# 2006 SL -- Steering Wheel Issue?



## marcg7935 (Aug 17, 2006)

Hello all,

I’m not much of a car guy, so please pardon me if I’m asking the obvious…

After doing a great deal of research and shopping around, I purchased a 2006 Altima SL back on July 31st. Loved the car on the test drives…and still love it today. But there’s one little quirk that’s getting on my nerves, and I’m trying to figure out if it is normal or if I should take a stronger stance with my dealership.

It does not matter if I am driving on my street, on local highways, or even on my office’s newly-paved parking lot. In order for me to get the car to drive straight, I must keep the steering wheel tilted ever so slightly to the left (maybe about 1/4 inch off center). If I center the wheel, the car’s starts drifting to the right.

Not knowing any better, I took the car back to the dealer on 8/5 and asked them to look at the alignment. We both agreed that there’s nothing wrong with the alignment…the car continues to drive straight when the hands are taken off of the wheel. I next took the car back this past weekend and specially asked them to determine if the steering wheel needs to be realigned. The service advisor basically said (while on a test drive with me) that what I am seeing is normal, and that the Nissan factory allows a 16 degree tolerance in either direction.

This all seems odd to me, so I wanted to bring this to you experts. The car had only 14 miles on it at delivery, and I have not hit any excessive bumps or potholes. Is this normal, and if not, what do I need to have the dealership do? If you need any additional information from me, just ask!

Thanks,
Marc


----------



## My-1st-Nissan (Sep 14, 2006)

My 06 2.5S is now doing the same thing, granted the front right strut was just replaced due to early strut failure, but now my car's steering wheel is slightly towards the left when driving straight. The car drifts right as soon as I straighten out the steering wheel. I too am wondering if the dealer will correct the problem since the just had their hands on it.


----------



## Smoke1991 (Dec 19, 2005)

i got the same problem as well, they replaced the front right bearing, and both front struts. my car just likes to drift in general. and the wheel is off center... i dont care who makes the car, its not acceptable and my dealer tried to blame the tires.... 225 50 17's the size difference is bearly anything. but hey what do i know, i run a shop right....

my frame is perfect, ive done the alighnment on it like 8 times and still no good. and i cant get a dam answer from anyone....

if anyone does know why this is please let me know.


----------



## rick888 (Sep 27, 2006)

I got the same problem on my 06 Altima Special Edition which I bought in August. I did the alignment twice in Keyes Woodland Hills nissan and found the steering wheel still off center. The service department of Keyes Woodland Hills nissan is horriable, they even did not do the road test after alignments. They also blame the tire pressure. 

I had to bring it to them again last friday and they said the alignment it OK and still blamed the tire pressure. When my colleague (a nice guy who is knowledgable about car) and I was trying to pick up the car, we asked the service consultant to test it. She said the streering wheel off center is normal and because the alignment is good, they can do nothing about. Anyway, we insisted that they can adjust the steering wheel. She was not happpy and ask their manager to deal with us. Than the manager did the road test again with us. Finally, he told us that they can adjust the steering wheel. Now, the steering wheel is OK. 

Never let them fool you. Good luck.


----------

