[07E92TT]

So I bought my car friday, i told the chevy dealer on the way home i noticed the steering wheel was off center. Since I was from out of town they said to just let them know how much an alignment would cost and they'd reimburse me. So today I took it to the local BMW dealer and told them what the problem was and they said it'd be $150 for an alignment. But now instead of the steering wheel being off center to the right it's off center to the left which leads me to believe they just adjusted the steering wheel and not the alignment. Any opinions? Its off very slightly but very annoying.

[talisman311]

Doubtful they just adjusted the steering wheel. It's a bigger pain in the ass to adjust the steering wheel vs adjusting a tie-rod (well, can't say for certain on the BMW, but for Infiniti it is). Typically the process for an alignment involves putting the car on the rack and attaching alignment hardware to the wheels. The tech will then center the steering wheel and hold it in place with a clamp between the steering wheel and seat. Following all this the tech will start checking the computer and adjust tie-rods, camber bolts, etc. until the readings match what's in spec.

Now that I think about it...performing a proper alignment on a BMW may be a bigger pain than adjusting the steering wheel by unbolting and re-attaching. BMW's require ballasts to be added to the vehicle for proper alignment (negative camber increases the more weight that's in the car, so it's imperative the weights are on). Then again no BMW tech should adjust the steering wheel without recalibrating the steering wheel angle sensor. The DSC uses this for traction control and it's a big part of it's functionality.

Ok done ranting..

[JohnSprm69]

just take it back to the bmw dealer and tell them that the steering wheel is off center to the left and they should realign the car if needed, if they tell you the car is within specs and your steering wheel is off then you are out of gas as you might need to pay for them to adjust the steering wheel.

[BimmerGuyFL]

bump

[VTECaddict]

The steering wheel spline is notched so it only goes in one way. You can't "adjust" the steering wheel itself...you have to do that by adjusting the toe on the front wheels.