Helix

Hey guys. The past couple months, I feel like my steering wheel is a little loose. There seems to be a lot of movement in the steering wheel on uneven pavement and jerking when I hit bumps or potholes. Not sure how else to describe it.

I got my car late last year and it has just over 7,000 miles on it, so I have a hard time thinking it's wear and tear. However, it was a bad winter, with quite a bit of snow and ice. One time, I ended up plowing through some pretty deep and particularly icy snow. It actually did a little bit of damage to the bottom of my front bumper that I had to get repainted, and my alignment was a little off. I feel like maybe there was some underlying damage to the steering that got overlooked.

So I guess my question(s) is, do you think I'm just being paranoid? Could this just bet the steering naturally getting more loose as I drive it? Or does it sound like there might be another problem, and I should get it checked out?

Your advice would be much appreciated!

'merica!

nunyas

iTrader: (2)

jack up each of the front wheels and check them for slop, by trying to make them turn left/right and then do the same for the vertical of the wheel.

One thing I'll point out, this car likes to communicate bumps in the road through to the steering wheel, especially if you've lowered the car. Also, ruts in the road like to try and force you in random directions. If you can feel this in the steering wheel right away, then there's normally nothing to worry about. If the car darts off in a direction with NO feed back in the steering wheel then you've got some serious slop/slack in the steering/suspension components.

joseph143

iTrader: (8)

did you have a reputable shop do the alignment? i know my car had perfect handling IMO and when i put my springs on it toss'd my alignment a bit and it responded just how you described til i had it redone.

check the print out if they gave it to you. sometimes they wont be able to get a value back in tolerance due to wear or damage and not mention it because of whatever reason.

my quick check on a good alingment is if you hold the wheel perfectly straight does it walk? try different roads to see if its not just the road. then at speed wiggle the wheel maybe and inch either way. the car should respond just a tad. if there is a dead spot and the car doesnt shift back and forth then you alingment is usually off by just a bit or you have a bad bushing.

Helix

Just FYI, I haven't lowered the car at all. There are currently zero mods on it. However, I can definitely feel the steering wheel move when I hit ruts, and there's no random darting like you said.

I had my local Mitsubishi dealership do the alignment. That was about two months ago. They gave me a print out and showed me all the changes that had to be made, as far as I can remember, they were all minor. I tried your suggestions to test my alignment, and it responded just like you said. When I center the steering wheel, it doesn't seem to move. And when wiggling the wheel, the car responds just a tad.

So far it just seems like maybe my perfectionism is getting to me.