driver's side which could be causing the imbalance but it too was also within in the limit. Even if it wasn't though, there is no provision on the Cruze to adjust rear camber like on other cars. I am learning to live with it.


The steering wheel on my LTZ is straight. This is ONE thing that I would have noticed immediately after having a 1999 Chrysler 300M with a crooked wheel and a VERY definite pull to the left no matter what lane I was in. For *10 1/2 MONTHS* I put up with all kinds of crap from the dealer to the factory reps. It started with the "crown in the road" excuse- a dealer favorite I think. That didn't sit with me because I have driven the same roads with other new cars that I have had over the decades and NEVER had this problem. The dealer(s) did untold numbers of alignments, replaced the rack and pinion steering, rotated the tires all different ways etc. FINALLY, my patience ran out. I was tired of bringing the car in and listening to their excuses and explanations.

First, I took the car to a place called Town Fair Tire because I knew the manager there. I asked if he would drive the car and give me his opinion. We were not even on the highway and he had driven less than a mile and said that I had a defective tire- steel belt had separated. So, I got on the phone and called the tire manufacturer directly. Explained my 10 1/2 months of BS and asked if I could bring the car to one of their authorized stores to get it checked out. They told me, no problem and set up the appointment. Within no time at all, it was determined that my tire(s) were defective and they replaced ALL FOUR for NO CHARGE!

After that, NO MORE pulling/drifting to the right. When I say drifting/pulling, I mean if I let go of the wheel, the car wanted to go right into the concrete Jersey Barrier! So much for the crown in the road theory. When I read that here, I shuddered. Just thought I would share MY experience with you so you won't have to go through what I did. IF you think the drift/pull is bad enough and the dealer has not corrected it, call the tire manufacturer DIRECTLY and explain the problem. You might be happy that you did because I believe that the tire manufacturer and NOT GM warrants the tires unless that has changed.

PS The car was like this from *DAY ONE*! When I mentioned it to them, they said they would check it out at prep time!


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

fastdriver said:


> The steering wheel on my LTZ is straight. This is ONE thing that I would have noticed immediately after having a 1999 Chrysler 300M with a crooked wheel and a VERY definite pull to the left no matter what lane I was in. For *10 1/2 MONTHS* I put up with all kinds of crap from the dealer to the factory reps. It started with the "crown in the road" excuse- a dealer favorite I think. That didn't sit with me because I have driven the same roads with other new cars that I have had over the decades and NEVER had this problem. The dealer(s) did untold numbers of alignments, replaced the rack and pinion steering, rotated the tires all different ways etc. FINALLY, my patience ran out. I was tired of bringing the car in and listening to their excuses and explanations.
> 
> First, I took the car to a place called Town Fair Tire because I knew the manager there. I asked if he would drive the car and give me his opinion. We were not even on the highway and he had driven less than a mile and said that I had a defective tire- steel belt had separated. So, I got on the phone and called the tire manufacturer directly. Explained my 10 1/2 months of BS and asked if I could bring the car to one of their authorized stores to get it checked out. They told me, no problem and set up the appointment. Within no time at all, it was determined that my tire(s) were defective and they replaced ALL FOUR for NO CHARGE!
> 
> ...


...back in 1976, the wife and I had an almost identical experience with the OEM Firestone tires on our brand new '76 Pinto Pony Station Wagon (married, with kids): the wheels/tires seemingly would not stay balanced regardless of who did the work--Firestone dealer or Ford shop.

...Ford hemmed & hawwed for months, but finally simply said _"...take it to your Firestone dealer and have the tires replaced...tell them to send us the bill."_

...and, that was the end of all our *tire* problems...the *Pinto*, however, was _another_ issue.


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

70AARCUDA said:


> ...back in 1976, the wife and I had an almost identical experience with the OEM Firestone tires on our brand new '76 Pinto Pony Station Wagon (married, with kids): the wheels/tires seemingly would not stay balanced regardless of who did the work--Firestone dealer or Ford shop.
> 
> ...Ford hemmed & hawwed for months, but finally simply said _"...take it to your Firestone dealer and have the tires replaced...tell them to send us the bill."_
> 
> ...and, that was the end of all our *tire* problems...the *Pinto*, however, was _another_ issue.


 EXACTLY the same for me! The tires- NO problem! The car............another CHRISTINE like in the Stephen King novel/movie- EVIL for the 36 months I had her. It was the ONLY car I EVER named. That's how evil it was! The "award winning 5-STAR" Chrysler DEALERS were JUST as evil!!!! It was an experience I will NEVER forget and one that I will mention EVERY time the opportunity arises!


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## luv2cruze (Dec 15, 2010)

Ok, totally see what you're talking about. My steering wheel is crooked to the left too.. Grrrr...


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## ecw73 (Mar 17, 2011)

So is this normal or has anyone gotten this fixed? I'm noticing the slightly to the left centering also.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

I have no experience with TPMS or EPS, so what are the tolerances in the Cruze system? I ask this because I can tell if one of the front tires on my '97 Civic is a couple of pounds low. The steering wheel will be left or right of center depending on which tire is low when driving straight.

