2015 Mazda 3 GT hatch steering wheel not centered

[Hofu87]

Hey guys hoping to find some suggestions to a problem I've been having with my Mazda since purchase. As the title says my steering wheel doesn't seem to be centered properly. It seems to be angled to the left about 5 degrees or so. I've had the car back to the dealer three times now to find a solution. The first time the car was brought back it had about 2500 kms on it and they found every single wheel out of alignment. I baby the hell out of this thing and it's a highway daily driver. I thought that was a bit odd to start things off. The service receptionist gave me some bs explanation about how the vehicles are not aligned from the factory like I was born yesterday . They corrected the alignment under warranty and in the end other than the car tracking straight the wheel was still off center. I brought the car back about a month later with the same problem. They told me the service manager would test drive the vehicle to see if he could notice the issue. I came to find out that a third year tech ended up testing the vehicle instead. He claimed to notice the issue. The car was thrown on the rack and again had the alignment checked. All numbers were within spec and everything aligned perfectly. The car was released from the dealer claiming no issues were found. One week following this I figured I was going crazy and maybe it was just me thinking the wheel was off center. I decided to go to another Mazda dealer and test drive a new gen 3 to see if I could notice and differences. The test car ran straight and true while having the wheel perfectly centered. I took the car back for the third and final time about a week after this test drive. It was a Saturday and apparently the service manager was unavailable on the weekends. I let the same tech drive the car with me in it and once again he noted the issue right in front of me. Car went on the rack for the third time with the same perfect results as the previous attempt. I was even brought back to the shop to be shown the specs on the computer while the car was on the rack. I'm pulling my hair out on this one. The car is maintained like crazy, it is my first brand new car after all. I even have a bumper sticker that says "I'm not drunk, I'm avoiding pot holes". Any help or suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again in advance!

[natspriceless]

@Hofu87 I have 2 question....
1) Have you lowered your car?
2) Can you take a pic of the steering wheel not centered?

[ottoyu34]

You don't have to bring the car into a specific dealership for issues. Try another one.

It's actually not a bad idea to do a "proper" alignment or even wheel balancing after getting a new car.

[Turbospeed_3]

It accually could be the tires them selfs or the rack is f**ked i worked at a tire shop and have had this occur try swaping them around or get a tire shop with a high end lazer balancer to check them

[Aitch]

Is it not possible that the steering wheel was installed off-center? Is there a spline which is supposed to center the steering wheel to the steering rack when it is dead-center? If not, after the alignment is checked and the car tracks straight, the steering wheel needs to be re-installed.

BTW, go to another dealer.

[Hofu87]

No the car is not lowered. I will take a picture and post in by tomorrow. I know it doesn't have to be a specific dealer but I figured I would take it to the closest one and the one I purchased the car from. I will try a new dealer this week or whenever they can get it in. As for the tires being screwed, the alignments were done with the stock 18's and my 16' winters with no difference in the results. Tires are ruled out as being the issue. I'm pretty sure the Mazda dealer I am using has a pretty high end rack (LOL). I know when they brought me into the shop to show me the results they were also able to show me on the computer that the wheel was on center. I am honestly at a loss here. I have shared the same thought as to the splines not being aligned correctly as well but you would think the dealer would have spotted that fairly quickly. The only thing I can do is try another dealer. I can already see this going to Mazda Canada...

[outofreach]

im also experiencing the same problem rn. when im usually driving at highways. im just disregarding it lol

[Hofu87]

im also experiencing the same problem rn. when im usually driving at highways. im just disregarding it lol

Interesting! I was hoping not to be the only one lol. Have you followed up at all with your dealer?

[CopperRouGe]

I have the same issue on my '14. I've just learned to ignore it, but will get an alignment after I lower my car this spring.

[studum]

Are you guys counter-acting the car pulling slightly due to the crown on the road? Is it worse on some roads / lanes than others?

[ShibbyDibbyDoo]

I have a 14 as well but haven't noticed this issue. Once I put in aftermarket springs my car did pull more but that's because it's more susceptible to road crown. Annoys me a little but springs come with tradeoffs.

[Hofu87]

No it's not due to the crown of the road. It does it all the time no matter where you are driving. The issue has been tested at high and low speeds and on brand new pavement. Tested in parking lots as well. Not my first time driving a car , would definitely be able to tell if it was something as simple as that. Not to mention the steering wheel is off center a lot more than it would be with a simple crown in the road. It's noticeable every where, even backing into my garage. One thing I didn't mention was the steering input being noticeably different from right to left. I have been looking more online and have found others making the same complaint. Now trying to find out details on bulletins from Mazda regarding the issue. I've learned over the years that if it's not a safety concern the manufacture most likely won't tell you about the issue. Can't blame them. Why warranty something if they don't have to? I was lucky enough to find an available appointment with a different dealer for next week. The plan is to play stupid and see what they say. I won't be driving the car from the dealer until the issue is resolved, especially if they note that the problem exists like the first dealer did. I will keep this post updated with the findings so that hopefully the process can be easier for anyone else sharing the same problem. I totally forgot to add a picture and will be doing so shortly....btw...how do you upload pictures to posts here? I appreciate all the feedback so far! Thanks all!

[crxgsr]

okay, I used to do alignments, and it's a simple fix. (happens all the time).

When setting the toe of the vehicle, you can have the same numbers for both (example, 0 left and 0 right). The steering wheel could be straight or not.

If the steering wheel is pointed right, then you simply set the toe to (-1/8, +1/8).

