[sodixm]

Honestly after browsing around, not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I’m going to shoot my shot.

I recently just purchased a beautiful 435i, great condition, clean title low miles etc. Well it is having a weird issue where the steering wheel is slightly tilted to the right while driving straight. Ok I thought, simple fix, I’ll grab an alignment. So over the course of a month I got 3 alignments done (only paid for 1, don’t worry) and it did not fix the issue. I then purchased new tires because the previous owner did not know they were staggered and ended up putting the back tire in the front and vice-verse so the treads were screwed up. Ok great it seems to have improved the steering wheel tilt but still hasn’t fixed it. I took it to BMW, belle tire and auto lab, they all say the car is fine… am I going crazy? Is there something I’m missing? I’ll attach an image to the thread… any help would be appreciated, thank you.

[HighlandPete]

First things first, do you have a print out of the alignment(s)? If so, is everything as it should be, or are there some measurements which are suspect?

Second, does it drive straight, on the crown of a road, without pulling or drifting?

Steering wheel angle can be tweaked, but you need to know all else is fine first.

[sodixm]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

First things first, do you have a print out of the alignment(s)? If so, is everything as it should be, or are there some measurements which are suspect?

Second, does it drive straight, on the crown of a road, without pulling or drifting?

Steering wheel angle can be tweaked, but you need to know all else is fine first.

So the read outs from belle tire look fine. BMW never gave me one. Something I should mention is they did say that the suspension looked off originally but when they found that the staggered tires were swapped, they swapped them back and said that it fixed what looked to be the issue, suspension looked normal again (part of it was covered up by the larger wheel) car does drive straight for the most part, sometimes it pulls or drifts but not noticeable unless you drive hands off for a while… never while I’m braking so I know it’s not brakes.
At some point I did hit a larger pothole on the right side of the car, it was not visible to me because it was on the opposite side of some train tracks. I would think this could possibly be the reason but if 2 places are telling me the car is in really good condition, I don’t know what they are missing.

Edit; I told BMW about the pothole, they didn’t find any damages from it.

[Orion4]

Did they adjust the tie rods? Equal incremental changes to left and right will rotate the steering wheel. Maybe the steering wheel needs to be rotated one notch counter-clockwise on the spline of the shaft. My E90 did not have a keyed spline so easy to do

[sodixm]

Originally Posted by Orion4

Did they adjust the tie rods? Equal incremental changes to left and right will rotate the steering wheel. Maybe the steering wheel needs to be rotated one notch counter-clockwise on the spline of the shaft. My E90 did not have a keyed spline so easy to do

I have gotten a few recommendations to just adjust the steering wheel, going to give that a shot but I don’t want it to cover up any possible underlying issues

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Orion4

Did they adjust the tie rods? Equal incremental changes to left and right will rotate the steering wheel. Maybe the steering wheel needs to be rotated one notch counter-clockwise on the spline of the shaft. My E90 did not have a keyed spline so easy to do

Don't remove the steering wheel, or that messes with the absolute zero position of the steering sensor in the rack.

Any 'tweaking' must be with the track rods. But essential it isn't pulling or drifting, as that means there are issues with the alignment. That's where a printout helps.

[sodixm]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Don't remove the steering wheel, or that messes with the absolute zero position of the steering sensor in the rack.

Any 'tweaking' must be with the track rods. But essential it isn't pulling or drifting, as that means there are issues with the alignment. That's where a printout helps.

They didn’t give them to me they just showed me. Before they fixed the staggered wheel issue, they mentioned a possible camber on one of the wheels but they since said that problem went away when the wheels were swapped

[Wgosma]

Standard procedure at alignment shop is to provide customer copy of alignment info, sheet typically shows before/after numbers. Call shop and request the info.

[sodixm]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

Standard procedure at alignment shop is to provide customer copy of alignment info, sheet typically shows before/after numbers. Call shop and request the info.

