Steering wheel issue---left turn lighter than right turn!!!
 

Hi Experts,

I had an accident (about the accident: I was on the dragon tail and I went into a ditch on the right side. So I assume there was a big impact on the right side of the car.) with my 2014 brz and after the body shop fix I always have this steering wheel feeling - left turn is much lighter than the right turn. I also took it to the dealer and they did all the check and said everything is fine based on the test they can do. But one of them took a ride and also noticed the same feeling. Then I took it to my mechanic friend and we checked the alignment and turned out the rear lower control arm is bad so I replaced them with the adjustable SPC ones. I feel much better now but still I have the same feeling. My mechanic friend said if suspension now is good the problem probably lies on the steering part. Maybe it is the steering motor.

I took a ride tonight and feel my car always tries to turn left itself especially at speed between 5-10mph. This feeling is very obvious when the road is bumpy.

What do you guys think? Any suggestion is welcome! I have been dealing with this for over 2 months now.:cry: I just want the steering to be the way it was. Please help :thanks::thanks:

It sounds to me like an alignment issue. You might try a different alignment shop, just to get a second opinion.


humfrz

To me it sounds like some alginment issues. Could be a bad ball joint or tie rod, or just a crack wheel. Have you checked your tire pressures?
Did the alginment shop give you a print out? If not I would take it to another shop.

Hey guys,

Thanks for the input. I checked my alignment in 4 different places including Express oil tune, Subaru Dealer, NTB service and Lexus Dealer. I installed my SPC lower control arms in the Lexus Dealer(because that's where my mechanic friend works) and he did the alignment right after the install. So I am pretty positive that alignment or suspension is not the problem. I will probably focus on the steering part and keep you guys updated.

I know how it feels and hate it too.

you have 2 options.

1. just forget about it and drive it as it is. everything is fine except that feeling

2. try to replace suspension parts like ball joints, tie rod like Mr.ac mentioned. i would replace every possible parts at front if i want to get rid of that steer feeling. It's very difficult to diagnosis bad part one by one and time+labor will be a lot here.
I would start replacing cheaper parts first then go into expensive parts.

GL

Had that on a Saturn once, turned out the impact on the wheel had cause the cross member to kink(all the suspension parts were still straight and fine after the obvious damaged ones were changed) and the bent cross member caused everything to be off (although it showed as aligned, the geometry was off)

Have you experienced the same thing?

A serious race shop should be able to figure it out. fumanchu1 is right that it could be a frame problem. Here's a thought: lift the front and see if the difference in effort is still there, both with the car on and off. If the feel is equal with the car off but different with the car on, you have an electrical problem. You can do it the same with the front on the ground at a stop, but the effort is so high with the car off, it might be hard to tell.

id put a rack in the car if it was at my shop, bmw actually has a service bulletin if any suspension is damaged the steering rack needs to be replaced. There is no real way you can inspect if the rack is damaged internally and its not something id mess around with, the last thing you want to do is ignore it and have a gear break apart on the highway.

This has got to be the thread with the least trolling and most useful information I have ever seen on this forum(don't be fooled by my join date I have been lurking for a long time)

Tonight I noticed something, when it is in the reverse mode, this right turn harder than left turn feeling is even more obvious. I guess I will take it to another shop and tear it apart and see what's wrong

You could test the system with the electrical steering assist disconnected.
It is likely just a fuse, but I have never tried it.

It should be harder to steer in both directions with no assist, but see if you can feel a difference in left vs right turning with no assist.

What you are explaining sounds like the steering system is confused and trying to help more in one dir than the other (bias). As if the sensor is off center or has hysteresis.

Hey guys,

The problem is solved!! It is the steering sensor not centered/calibrated. This should have been done by the first body shop. Or this should be detected easily by the dealer. I guess both of them failed this time. Any way, problem solved! Hopefully this thread will help other people too. :clap::thumbup::burnrubber::party0030: