My Jazz has had an off-centre steering wheel since I bought it brand-new. It seems that it will have to stay like that until I move on to something else. I just came back from the 10,000k service from Trivett Honda (which I believe being one of the biggest Honda dealers in Sydney). I mentioned the problem to them again, and I was told by two guys (one mechanic who test drove my car, and one customer service representative) that Hondas are designed to natually pull to the left, so that if you fell asleep at the wheel, you wouldn't drive into the incoming cars from the opposite lanes. I asked whether other makes have the same "feature"; The customer service rep said only the advanced European luxury cars do, as Honda is extremely forward in terms of safety features...

 

And I suppose they design all USA Hondas to pull to the right? The information you
received is garbage. Any good alignment shop can correct an off center steering wheel.

Clifton

 

Correct. All cars should track Straight and never pull to one side or another on a straight flat road. Worn roads may cause the car to do this but the car itself should never pull to one side or another.

go back to the dealer and take another NEW fit out for a drive. See if it pulls (It won't on a good smooth road surface), then get the dealer to align it. also notify Honda Au. corporate about this as they should know the crap that their dealers are feeding their customers.

~SB

 

Ha...

Another dealer avoiding "work" by creating fiction.

 

That is about as bs as it gets.

 

Whoa! That's a good one... Limited edition special feature even... And comparing it to high end European cars? They really piled it on... Should ask them about the wake up feature too

I would go by what Specboy said. Spread the word! This can't be kept a secret! So WRONG!

 

Normal alignment compensates for the average slope of roads.

Roads are sloped slightly to the side so rainwater drains from the road surface. As a result, perfect alignment would result in cars veering towards the edge of the road surface. Normal alignment compensates for this so that the steering will be neutral on the average sloped road.

Not all road surfaces are sloped the same though, especially on 4 lane (2 lanes each way) where the center lane is sloped towards the median. Your car pulling slightly to the center (centre?) on these roads is normal.

But honda saying that the normal alignment will take you off the road is a bit silly.

I'd take it to an independent shop and have them check it. It's worth paying rather than fighting with the dealer for peace of mind. Or go back with the report from the independent and request reimbursement for the dealer's nonsense. They won't reimburse you but you'll have the satisfaction of saying, "I told you so."

 

wow BS. the car should track straight on flat roads. if a road is banked, then the car may track toward the lower side.