tdoggydog Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Okay - I've taken my car in for several realignments due to the steering wheel being slightly off center/flat, accentuated by one side of the paddle shifter showing more than the other. Every adjustment made so far hasn't seemed to help. My question is - those of you with paddle shifters on your '08, is this normal? Do you notice your steering wheel slightly off when driving straight? Or do I need to keep taking it in until it's completely corrected? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Honey, wait 'till you find a beer can hidden somewhere in your engine bay, courtesy of SOA! This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edekba Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Tdoggy ... I havent had an issue, but then again i only got 600 miles. Lemme try on my way to work tomorrow and see what's up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdoggydog Posted October 8, 2007 Author Share Posted October 8, 2007 Tdoggy ... I havent had an issue, but then again i only got 600 miles. Lemme try on my way to work tomorrow and see what's up. Thanks, I'd really appreciate that. I'm curious to see if it's just a design flaw with the car, or if mine has something that's not quite right. The wheels have been aligned (zero'd out, actually) and the steering wheel removed and placed back on in a different position. From what I'm being told, the steering wheel can only move in preset increments on the spline. Mine is so slightly off at this point - just slightly cocked to the left. But it bothers me what with this being a 30K+ car, and seeing asymmetry with the paddle shifters. I think I might have to talk to the dealership and perhaps get an engineer involved from SOA. Your info would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edekba Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Hmm well i just tried this morning on the way to work, and it doesnt seem to go straight, even though the steering wheel, to me, is aligned at center. I tried it a few times and a few times it went slighty left or slighty right. And only once did it go straight, however this might have been because of hte road... i was on the 605N ... and we all know how bad the pavement is on that freeway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 My question is - those of you with paddle shifters on your '08, is this normal? Do you notice your steering wheel slightly off when driving straight? Mine is an 07 JDM, but I will still try to find out tomorrow morning... if i remember, that is. This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim1969 Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 the steering wheel being off center has been an issue since 05. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdoggydog Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share Posted October 9, 2007 the steering wheel being off center has been an issue since 05. REALLY? Is this true? Can anybody else vouch that this is true? If so, I won't worry since it appears to be an engineering flaw. And to the other comment about going straight on the freeway - the issue with mine is not the 4-wheel alignment. The car drives straight as an arrow. The problem is that the steering wheel is cocked every so slightly to the left when the car drives straight, most noticeable at speeds above 50 mph. Please guys - I'm a perfectionist and a bit anal about this. I'll concede defeat if that's just the way the car is built. But if mine is in error when compared to other models, then I want it fixed properly. As I mentioned earlier, if the paddle shifters weren't there, I probably wouldn't even notice. It's that there is some asymmetry from my perspective when trying to drive straight. HELP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim1969 Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 click on the search button. click on advanced search. type in steering wheel change from "search entire posts" to "search titles only" hit search button go to page 5 of search results thank me for doing the legwork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdoggydog Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share Posted October 9, 2007 click on the search button. click on advanced search. type in steering wheel change from "search entire posts" to "search titles only" hit search button go to page 5 of search results thank me for doing the legwork Sorry - didn't realize that I could be that descript in my searches. Thanks for your advice, though. That REALLY helped. Looks like people have had to explain to the dealership how to adjust the tie rods in order to center the steering wheel. Sheesh. Still looking for anybody out there that may have had this problem and had it fixed, or are currently experiencing this issue. HELP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim1969 Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I had the issue and had it fixed by the dealer adjusting the tie rods in Aug of 2005. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 turned out that mine is a bit off to the left too... but i don't really care. This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitetiger Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 just tilt your head left alittle.... fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayT Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Had this been a Jeep forum everyone would have been yelling "tie rod or drag link" by the second post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 just tilt your head left alittle.... fixed. that works This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edekba Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I dunno i dont see a problem in my 3.0R, but then again i might not be knowing what to look for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdoggydog Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 Update: I was encouraged by the dealership to contact SOA customer support, of which I did and they will be following up with me after they speak with the service department. In the mean time, I also called up a shop I've used for my previous car, of which they do EXCELLENT work consistently. I explained my car situation and they said no doubt, it's a tie rod adjustment that's needed. So, I'll keep you informed as the story progresses...that is, if anybody even cares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdoggydog Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 I dunno i dont see a problem in my 3.0R, but then again i might not be knowing what to look for. Basically, drive straight on the freeway and see if when you are traveling straight, if the steering wheel is cocked to one side or the other. It's more noticeable with the paddle shifters as they appear asymmetrical when driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edekba Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Will try to do that this ... but kidna hard to do while your stuck in traffic or weaving in/out of it Maybe this wknd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edekba Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Okay looked at it today while driving ... It looks okay to me :-X I mean it looked slighty asymmetrical, but then it could've been the angle that i was looking at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt_ltd Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 So, I'll keep you informed as the story progresses...that is, if anybody even cares. yeah do post updates. i may have mine fixed too... who knows? This Space For Rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowsports Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 tdoggydog, All joking aside.... The term you are referring to is called "indexing" A good shop will ensure the steering wheel is properly indexed when the car is aligned, meaning it should drive completely straight with the wheel centered. If not, you got a sloppy alignment. The car will drive straight, but only with the wheel cocked to the left or right. This really bothers me, but others don't seem to mind it. And yes, the tie rods are usually the easiest place to fix this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdoggydog Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 tdoggydog, All joking aside.... The term you are referring to is called "indexing" A good shop will ensure the steering wheel is properly indexed when the car is aligned, meaning it should drive completely straight with the wheel centered. If not, you got a sloppy alignment. The car will drive straight, but only with the wheel cocked to the left or right. This really bothers me, but others don't seem to mind it. And yes, the tie rods are usually the easiest place to fix this. Thanks. I'm still waiting to hear back from SOA about how to resolve this issue. My thought is that they should just reimburse me to go and get it done at the shop of my choice since the dealership is having trouble with the alignment place they use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edekba Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 yeah seems like my right paddle is more exposed than my left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdoggydog Posted October 17, 2007 Author Share Posted October 17, 2007 Alright, so you guys asked for updates, here they are. I spoke with SOA customer assistance last week, John Lee, and he told me he would get down to the bottom of the matter. Well, after several days of not hearing from John Lee, I decided to call him back and he said it's a non-issue since after speaking with the dealership, the problem is only "minor" and "barely off-center." I explained to John Lee that unless all '08 Legacies with paddle shifters have an off-center steering wheel, then this needs to be resolved. He asked me to contact the dealership and have them handle it, which I then explained to John Lee that they wanted me to call SOA so that they could take care of it. I also explained to John Lee that this is his job, to handle the situation and resolve it, since a $35K car, 3 months old should not have this problem I got the name of John Lee's supervisor, Linda Fouch, who'm I'll then be contacting if John Lee cannot resolve the matter. I offered to take the car to my own independent shop who verified that it's a simple tie-rod adjustment which is not being done properly through warranty coverage. So, as you can see, I'm a little steamed at the minimizing and pass-the-buck attitude - seriously makes me reconsider if my wife should purchase a Subaru in the future. Perhaps I'll need to explain Lemon Laws to them since it's been in repair 3X for the same problem, all of which have not resolved the problem. We'll see... Any thoughts? Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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