New Tires = Cock-eyed steering wheel ...

3830 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by steve326a, Feb 8, 2007

Avalon.Wis

Discussion Starter · Feb 2, 2007

Hello everyone:

Just had a new set of tires put on earlier this week. They're not name brand, but they sure do have a nice ride - quiet, and the tires grip the road much better, of course.

When I was driving on the expressway, though, I noticed that my steering wheel is now slightly cock-eyed. It's a bit off-center to the right, and when I try to straighten the wheel out, the car goes way left. I had no issues before the new tires were installed.

I would not suspect this to be a front-end alignment issue - would anyone know what might cause this?

Many thanks for your replies.

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jsseibel

· #2 · Feb 2, 2007

Avalon.Wis said:
Hello everyone:

Just had a new set of tires put on earlier this week. They're not name brand, but they sure do have a nice ride - quiet, and the tires grip the road much better, of course.

When I was driving on the expressway, though, I noticed that my steering wheel is now slightly cock-eyed. It's a bit off-center to the right, and when I try to straighten the wheel out, the car goes way left. I had no issues before the new tires were installed.

I would not suspect this to be a front-end alignment issue - would anyone know what might cause this?

Many thanks for your replies.

This is definitely a front-end alignment issue. Did you have the car aligned after the new tires were installed? In my experience, this is caused by the alignment tech not straightening the streering wheel prior to alignment--basically, he/she aligns the car with a cocked steering wheel.

If an alignment was done, you'll need to return for another alignment. This happened on my 2004 Toyota Highlander.

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CassisPearl

· #3 · Feb 2, 2007

Avalon.Wis said:
Hello everyone:

Just had a new set of tires put on earlier this week. They're not name brand, but they sure do have a nice ride - quiet, and the tires grip the road much better, of course.

When I was driving on the expressway, though, I noticed that my steering wheel is now slightly cock-eyed. It's a bit off-center to the right, and when I try to straighten the wheel out, the car goes way left. I had no issues before the new tires were installed.

I would not suspect this to be a front-end alignment issue - would anyone know what might cause this?

Many thanks for your replies.

You might check to see whether all four tires are the same size. Years ago, my sister purchased a set of four tires and one of them was the wrong size. The car pulled to one side also until the wrong tire was replaced with the right size.

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Avalon.Wis

Discussion Starter · #4 · Feb 2, 2007

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Actually, the folks that put the tires on didn't even do an alignment! I guess I'll have to bring it in to have the alignment done to correct the problem. I'll check the sizes first before, though.

Thanks again.

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toyomoho

· #5 · Feb 3, 2007

The tie rods end can be adjusted to re-center the wheel. The question would be how it got off.

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steve326a

· #6 · Feb 4, 2007

HOLD ON FOLKS! Before you do alignment, I had the EXACT problem last month when I had new tires put on. It is caused by what they call radial pull. Have them take off the front tires and reverse them. Swap the left with the right and vise versa. It will definately cure your problem.:thumbup:

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Avalon.Wis

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 8, 2007

Well ... I finally have a straight steering wheel.

Steve described the tire issue, and rotating did help, but it did not completely solve the problem. They had to adjust the tow on the steering wheel to make it balance out again. I have absolutely no idea how it got like this. When I had the old tires on, everything was fine. So, now I'm a happy camper who's not going bonkers because the wheel is as off as I am!

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steve326a

· #8 · Feb 8, 2007

Avalon.Wis said:
Well ... I finally have a straight steering wheel.

Steve described the tire issue, and rotating did help, but it did not completely solve the problem. They had to adjust the tow on the steering wheel to make it balance out again. I have absolutely no idea how it got like this. When I had the old tires on, everything was fine. So, now I'm a happy camper who's not going bonkers because the wheel is as off as I am!

I'm glad you got it straightened out. From what you said, you had 2 problems. I'm glad to have helped.

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