| alphaforcex |
My X pulls to the right when driving straight and it's getting annoying at times so I take the car back to check the alignment. My service advisor told me that if the car doesn't change a lane completely in 6 seconds and according to Acura, it's a drift and it's okay and there's nothing they will/can do. We went for a test drive and my car change a lane completely in about 6 seconds so the service advisor said it might be the tire pressure. Checked the tire pressure and they were okay.
Did the alignment and he mentioned that it's unusual for a low mileage vehicle (<700 miles) that needs to do the alighment. Anyway, it's better (about 10 seconds to change a lane completely on straight road now) now but I still find it bothersome at times. Is this really normal? The service advisor said that it's because the X is so heavy (gravity) and the roads are all inclined to the right so that water won't stay on the road. I knew about the second part but I have doubt on the first. This "drift" thing doesn't happen on my other car or is really minimal. Anyone experience this "drift" on their X? |
|
|
| feliz |
| Mine tracks straight on a reasonably flat road. |
|
|
| Blackura |
When I saw "6 second lane change rule" I thought you were taking the test to be a NYC cab driver! (though they usually change more often than that)
But seriously, I've never heard of such a thing. If the car pulls, it pulls and needs to be fixed/adjusted. I would wonder if you hit a big pothole or a curb that knocked something out of whack? That happened to me in a previous car. |
|
|
| feliz |
| Actually, one of the magazines had an article a while back about the number of vehicles damaged during shipment and it was fairly significant. It doesn't take much of a bump to throw the alignment out of whack. Dealers seem to be able to come up with better and better stories as to why not repair a problem. A vehicle should track straight when delivered IMO. |
|
|
| greatscot |
quote:
Originally posted by Blackura
But seriously, I've never heard of such a thing. If the car pulls, it pulls and needs to be fixed/adjusted. I would wonder if you hit a big pothole . . . something out of whack?
What about railroad tracks in your area during your commute? On a prior car, I had a tire slowly come apart on the inside due to railroad track crossings that were in poor repair. |
|
|
| alphaforcex |
| Well, we seldom drive the X so that's why we only have 700 miles on it since we bought it in May and not to mention ~100 miles of it is back and forth the dealership. :( I didn't even drive it to work...it's more a weekend car. So to answer your question, it has never hit any potholes or anything in that nature. As far as I recall, it was straight when delivered. It was just getting worse...things that puzzled me is they did the alignment and it is still not straight. May be I should go back to the dealership and have them let me test drive another X and see if that is really "normal" as they said. |
|
|
| xcel |
Hi Alphaforcex:
___I had a similar problem with a brand new 03 Corolla LE. It was actually hard to hold the steering wheel to keep the car on the road for an hour + ride given the pull to the left. After the second dealer visit and taking the alignment tech out on the road, he did some more prudent investigation. It ended up being a bad Goodyear Integrity tire and with the new Integrity replacement, the car has tracked great ever since. Given you are driving a Premium w/ the Goodyear Integrity’s as well; we may have a common thread. I hope your dealer discovers the problem soon given our X tracks as straight as an arrow and I believe yours should as well … I would take this thread and its contents in to your dealer to see what they can do. If you need the service record for the Goodyear replacement on my Corolla from the local Toyota dealer, I could probably fax you one?
___Good Luck
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net |
|
|
| vicpai |
quote:
Originally posted by alphaforcex
My X pulls to the right when driving straight and it's getting annoying at times so I take the car back to check the alignment. My service advisor told me that if the car doesn't change a lane completely in 6 seconds and according to Acura, it's a drift and it's okay and there's nothing they will/can do. We went for a test drive and my car change a lane completely in about 6 seconds so the service advisor said it might be the tire pressure. Checked the tire pressure and they were okay.
Did the alignment and he mentioned that it's unusual for a low mileage vehicle (<700 miles) that needs to do the alighment. Anyway, it's better (about 10 seconds to change a lane completely on straight road now) now but I still find it bothersome at times. Is this really normal? The service advisor said that it's because the X is so heavy (gravity) and the roads are all inclined to the right so that water won't stay on the road. I knew about the second part but I have doubt on the first. This "drift" thing doesn't happen on my other car or is really minimal. Anyone experience this "drift" on their X?
........DO YOU HAVE THE TOW PACKAGE??