I’ll call ASAP. They close in 2 minutes so it will have to be tomorrow.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by sodixm

I have gotten a few recommendations to just adjust the steering wheel, going to give that a shot but I don’t want it to cover up any possible underlying issues

If and I mean 'IF' everything else is right, you can adjust the track rod ends, say a quarter turn, one in one out, to align the steering wheel. Looking at your picture I would say it needs about a "15 thou" adjustment. Hence about a quarter of a turn. Mark the track rod positions so that you can get back to the baseline and ensure you don't change the toe value.

As the steering angle sensor is in the EPS motor positioning, you may find that the steering is more precise as well, as the rack zero's in mid position, without torque sensor interference, or power to the motor when driving straight.

PS: The rack is not able to run 'on centre' if the wheel is misaligned.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by sodixm

I’ll call ASAP. They close in 2 minutes so it will have to be tomorrow.

If you can get a printout, let us have a view of it and we can make comments from the values.

I'm interested to see the rear toe and more critical the thrust angle calibration.

[sodixm]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

If and I mean 'IF' everything else is right, you can adjust the track rod ends, say a quarter turn, one in one out, to align the steering wheel. Looking at your picture I would say it needs about a "15 thou" adjustment. Hence about a quarter of a turn. Mark the track rod positions so that you can get back to the baseline and ensure you don't change the toe value.

As the steering angle sensor is in the EPS motor positioning, you may find that the steering is more precise as well, as the rack zero's in mid position, without torque sensor interference, or power to the motor when driving straight.

PS: The rack is not able to run 'on centre' if the wheel is misaligned.

New rods from rock auto are only $50 a pair and I can install them myself so I’m tempted to just do that in case the right one is shot

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by sodixm

New rods from rock auto are only $50 a pair and I can install them myself so I’m tempted to just do that in case the right one is shot

Hopefully any decent shop will have checked for wear before any realignment.

Don't spend money until you know what is what.

[sodixm]

Originally Posted by HighlandPete

Hopefully any decent shop will have checked for wear before any realignment.

Don't spend money until you know what is what.

I feel like im putting to much faith into some of these mechanics. Going to put it on the lift tomorrow and look for any issues. Just wanted to avoid that, I’m feeling rather lazy this month, lol.

[Wgosma]

…what year and how many miles on your car?

[Staylazy]

There's something called steering castor, I had the same problem with my Abarth, I also had a slight pull to the left when braking. Had my steering aligned 3/4 times, never sorted it. Last garage said steering castor was out. Got fed up with it in the end, sold it and brought a proper car.

[sodixm]

Originally Posted by Staylazy

There's something called steering castor, I had the same problem with my Abarth, I also had a slight pull to the left when braking. Had my steering aligned 3/4 times, never sorted it. Last garage said steering castor was out. Got fed up with it in the end, sold it and brought a proper car.

I have no pulling or drifting when braking

[sodixm]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

…what year and how many miles on your car?

2014, just hit 50000 miles. Previous owner from California. Spent around 6000 miles in Minnesota

[Wgosma]

Originally Posted by sodixm

2014, just hit 50000 miles. Previous owner from California. Spent around 6000 miles in Minnesota

That's pretty low mileage. Let's see the alignment info when you get it in hand.

[Staylazy]

I think mine happened when I hit a pot hole, it was never the same again. Pulling may have just been because the car was a lot lighter or maybe a worse knock. I'am not saying that's what yours is, but sounds similar to mine.

[HighlandPete]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

That's pretty low mileage. Let's see the alignment info when you get it in hand.

Agree.

[sodixm]

Originally Posted by Wgosma

That's pretty low mileage. Let's see the alignment info when you get it in hand.

Will do. I’m going to request it tomorrow sometime mid day when I get a break at work. Sort of worried about it being caster, or maybe tierod issue but nothing I can’t handle. Just surprising I would be told it’s completely fine and it’s not… no one wants to have to troubleshoot their new car. The issue itself just bothers the hell out of me. It really isn’t that bad, I’m more so worried about it being a big issue and creating an even bigger one by driving on it, but I don’t drive crazy so… just makes me anxious.