16' maxima steering wheel issue
 

Hello maxi community!

I just recently got an alignment done on my car at the dealership after hitting a pothole, and also had to replace the ripped splashguard "thing". I hope this is also the right place to ask and get some info as to what the issue is with my car. Moreover, I've been to the dealership 3 times now about the alignment that they did, and their answer was nothing was wrong with the alignment. However, the second visit to the dealership was due to a slight off-centered steering wheel to the right and the third visit was similar but it was another issue. After the third visit, steering wheel has a bit of play while driving/idling and isn't as stiff as it used to be. It is even more noticeable if I hit a slightly uneven pavements or small potholes. I watched/read several informative videos about steering slack and alignment and it seem to do something with maybe the steering rack or shaft?? if anyone else can shine some light on this subject and issue, or know what I should do to resolve this issue, please let me know ASAP since I can't seem to get the dealership to understand my situation for the pass month.

thank you.

Bump

If it is still under warranty, take it to another dealership! Even if it is not under warranty, it wouldn't hurt to take to a different dealership and have them check the alignment for you and see if they can find another issue that your current dealership is not revealing...Also, the steering on the 16 + maxima's are electric controlled power steering as opposed to the previous styles that have a power steering pump i.e. hydraulic steering. This throws some people off as well because it does feel a little different. That said, it should steer true and not drift from center when the steering wheel is straight. It may be easier to realize this in sport mode because the computer makes the steering a little more "stiff" in sport mode and you don't feel as much "play" in the steering, for lack of a better word, when in sport mode vs. normal mode.

I gave it a lot of test drives myself to see what is really wrong. The alignment they did was good, but the steering wheel still have some play in it, even in sports mode. Steering wheel is definitely not as stiff as before. If I would rate it from 1-10, the stiffness would be 6, compared to prior alignment it was a 9. Do you know what they might have done to cause this issue?

Nope, don't really know. My only guess would be, and this is just a guess, that because it is an electronic controlled steering wheel there might be a setting on how responsive the steering wheel is to inputs (moving the steering wheel). They may have tuned it down to be less responsive. Maybe check back with the dealership and see if there is a setting for steering response that they can adjust....