[Azerlazer26]

As the title says, I need some help. This past weekend I went down to Detroit for a family communion party. The party ended around midnight and I went to drive back to the hotel I was staying at for the weekend. As I was driving to the hotel, I hit a very deep pothole causing my Camaro’s alignment to go off center.

Next day I went to my Chevy dealer to get it serviced. Everything went ok until I took it back home. I noticed that the wheel isn’t center and if I wanted to drive straight the wheel was skewed to the right if I wanted to drive straight. No problem, probably just a little tweak and everything will be perfect. I’ll take it back the next day.

This morning, I told my service advisor what’s happening. Took the car in even though I didn’t have an appointment which was nice of them. I just picked up the car and the same issue is still occurring. The wheel is skewed to the right if I wanted to drive straight. If I center the steering wheel, the car drifts to the left.

I’m so confused as to why this is. Anybody have an idea on why this is happening? Was the alignment job not done correctly? Is something broken/damaged that I cannot physically see?

*The picture you see is how the wheel is positioned if I want to drive true straight*

[ride_002000]

Mine is skewed to the right too and doing the same thing if straight, plan on going in for an alignment next week. My assumption is they aren't putting the wheel straight first before aligning???

[Bumbleboy92]

Originally Posted by ride_002000

Mine is skewed to the right too and doing the same thing if straight, plan on going in for an alignment next week. My assumption is they aren't putting the wheel straight first before aligning???

Either they didn’t do a proper alignment or there’s something not straight they haven’t told you about.

[mdhopt36]

You guys bent something. After alignment of course it isn't gonna be centered.

[kropscamaro16]

I had something similiar happen after my first track day , took it to the alignment shop the next weekend not the dealer btw there idiots and they told me my right rear toe was waaaay off but nothing broken they adjusted it and my steering wheel was straight and car drove just fine

[KLG]

Besides something damaged, it could be the steering angle adjustment or reset.

It is a programmable parameter and the shop has to access this thru your ODB2 port

Regardless, this should be part of the alignment procedure, but maybe not for this shop.

--KLG--

[Bumbleboy92]

When my car hydroplaned we hit the left front side and rear left wheel.

This is the front right tie rod I replaced after

[Azerlazer26]

Originally Posted by ride_002000

Mine is skewed to the right too and doing the same thing if straight, plan on going in for an alignment next week. My assumption is they aren't putting the wheel straight first before aligning???

I’m going to talk to the service manager tomorrow and try to resolve this problem once and for all! Fingers crossed it’s nothing too major

[GrimReaperSS]

Not sure if there is a procedure to follow during the alignment due to the electric steering on these cars? I don't know what alignment equipment they have, I am most familiar with Hunter equipment. I know some procedures require you to hold the steering wheel centered with a spring loaded holder while making adjustments and some will allow you to just make adjustments and then use their Wintoe procedure. I might also recommend asking them if they can align the car to you, if you're mainly the only person in the car. You sit in the car while they align it, I have had to do this for a few customers to get it just the way they've wanted it. If the same thing occurs after they check it out this time, you could just make a slight, but equal 90 degree (1/4 turn), adjustment to the tie rods that would make the front of the tires move to the right (passengers side). That should make your steering wheel move left the approximate amount it needs in order to be centered (based on the picture you provided).

[JT58]

Alignment is a fussy thing. A good tech will make sure the steering wheel is straight before he makes the adjustment. There is even a tool to hold the steering wheel straight so it does not move while adjustments are made. I find that most techs do not center the wheel, only make the adjustment. I have even purchased brand new cars and the steering wheel is off center. My current 2016 the steering wheel was crooked to the left, I brought it to Tires Plus. They made an adjustment but did not center the wheel.

What I do is adjust the tie rods myself, trial and error. I adjust both of them the same amount in very small increments to center the wheel. You have to be very, very careful to make sure both wheels are adjusted in the same direction. It can be tricky with the threads of the tie road ends on each side of the car and which way to rotate them. In other words if your steering wheel is cocked to the right and if you straighten it when driving you go left. So it means you need to make an adjustment to get it to go right. So you look at the tie rod ends and examine the threads and rotate them so that it either pulls in or out the wheel to make it go right or left. I rotate them only a small amounts like 1/32 or 1/16 of an inch, then test drive it. If it needs more adjustment I do it again until the steering wheel is straight. Sometimes it takes 4 or more tries but eventually I get the wheel straight. Works every time for me, I have been doing this for many years.

It sucks to have to do this but I find it is very, very difficult to find a good alignment shop. Some dealers don' even have alignment machines so they send the car out to another shop, or tire shop and you don't even know it.

[DIYguy]

Like JT58, I align my own wheels and have done so for many years, but I have a laser toe gauge so it isn't quite as much trial and error.
It is not right that the steering wheel isn't pretty much centered when driving straight down the road, but there is a production tolerance limit on that.
So a dealer or alignment shop may claim that it is "within limits" and be technically correct.
But the picture in the original posting looks excessive to me.
I wouldn't be happy with it.

The steering wheel should be set dead straight during any alignment.
Then everything else proceeds from that.
If not, it was a sloppy job.

There is a very good book that I use as a reference on alignments- "How to make your car handle" by Fred Puhn.
It explains why all of this matters and how to align, or at least check the alignment, yourself.
I designed and built my laser gauge based upon the Dunlop track gauge shown in that book.

On these cars there is also the "SAS" (steering angle sensor) to contend with, so yes it must be done in a certain way.
Once the alignment is completed it may need to be re-taught to know what is exactly straight forward.
I use an Autel MD808 Pro, but there may be a way to do it through the instrument cluster menus (not sure about that though).

So to answer the OP, no it doesn't look right to me and yes something may have been bent.
But more likely one of the adjustments such as the struts where they clamp onto the wheel spindles (camber) slipped when you hit the pothole.

[Azerlazer26]

Originally Posted by Bumbleboy92

When my car hydroplaned we hit the left front side and rear left wheel.

This is the front right tie rod I replaced after

I remember reading about that! Glad you’re ok man! Just looked under the car and everything seems to be straight. Nothing bent

[Giri]

Can you DIY this? My steering wheel is off center when driving straight even though the car doesn’t pull in any direction.

[Azerlazer26]

Happy to come back and report that my Camaro is perfectly aligned once again!
I called my service advisor early in the morning and told him that the steering wheel isn't centered like it was prior to hitting the pothole. Once again, he told me to come swing by and they'll fix it once again, no appointment necessary.

I got to the dealer and my service advisor wanted to take the car out for a test drive so he can see what I have been complaining about. He saw the issue right away. During the ride, I asked him if the tech looked at the steering components to see if anything was loose, out of shape, etc... He said that the tech looked underneath and said everything looked like it came out of the assembly line (Which took a lot of weight off my chest).

We returned to the dealer and my advisor said the car wasn't properly aligned and it should be a couple of hours until the car was ready. Time passed and finally, the steering wheel is centered while I drive straight down the road! This whole time the car wasn't aligned properly.