Once you straighten the wheel (ie. turning it), it will become 0 and 0 again.

it's really very simple, and the alignment guy could have easily fixed it in 5 mins.


But.... so many times, it's the driver's fault. To see if the steering wheel is truely straight the proper way to drive is:


Drive the car on a straight road. Make the car go straight, then let go of the steering wheel and note its orientation.

Most people do it wrong, and try to hold the steering wheel straight to see if the car goes straight. (this is wrong)

[bwar]

My '15 GT does the exact same thing... Heres my half baked theory..The Japanese (where the GT is built), drive exactly opposite, on the road, then we....so their car would lean to the left it actually means AWAY from oncoming traffic (which it is supposed to do). WE drive on the opposit side vs. the Japanese. Our cars are supposed to lean (drive) slightly to the right, so in other words away from traffic.. The GT's don't do this. They actually lean towards traffic, as if they were meant to be driven on Japan's roadways.. Hmmmmm.....

Hey guys hoping to find some suggestions to a problem I've been having with my Mazda since purchase. As the title says my steering wheel doesn't seem to be centered properly. It seems to be angled to the left about 5 degrees or so. I've had the car back to the dealer three times now to find a solution. The first time the car was brought back it had about 2500 kms on it and they found every single wheel out of alignment. I baby the hell out of this thing and it's a highway daily driver. I thought that was a bit odd to start things off. The service receptionist gave me some bs explanation about how the vehicles are not aligned from the factory like I was born yesterday . They corrected the alignment under warranty and in the end other than the car tracking straight the wheel was still off center. I brought the car back about a month later with the same problem. They told me the service manager would test drive the vehicle to see if he could notice the issue. I came to find out that a third year tech ended up testing the vehicle instead. He claimed to notice the issue. The car was thrown on the rack and again had the alignment checked. All numbers were within spec and everything aligned perfectly. The car was released from the dealer claiming no issues were found. One week following this I figured I was going crazy and maybe it was just me thinking the wheel was off center. I decided to go to another Mazda dealer and test drive a new gen 3 to see if I could notice and differences. The test car ran straight and true while having the wheel perfectly centered. I took the car back for the third and final time about a week after this test drive. It was a Saturday and apparently the service manager was unavailable on the weekends. I let the same tech drive the car with me in it and once again he noted the issue right in front of me. Car went on the rack for the third time with the same perfect results as the previous attempt. I was even brought back to the shop to be shown the specs on the computer while the car was on the rack. I'm pulling my hair out on this one. The car is maintained like crazy, it is my first brand new car after all. I even have a bumper sticker that says "I'm not drunk, I'm avoiding pot holes". Any help or suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again in advance!

[Cjcoolen]

When my alignment and steering wheel isnt centered, its always leaning left.

[Aitch]

My '15 GT does the exact same thing... Heres my half baked theory..The Japanese (where the GT is built), drive exactly opposite, on the road, then we....so their car would lean to the left it actually means AWAY from oncoming traffic (which it is supposed to do). WE drive on the opposit side vs. the Japanese. Our cars are supposed to lean (drive) slightly to the right, so in other words away from traffic.. The GT's don't do this. They actually lean towards traffic, as if they were meant to be driven on Japan's roadways.. Hmmmmm.....

First, it's highly unlikely that Japanese-built cars are tested on public roads, so the road crowning has no impact. Second, cars aren't built to drive one way or the other when there is no steering input. Aligned correctly, they will track straight on a level surface. The reason they can track "away" from incoming traffic is the crowning of the road (the sides of the road are slightly lower than the middle).

[mazdaman007]

My 2015 GT tracks straight on flat pavement but I usually have to hold the wheel slightly to the left on a 2 lane road because of the crown. Downside of having a car with laser sharp steering response.

[natspriceless]

For educational purposes, can anyone who has noted that their steering wheel is not centered post a pic for me to better understand what that would look like? Sorry for the hassle; I'm a visual & tactile learner and I'm trying to train my brain a bit on this one. Sounds like I'm lucky for not having the same issue but I'd like to be able to recognize the warning signs.

[mazdaman007]

A picture ? The wheel would just be slightly off-center, either left or right. Not sure what you expect a picture to reveal ??

[natspriceless]

A picture ? The wheel would just be slightly off-center, either left or right. Not sure what you expect a picture to reveal ??

There is an old saying that goes "A picture is worth 1000 words"

As I mentioned it is just for visual reference...everyone learns differently and for me seeing something helps me understand what people are talking about.

I have two visions of what "off centre" might be...one is where the entire wheel component is noticeably off, the other is just the "M" being tilted to one side (as if you have left your wheels turned)

[mazdaman007]

There is an old saying that goes "A picture is worth 1000 words"

As I mentioned it is just for visual reference...everyone learns differently and for me seeing something helps me understand what people are talking about.

I have two visions of what "off centre" might be...one is where the entire wheel component is noticeably off, the other is just the "M" being tilted to one side (as if you have left your wheels turned)

The latter.

[dbear]

I got a 2011 GS and my steering wheeling has been at the 12:05pm mark for a few years now and thats probably because of the accident I had way back then that hit the front fender. When that happened it was at the 12:25pm angle which I got fixed. Took it in a couple of times to mazda and another mechanic and still the result was the same. So when I drive on a straight road, I can see my car slightly shifting to the left. A lot of the BS answers I got were like "its because you're driving on uneven road, or it looks fine to me." I got sick of hearing it and bringing it in so I just accepted how the alignment is. Just a little annoying once in a while but thankfully not too severe. Hoping to get it checked out again some day.