This seems like the "classic" way my steering-related problem began. The vehicle was wandering/drifting/pulling - call it what you like - with a "rubbery" feel to the steering. My car still pulls (to the RIGHT coincidentally :eek: ) and they're still trying to figure out the the ACTUAL problem (most likely a direct result of the ORIGINAL problem - rust in the power steering fluid)
If you do have the tow package see my posts in the related threads for the whole story:
"Steering Clunk"
http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/show...?threadid=11026
"Steering around turns"
http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/show...?threadid=11946
"the infamous loose/rubbery steering....."
http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/show...?threadid=12095
The original problem was rust that floated through the whole power steering system caused by a corroded PS cooler that came with the tow package, finally discovered by my original selling dealer, VALENCIA ACURA after some investigative work. My "servicing" Acura dealer (ACURA OF SOUTH BAY IN TORRANCE) strung me along for nearly 10,000 miles!! (from 1500 miles on the car to 11500 on the odo) :3: !!. After 4 attempts they just kept saying "everything is normal". They performed alignments 3 times on different occassions supposedly "adjusting the specs to suit my needs and give it a more ON-CENTER feel to prevent the drifting" (what a bunch of bullcr*p :rolleyes: ) all the while claiming "everything else was normal" .....They simply refused to look at the steering system components as I told them I also felt "weirdness" or "inconsistency" in the way the power steering assist acted. Even the district rep that came out to the dealership gave a bunch of bullsh*t (he said he was going to adjust the alignment specs with someone sitting in the driver's seat to compensate for any errors - I weigh 130lbs for cryin out loud :rolleyes: ) Finally, after expressing my disatisfaction to my salesperson at Valencia Acura, and a long diagnostic session with the Service Manager there, he traced the problem to contamination in the PS fluid. (I had been driving around with this gunk in the fluid for over 10,000 miles!!)
Since this problem is still not resolved (it temporarily went away after the system was flushed), I can't even begin to imagine the extent of the damage this corrosion-contaminated fluid has caused. The PS fluid appears "black" again and I will be taking it in on monday! |
|
|
| vicpai |
quote:
Originally posted by xcel
Hi Alphaforcex:
___I had a similar problem with a brand new 03 Corolla LE. It was actually hard to hold the steering wheel to keep the car on the road for an hour + ride given the pull to the left. After the second dealer visit and taking the alignment tech out on the road, he did some more prudent investigation. It ended up being a bad Goodyear Integrity tire and with the new Integrity replacement, the car has tracked great ever since. Given you are driving a Premium w/ the Goodyear Integrity’s as well; we may have a common thread. I hope your dealer discovers the problem soon given our X tracks as straight as an arrow and I believe yours should as well … I would take this thread and its contents in to your dealer to see what they can do. If you need the service record for the Goodyear replacement on my Corolla from the local Toyota dealer, I could probably fax you one?
___Good Luck
___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net
I had the EXACT SAME problem with my 2003 Corolla LE as well which I had bought as a commuter car when it just came out in early 2002!! .....I eventually got rid of it after 7 months (and lost some money :( ) as I could'nt deal with the tracking/steering issue (car would drift and sway on the freeway). They also performed alignments 2 or 3 times, and I also changed the tires to a set of Michelin X-Ones. It didn't help......wonder what it could've been :confused:
Geeez!...what's up with me and steering-related problems!! ....this is the second time around I'm having an issue with the steering system :eek: |
|
|
| oilchange |
Is the circumference of the tires the same? One way to check without dismounting tires is to put a glob of grease on each tire and roll the car slowly. Measure the distance between each mark made by the grease glob on the ground. Are they the same? Obviously, any belt separation could cause pulling, or cone shape tire or tire belt off center. If the pull changes direction when tires are rotated, tires may be cause of the pull.
Here are posts about pull in a Honda Pilot and a possible solution.
http://www.honda-pilot.org/forums/s...65&pagenumber=2
"Alignment Trouble
The new Pilot has been pulling slightly to the passenger side (if I let go of the steering wheel I've got about 5 seconds before the Pilot goes offroading). "
And a Follow up:
"I have an Odyssey and it did pull to the right for many months. Rotated tires but no change. Alignment measured within spec. Dealer resisted fixing. Showed them a copy of SB 00-067 which is about shifting the front suspension cradle. It has been better since the fix, but is still very sensitive to any road crown, left or right. More sensitive than any other vehicle I have tried, Honda or other.
"Try this link for the ODYSSEY service bulletin. I do not know if Pilot has an known issue. http://www.hondalac.com/service/Bulletins/x00-067e.pdf
"Try this link for camber adjusting hardware for Odyssey. I have not tried this brand. No listing for Pilot. Honda is supposed to have some other camber bolts also.
http://www.ingallseng.com/parts/3544PR.htm"
And a Follow up:
"Got the beast back from the dealer the other day, no more drift to the passenger side. Tracks straight as an arrow as the saying goes (assuming a flat road and no cross winds).
"They adjusted cradle to bring the erroneous dimension (can't remember if it was castor or camber, I need a service manual...) back into spec.
"Took the head mechanic about an hour to make the adjustment. No charge.
"The Pilot is still somewhat sensitive to road crown but at least I can now take off my parka while driving (ie. John Candy; Planes, Trains, and Automobiles) and not have to worry about hitting the ditch "
Hope yours can straighten up and fly right. |
|
|
|
