Steering wheel not centered

I'm curious if you ever got this resolved Nightstrike? I bought my Taco Sport in mid October, and while I was too damn stupid to realize "why", I've been cussing the fact that I can't see my blinker/lights/fogs because they were behind the left arm (for lack of a better term) and I realize as I use my truck more and more, I won't have to rely on seeing the lighting position, but... Anyhow, I was sitting in the parking lot of the gas station this morning resetting my mpg and stuff, and cussing what a pain it was to see that left side blinker/lights, etc... switches, when I suddenly saw WHY = my steering wheel is crooked. I'm hoping this is something a dealer can/will fix. My closest dealer is 45 miles from me and I just hope they will work on it since I bought it at a dealership 115 miles from me, and I'd like keep this simple if that's possible when working with a dealer...

 

Easy fix. Just a toe adjustment usually.

 

Thx, I’ll call the dealership and hope……

 

adjust the toe.

 

It isn't a toe adjustment, but a tie rod adjustment. The toe shouldn't change unless of course it is out of spec. The tie rods which adjust the toe are what centers the steering wheel. You decrease one side while increasing the other depending on which way you want to center the steering wheel. You could just adjust one side, but it will change the toe angle.

 

Semantics....

 

Not really. If the guy goes into the shop and says "Adjust my toe" it is a much different conversation than saying "my steering wheel is off, can you adjust the tie rods to center it?" Most shops have a different price for centering a steering wheel than a full alignment. In reality the guy can do it in his front yard if the sleeve are not frozen.

 

bad factory alignment most likely, mine was perfect from factory until they rotated my tires. just needs an alignment

 

To center a steering wheel right, you still have to acquire readings in basically the same fashion as you would to do a full alignment, at least this was the case with the camera systems I worked on 15 years ago. Of course, there are shortcuts one can take but why take those on a comeback?

When most people go into a shop with a crooked wheel, any tech worth his salt knows what to do. I say worth his salt because many guys that I trained in my 15 years of working with EquiServ, (now Snap On Equipment) then Hunter Engineering as a field tech, didn't know even the basic things, like using a brake pedal depressor or pulling the pins on the turntables. Let alone using a steering wheel lock and level. I see the amateur responses from a lot of guys on here too, many in this thread alone. I can also tell the guys who know their stuff when it comes to alignment. I comment on things I know about. I certainly don't comment on a lot of the performance threads as I'm not as proficient in those areas. I only want to provide correct information as that's what these boards are mainly for right? I usually don't call people out, I just write what I know is correct information.

 

We’ll, I’d just like to get this FIXED

 

Yeah' it's annoying for sure but it is an easy, less than an hour fix. Just make sure they do a test drive.

 

Just let them know at your free 5K service and they might align it for ya. Also note that 5K service DOES NOT include oil change, just so you know. You can pay them to do it together with 5K service, but it is not included in free.

 

good idea!!

 

Totally agree that if he is looking to get it done professionally that putting it up on a rack would be the best way to go, however being new and you would assume that it is properly aligned already that centering the steering wheel is as simple as adjusting the tie rods equal turns on each side. I do this myself sometimes because sometimes center on the rack is not center on the road.

 

Same problem here.. It is annoying!

I just installed new tires on Sunday and got the alignment done yesterday and it didn’t fix my steering wheel. Should I take it back??

 

Mine does this exact same thing. Has done it since new as well. 2022 TRD OR 6MT. I had the dealership perform an alignment a week after I bought it, Oct '22. Took it back to the same dealership a week later because the steering wheel was off center. They said it was perfectly aligned. I then took it to an independent alignment check to be safe, they confirmed it was aligned as well. All the while my steering wheel would sit just like yours. I then took it to another Toyota dealership a town over, and they said it was aligned too. My steering wheel still sits like yours today, and I've just learned to live with it. It drives me crazy but 3 different shops all said it was perfectly aligned so I don't know what else I can do. Hopefully you can get yours straightened out.

 

I watched this video. Thoughts on his method?

https://youtu.be/MnAThLU5wAA?si=uDMayn01wXybVViC

 

That’s my biggest fear - wasting a bunch of time for nothing!!! But, I’m going to have to try