2003 Honda Accord - Shipped needing an alignment?!?

Hello all.

I am brand new to this group.

I just purchased a 2003 Honda Accord EX 4cyl. auto.

I am very happy with the car. The only problem I have with it is that it is
drifting to the right constantly. This really doesn't bother me as the
drift isn't drastic and I don't have to fight with it to not drift, but I am
concerned that this will lead to pre-mature tire wear. FWIW my car came
with Michelins and all the tires pressures are correct (according to what
they should be in the owner's manual).

Is it common to have new accords needing an alignment off the lot? Mine
only had 11 miles on it when purchased.

My other question is....since I JUST purchased the car on Saturday (August
30) AFTER the dealership closed, and the dealership was closed Sunday and
Money (today), if I call them tommorrow (Tuesday) and tell them my car
drifted to the right after leaving the lot and has been doing this
constantly, will they give me a FREE alignment?

 

Absolutely.

 

if I call them tommorrow (Tuesday) and tell them my car

If they cared about you as a customer, yes.



U.S.A. "Go West Young Men..."

Mexico "El Norte Hombre..."

 

Is this on roads with a high crown?.... or do you notice it, say on a
freeway where there is no crown at all? Is the steering wheel centered
with the wheels pointing straight ahead? Most here seem to favor 2-3 extra
psi over Honda's recommendation, e.g. 32 vs. 29 as the best compromise for
feel, wear and handling.

It's not unheard of and it could have several causes, the most likely being
a tire which is a slightly different diameter by enough to cause the
effect.

They'll probably tell you to drive the car for a couple of weeks to "let
things settle in". It makes some sense: take a look at your new tires and
they're probably covered in fine hair-like projections and it takes a good
500miles or so of driving to lose that, especially off the rear tires.
There may also be a suspension bushing/joint which is just a tad tighter
than some of the others. If you drive the car to the point that it is
broken in enough to give it some fairly hard acceleration and braking, thus
putting some normal loads on the suspension, you'll have a better
description of the problem and if it's getting better or worse.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

 

I've been frustrated with a similar problem only mine drifts left.
I've asked the dealer to check it twice and both times they've
reported that it is "normal" and tends to drift right in the right
lane of the local freeway. The car tends to wander a bit more than
other cars i've owned, but it definitely drifts left more frequently.
I think the next time I'm going to insist that we check the alignment
regardless of what they think about the problem. I've checked tire
pressure as well (they were off).

 

If possible, you should always drive the car before buying or closing the
deal. When I bought my Prelude 2 years ago, I must have driven the car 25
miles or so to ensure no problems. I bought a Civic several.years ago from
an out-of-town dealer. On driving the car home I found it had severe balance
problems finally traceable to the tires being out-of-round. I was stuck
with replacing the tires at my own cost -- thanks to Firestone and their
lousy customer support.

 

I too had an alignment problem and an off center steering wheel with
my 2002 Honda Accord V6 coupe. I checked the factory warranty and it
will fix the alignment as long as the mileage is under 12,000 miles.

I took it back to the dealer and they fixed the steering wheel and
performed a four wheel alignment. So, as long as you have under 12k
in mileage, bring it back!

My only two worries left are:

1) Will the automatic tranny hold up considering what some people have
gone through on other models?

2) Interior rattles continue to bug me despite two attempts by the
dealer to fix them. They installed the two strips in the sunroof, but
it still rattles at 10 - 15 mph on slightly bumpy roads.

BTW, this is an excellent forum and I have learned lots from all of
you!!

Best Regards - John in NJ

 

Disappointing for Honda -- perhaps because it is a new model. My 01 Prelude
has had absolutetly zero wrong with it from day one -- and is now at 30k
miles. But, they built them in Japan.

 

I purchased an '03 Accord LX this past Friday, and noticed an alignment

Firstly, thanks to all those who replied.

I must admit that I am noticing the drift is going away slightly. Just out
of curiosity how many miles do you have on your car now?

 

Check Drivers side door decal... when was it born? If it's before
July that was a known problem on the Edmounds boards.

 

mine's like this and the dealer told me it's supposed to pull slightly to
the right as a safety thing so if you fall asleep you run over the road bump
thingies and wake up...is this total bullshit? when i went in for my first
oil change i showed the guy how the front tires were wearing a little choppy
(if you run your hand over the outer tread, it's a little bumpy from piece
to piece) and he said that's normal...i wanted the alignment checked but no
alignment guy on saturday...i think i know that tires shouldn't wear like
that so i'm planning on having them check the alignment when i get the
second oil change (which they also told me no tire rotation till the second
oil change)...are they just blowing me off? i want my shit to go straight
and for the tires to wear correctly...too much to ask?