Jim


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## BucaMan (Mar 22, 2011)

I would find this somewhat strange on a new car, but I've had more than one car aligned that comes out tracking very straight but having the wheel not "centered". It can be corrected on an alignment rack I would assume; I've had a few shops fix this problem easily.


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## Jim Frye (Mar 16, 2011)

BucaMan said:


> It can be corrected on an alignment rack I would assume; I've had a few shops fix this problem easily.


Centering the steering wheel is a rather simple adjustment (on traditional steering systems) to the tie rod ends. You shorten one and lengthen the other by the same amount to center the tiller. 

However, is it the same with EPS? New technology for this backyard hammer mechanic. 

Jim


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## gobukize (Apr 15, 2011)

mentioned to the wife just yesterday that when we get our fog lights put on by the local dealer this week i will mention the steering wheel being a little off center(and yes to the left). well i guess its just not me.


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

BucaMan said:


> I would find this somewhat strange on a new car, but I've had more than one car aligned that comes out tracking very straight but having the wheel not "centered". It can be corrected on an alignment rack I would assume; I've had a few shops fix this problem easily.


I don't know if wheel alignment procedures are different now than they were years ago, but years ago they put a device on the steering wheel to keep the wheel straight while they did the alignment so that you would NOT get a crooked wheel.


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## Eric123 (Mar 20, 2011)

When I picked up my Cruze the wheel was not even close to straight. I could tell it was not road crown. Took it back, they straightened it. Now it is slightly off to the opposite way but is much better.


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## fastdriver (Jan 7, 2011)

Eric123 said:


> When I picked up my Cruze the wheel was not even close to straight. I could tell it was not road crown. Took it back, they straightened it. Now it is slightly off to the opposite way but is much better.


Don't you just WISH that the dealer could be as caring as you are about your car instead of just treating it as one more car! HOW hard is it to make sure the wheel is straight? So many dealers don't care!


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## sync87 (Apr 17, 2011)

Just picked up my car yesterday. Yep, the wheel is slightly cocked to the left when driving straight ahead. It's a pretty small amount, but noticeable to a retentive person like myself. I don't think it's road crown in my case.


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## WHITECO (Mar 31, 2011)

All my GM's have been slightly off center to the left...not sure it's just a Cruze thing!


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Jim Frye said:


> Centering the steering wheel is a rather simple adjustment (on traditional steering systems) to the tie rod ends. You shorten one and lengthen the other by the same amount to center the tiller.
> 
> However, is it the same with EPS? New technology for this backyard hammer mechanic.
> 
> Jim


Adjustments I believe are the same. I'm pretty sure EPS systems still have a rack n pinion set up. But instead of assisted power "flowing" through the rack n pinion itself. The input shaft to it has the assisted power from the electric motor. 

My Civic has EPS and sometimes will slew slightly left or right on the steering wheel but still return to center. Someone said that all their GM cars have been slightly off but my Pontiac doesn't do like the civic. It's hydraulic assisted not EPS though.


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## Eric123 (Mar 20, 2011)

They centred mine really fast when I went back. Said the plant can sometimes mess up. Seems a lot better now. If anyone has issues with the wheel being off just take it back. They should fix it.


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## montgom626 (Jan 16, 2011)

I find that Yoga helps "center" my Cruze.


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## Bossy70 (Feb 25, 2011)

My steering wheel is cocked a little to the left too... And it is not road crown. I even drove it on the wrong side of the road (shh, no traffic!) to test it. I noticed it pretty quickly after getting the car. It is not real noticable or anything, but I can tell.

I am going to mention it tomorrow at the dealer, I am taking it in for the steering and shifter recall.


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## audog (Apr 28, 2011)

My LTZ has a centered wheel and doesn't pull left or right if tire pressures are correct. I must have the odd one, based on what I'm reading here. Take them back to the dealer and have them adjusted until you are happy. Maybe if everyone, regardless of brand, refuses to accept a lack of attention to detail, dealers will step up to the level they should be at already.


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## Bossy70 (Feb 25, 2011)

Bossy70 said:


> My steering wheel is cocked a little to the left too... And it is not road crown. I even drove it on the wrong side of the road (shh, no traffic!) to test it. I noticed it pretty quickly after getting the car. It is not real noticable or anything, but I can tell.
> 
> I am going to mention it tomorrow at the dealer, I am taking it in for the steering and shifter recall.


Mentioned it today,
service sheet says "Test drove and found the car pulls hard right with steering wheel centered. Alignment was performed, found front toe out of spec."
My initial response... It seems to have helped.


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## ecw73 (Mar 17, 2011)

Took my car to the dealer today for this and a few other issues. An alignment also fixed my off center steering wheel.


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## Nightdrv (Apr 17, 2011)

I noticed this on my mine as well. It bothers me, but I never remember to mention it when I'm at the dealer. Car drives dead straight, but the steering wheel is like 2 degrees to the left.


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