Hyundai Tucson Forum

Over the last week or so, I've noticed that when I'm driving along a straight road, I have to hold the steering wheel on my Tucson perhaps a couple of degrees to the right to keep the car straight. It's more pronounced on fast A roads and motorways, although sometimes noticeable on slower roads too. I think I've noticed it recently as I haven't instantly turned the lane follow assist on so have been more aware of the steering on the motorway at speed.

I must add, I notice this as well on my 13 year old Vauxhall Astra with 75,000 miles on the clock. It's a bit more obvious on the Astra than the Tucson. The wheel alignment has be done at various points on the Astra, and is never really much out, and if I let go off the wheel while driving along, both cars will keep going mostly straight with the wheel tilted slightly to the right, there's not a dramatic pull to the left.

I assume then, that it's just a case of slightly compensating for the camber of the road and the speed meaning this is more necessary. But I wondered, how much do you find this in your car? Is your steering wheel always absolutely central as you are driving along straight, or is this slight compensation for road camber just perfectly normal?

Not sure you can really compare a 13 year old Astra with a Tucson as the Astra will have power assisted mechanical steering whereas the Tucson is almost certainly all electric - think steer by wire - I'm sure someone will come along and deny/confirm that.
Obvious thing to check is tyre pressures - pretty easy on the Tuscon as you can do it driving along - less so on the Astra. Also different road surfaces/cambers will, as you have said, affect it.
I guess you've tried taking your hands off the wheel to see if the car(s) veer one way or the other and whether you are getting uneven tyre wear? Beware the lane assist thingey will shout at you but just ignore it. Also tried it on different lanes of a motorway to see if it is constant?
I've not noticed anything out of the ordinary on our Tucson.

Thanks - yes, definitely a big difference between the Astra and Tucson. It was more the fact that they both do it to one degree or another so it got me thinking how widespread this is as a thing.

Tyre pressures all look good on the Tucson anyway, and tyres all look good (as I'd hope after only 2,000 miles!)

It does seem consistent, if I drive in the centre of the road on the 'crown' the steering wheel sits straight, and if I ever need to go over to the other side or there is an adverse camber, I have to hold the steering wheel slightly the other way, so it seems like it's certainly consistent with the camber of the road rather than just a standard pull to the left.

Just made me wonder how many others might have noticed this really.

Its quite normal though in a sense artificial on a car that has electrical power assistance. Manufacturers try to give the steering some "feel" as demanded by motoring journalists etc. One aspect of this is the proportional reduction in assistance as speed increases which means you notice more camber effect at higher speed. It would be very possible to completely deaden the steering like some, especially american, luxury cars do, but judging by the comments about lane assist on this forum it wouldn't be very welcome.

roadster wrote: ↑Wed Jul 27, 2022 10:12 am Its quite normal though in a sense artificial on a car that has electrical power assistance. Manufacturers try to give the steering some "feel" as demanded by motoring journalists etc. One aspect of this is the proportional reduction in assistance as speed increases which means you notice more camber effect at higher speed. It would be very possible to completely deaden the steering like some, especially american, luxury cars do, but judging by the comments about lane assist on this forum it wouldn't be very welcome.

Yes, that definitely makes sense. Would be interested in anyone's view next time they are on a fast A road or the motorway as to whether their steering wheel is completely straight on any stretch or road, or if they have to adjust even a little to compensate for camber!

Just driven all the way across europe. Where the roads are amidst completely flat, and the steering stayed centered.

Similar to above, recently spent a month in France which included lots of motorway - car didn't put a wheel wrong.

Ah, that's good. How do you find it on the more cambered UK roads? I find if I have occasion to drive down the middle of the road, the steering wheel is pretty much centred and if I've gone over to the other side, it feels to pull slightly the other way, so it does feel like it's following the camber rather than pulling to the left constantly.

I also drove many miles on normal roads also e.g. A roads, narrow country lanes etc and noticed nothing untoward. The only minor criticism I have is that the steering will lighten up unexpectedly in certain conditions.
I think most any car will try and follow a camber if it's steep enough.
If this wasn't apparent from new and has happened suddenly, then maybe you've altered the steering geometry - potholes and speed bumps can cause this.
There is another possible scenario, but if you didn't experience the camber thing from new, then it's not worth a mention at this stage.

Yes, I'm not sure if I've just randomly started noticing it or not and then become more aware of it. Regardless, I've just booked it in to have the alignment checked at the dealer on Monday so will see if that picks anything up!