 

I bought a new 03 Odyssey and it pulled to the left. Dealer did an alignment
and it is better but not completely resolved. It came with Michelins but I
had it changed to Dunlop but no difference in the alignment problem.

 

Well, mine drifts to the left. I suppose that's a safety thing in case
I ever drive in England. Total nonsense in my opinion. There's
something funny about the steering in these new Accords, IMHO. They
seem to be affected by small changes in road slope etc much more than
other cars I've owned. I've been blown off twice by my dealer ...
nothing wrong, but i know that I spend a lot of time compensating for
a left-hand tendency in the car. I'm going to take it to a different
dealer and insist that they check the alignment.

 

Total BS. When the road has no slope to either side and there is no wind,
the car should go perfectly straight.
The perfect conditions are hard to achieve though.

 

Now now...

Old school alignment guys *did* in fact "toe-out" the right front slightly
to give "drift" to the right, but I know of no modern shops that do this
now.

I also know that modern factory alignments are "perfectly straight", as we
had put some on the alignment machine right off the trailer, however, we
weren't around to test "old" cars.

Take care.

 

Besides, at least where I live, the roads are crowned enough for
drainage purposes that a car with a neutral alignment will tend to drift
to the right anyway.

 

Matthew Hunt wrote:

(something to which I'm not replying.)

Hey, a nice surprise to see you here. I just got done reading your
latest in alt.fan.miss-manners. I *thought* I recognized the name, and
compared email addresses.

 

I to am new to this group, and I to had the same problem along with
many other problems. 2003 honda accords suck, i own a 2003 4 door LX
and its been nothin but problems since day one. they day i drove it
off the lot it had 3 miles and it veered to the right constanly. it
took the dealer 3 times to fix this, and its still messed up, the
dealer only cares if it meets the 6 second rule. Which is if the car
dosnt drift completely into a different lane at 60mph in 6 seconds
then its fine. I refuse to beleive i bought a brand new car and have
to live with the fact it will never drive straight. Number 2 THE
BRAKES. as im typing this right now my car is sitting in brahman
honda (WORSE DEALERSHIP EVER!!!!!!) four the FIFTH TIME because the
passenger side brake keeps wearing out and the disc keeps worping. The
car has only 8000 miles on it right now and they keep telling me that
the brakes were out because of how I drive it, which is total bull.
If it was because of the way i drove it then both front rotors would
be messed up not just the passenger one (mine you, its happened 5
times) and now there discussing ending my brake warrenty cause it
breaks to much. THATS THE PURPOSE OF A WARRENTY BRAHMAN
HONDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TO FIX THINGS WHEN THEY BREAK. Number 3. i get
the rattling in the driver door also but only at high speeds, like 60+
(highway driving), number 4 the radio goes in and out constanly, as if
the antenna were loose, and it happens to every station not just one,
it can even happen when im just standing in place. number 4
everything electrical (headlights, radio, etc) dims temporaly when the
A/C clicks on.Number 5 it takes a while to start the car. Number 6 the
brakes pulsate way too much. The only good things i got to say about
this car is that the engine hasnt given me any problems and the trunk
is huge. THATS IT. I shouldve stuck with my ford explorer it gave me
less problems and it had 130,000miles on it. DO NOT BUY THIS CAR.

 

Check the lemon laws in your state. Honda could be forced to buy the car
back from you. You could also try taking your car to a different dealer.

 

My friend you are learning one of life's lessons. Apparently you
fell for that 'brand 'Y' is better than brand 'X' myth. NO
manufacture builds perfect vehicles every time they build one,
certainly not Honda. ALL manufactures build SOME that are not up
to their quality standards. That is why they ALL have a warranty,
even Rolls Royce. Honda does build good vehicles and only a
relative few have problems like those you are experiencing. Just
because you happened to get one that is not the way it should be,
is no reason to suggest everyone else that buys one will get one
of the bad one as well. The steering problems, and the problems
with the brakes, fall under the Federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty
Act. That law gives you specific rights. Tell the dealer your
Honda is experiencing recurring brake problem. He knows full
well that Some Honda's have this problem. Tell him because he
can not fix the problem that you want to evoke you rights under
the federal lemon law. The dealer is obligated by the law to
begin the procedure of obtaining recourse for you under that law,
beginning with arbitration. There is no need to retain an
attorney, the procedure is described in you warranty booklet that
you received when you purchased the vehicle. Remind him that
breach of warranty is a violation of federal law. Search
http://www.carlemon.com/ for more information on the federal
lemon law and any part of the state lemon law, in your state,
that may apply. Just remember NOT to take too long to assert
your rights. Protection under the federal law expires at one
year or 12,000 WOF, so I would act now if I were you.


mike hunt