If you're wondering “how to know if a steering wheel is straight,” below are some checks to try:
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- Visual inspection
- On road testing
Driving with a straight steering wheel is critical to keep up your vehicle and prevent any issues like tire wear and troubles when driving.
Over time, your vehicle alignment might get impacted, and the steering wheel alignment might also get biased for external reasons. Therefore, it is important for you as a driver to understand when the steering wheels are not straight and what to do about it.
This article serves as a detailed guide that could help you understand what to look for when you're checking the steering wheel alignment and what options are available for you regarding days and professional services.
Why is it important to have a straight steering wheel?
Before we dive into the details about “how to know if a steering wheel is straight,” it is important that you understand the main reasons why you have to have a straight steering wheel when driving your car.
According to automotive experts, when driving with a properly aligned steering wheel, you'll experience the following:
1. Straight travel
The first and most critical benefit of having a straight steering wheel is making your vehicle drive straight. This can be critical to ensure that your car is always in the middle of the road and not deviating from any other side, which can be a critical safety issue.
2. Longer tire lifespan
As your car has the right steering wheel and segment, you don't have to worry about the longevity of your tires. In other words, you'll avoid critical problems like uneven tire wear between the four tires.
3. Improved vehicle handling
Another thing you'll enjoy when your car steering wheel is aligned properly is better vehicle handling. Imagine if you're driving your car and it keeps drifting towards one side more than the other; it can be very uncomfortable and might impact your safety.
4. Better driver comfort
With a straight steering wheel, you don't have to worry about your vehicle deviating to one side more than the other. You'll be better and more comfortable driving without any fatigue if you drive longer hours.
5. Maximum safety
Finally, a straight-driving car has to do with safety. It will also have predictable driving paths rather than having a vehicle switching between right and left without clear occasions of where the vehicle is heading.
How do we know if the steering wheel is straight?
Since you need to keep up with a straight steering wheel, one of the things that you need to understand is what exactly you need to do to check on the alignment of your steering wheel.
You don't need to be a professional mechanic to be able to identify whether you have an issue with your steering wheel alignment or not. This miss should provide you with some tests that you could try to help you identify any issues with your steering wheel and the vehicle alignment:
1. Visual inspection
The first thing you need to do is to perform a quick visual inspection. Try parking your car on a straight surface where it's not an uphill or things that might impact your car alignment and might bias the results.
Once your vehicle is parked, quickly examine the car and the different wheels and see the balance and alignment. If you think the car is not straight, it might indicate that you have to revisit the alignments and check on the steering wheel alignment.
2. On road testing
Another thing you could try is to check on the wheel alignment when driving the car. This can be a bit of a harder task, but it should be something you could do yourself if you're careful about the roads and no other people are driving around you.
You need to start by finding a straight road where you can let your vehicle drive and see if it's deviating to one side more than the other. Try loosening the grip on the steering wheel and notice how your vehicle behaves. You don't want to let it go completely, especially if the alignment is biased, because this could impact your safety.
Watch how your vehicle drifts, and if you feel that it's drifting towards one side more than the other, it might be an issue with the alignment, but it could also be related to a problem with the tires. Therefore, you need to identify the problem by checking with your mechanic.
DIY correction methods
In most scenarios, you need to consult a professional service when you have a problem with the wheel alignments. However, some experts provided some recommendations that could be helpful to you before you even reach the mechanic:
- Choose a safe location to work around
- Park your car straight and ensure that all the wheels are straight
- Loosen the bolts connecting the steering column
- Adjust the steering column carefully in a way that makes it straight
- Retighten the nuts and bolts in the right place
- Check the wheel alignment again and look for any potential symptoms of the previous problem
Professional assessment
In many instances, fixing the wheel alignment will require a professional service. Most people don't feel comfortable touching the steering wheel because of issues that might impact their driving safety.
Automotive experts still recommend that you consult your mechanic and have somebody with previous experience and the right tools to do your vehicle alignment and not risk your car. This could lead to many safety issues and might even introduce additional problems to the vehicle.
Your mechanics should have the right tools and equipment and can efficiently address the problem. They have the right experience to help immediately fix alignment to the perfect manufacturer recommendations without any guessing.
Remember that the more you add to the problem, the more it can evolve and lead to issues that might impact the additional systems, like the suspension system and others that can be very expensive.
How much does the wheel alignment cost?
This question has no straight answer because it differs significantly depending on your vehicle type and condition. Typically, you might expect somewhere between $50 and $150. However, there are some factors to consider that might impact the overall range.
In general, below is a breakdown of expected repair costs based on different types of alignments that you might be interested in:
- Front-end alignment: expect to pay somewhere between $50 to $75
- Four wheel alignment: repair costs might be somewhere between $75 to $150
- All-wheel alignment: you might need to pay between $100 and $200
- Specialized alignment: this will depend on what type of alignment you're looking for
Not that these are just ranges of expected alignment. However, if you're a mechanic and discover additional problems you need to address, those can be unexpected costs if you're ready.
For example, if your tires are in bad shape, you might need to address those and replace them, and in some instances, your manufacturer might require you to replace the four tires, which can be a significant repair.
That's why it's never recommended that you continue driving a car with a misaligned steering wheel because it could result in some issues with the other components that might translate into significant repair costs.
What are the main causes of the misaligned steering wheel?
It might be worth understanding and learning about the different causes that could lead to this problem to avoid dealing with the misaligned steering wheel. Some of these causes might be unavoidable, while others might be something you could address and avoid:
- Tire wear issues
- Problems with the suspension system
- Issues with a collision
- Whereas in the internal steering wheel system
- Wrong tire sizes
- Loose or worn-out steering column parts
How do we know if the steering wheel is straight? Final Thoughts
The steering wheel must always be straight for a better driving experience and more comfortable and safe driving. If it drifts towards one side more than the other, it can impact your safety and lead to a lot of hassle.
This article provided detailed information about what you must do to answer the question, “How do you know if a steering wheel is straight?” It provided you with some checks and symptoms that you should watch for.
Suppose you confirm that you're steering wheel is misaligned. In that case, you need to check with your mechanic and have a professional repair this issue before things get more complicated and require additional repair costs.
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