I love my '10 base Fit but one little think keeps annoying me. The steering wheel is off-center maybe 2 degrees. Just enough to bother... The car tracks straight and tire wear is even so I figure it's within spec. Since I don't live close to a dealer I'm thinking I can adjust the alignment bar/nut a 1/2 turn or so to center the wheel. Will this do the trick? I need to rotate the steering wheel to the right just a tad. What direction to turn the alignment bar/nut? Do I need to adjust both sides equally?

Any ideas ?

Thanks

 

I wouldn't advise an alignment by eye. Take it to a good alignment shop. I found one by asking at a local tire shop, not one of those chain dealers, but a local tire place. Asked who they recommended for aligments and found an excellent repair place that does alignments. Under $100 will center your wheel.

I once took a car w/ same issue to a firestone place [years back] and discovered a mechanic trying to pull the steering wheel to center it! That is what you don't want to find....

 

Thanks.

I think I figured out. Just increased the toe-in with 1/8th turn of the L tie rod and it seems to have done the trick. Wheel center and tracking is good. I'll give it a go and keep an eye on tire wear. Any issues and it'll go to a good local shop.

 

Wow you shouldn't have done that. You might as well get the money ready for a new alignment. And maybe some tires. I can almost guarantee that your alignment is now off and out of spec.

Any alignment shop will be able to get the car back into the adjustment specifications and straighten the wheel. Doing it by hand/eye with no measuring equipment is just foolish, especially to pull the settings further out of spec just to straighten the wheel, which you surely did.

I could understand if you bent a suspension arm on a road trip and just need to get the car *more* drive-able, but this is different.

You came on here asking if it would work, and someone advised you that it was not an intelligent idea. I'm saving this thread for my friends to read, they'll get a kick.

 

His alignment should be fine.

 

Direct quoting the 2009 Honda Service Manual aka "Helm" manual from Helm Inc.

Front and Rear suspension Section 18-6:

Wheel Alignment:

"The suspension can be adjusted for the front camber and front toe. However, each of these adjustments are related to each other. For example, when you adjust the camber, the toe will change [when you adjust toe, camber will change]. Therefore, you MUST adjust the front wheel alignment whenever you adjust camber or toe."

Wheel Alignment (cont'd) Section 18-8

Front Toe Inspection/Adjustment:

"Use commerically available COMPUTERIZED four wheel alignment equipment to measure wheel alignment (caster, camber toe and turning angle)."

Front toe-in: 0+/- 3mm (0+/-0.12 in.)

I'm sure he got it to within plus or minus zero-point-one-two inches with his hands and eyes. /loling

 

Didn't eye ball it but I did use the super computer in my head plus some 8th grade geometry and math. Toe-in changed 0.31mm. Thanks for your concern though.

 

I had this same problem, and it also bugged me to no end!

I brought it to the dealer about 3 months after I got it (a different one than I bought it from), and they took care of it for free in about 2 hours.

They had to run through this TSB: http://techinfo.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SB/A06-068.PDF

 

Great post - this should serve many. +rep to you clicq

 

Yeah, great service bulletin link. Look at how intensive the processes is for doing this the correct (Honda) way. 8th grade math, lmao.

 

Thanks! That helps.

I'm 3+hrs from closest dealer so it's easier to do most things like this myself if possible. Using repair procedure C(others N/A) it seems I was on the right track since my steering wheel was out ~1mm(using the calibrated sticker concept) with no pulling left or right. Using the 8mm of change at steering wheel per turn of the tie-rod the 1/8th change I put in both sides moved the wheel 1mm and back to center without introducing any pull. Nice!

Interesting that without any L/R pull issues the Honda procedure to center a steering wheel does not perform a computer alignment but instead just uses trial and error adjustment of the tie-rods equally till the wheel is centered.

Again, Thank You

 

The diagnostic process could be pretty intensive, but he basically did repair procedure C which boils down to:

Adjust the tie rods.

It even tells you how 360 degree turn on the tie rod equals 8 mm. You've got a 6mm spread (+/- 3mm) so it really doesn't have to be *THAT* precise.