2004 2.4l Steering ... help me god ....

Hello all,

I have been a bit disappointed with the steering on my 2004 2.4l Accord. The steering felt a bit vague, alarmingly light and a bit notchy negotiating flowing bends in the road. I guess what was missing most of all was feedback and feel.

I mined the forum for nuggets of experience with this and decided to go ahead and replace the following this weekend ...

Lower control arms
Bottom ball joints
Top ball joints
Drop links
Track rod ends

Now the steering seems smoother and not notchy but, so help me god, there is still little to no feedback.

Is this just the way life is or is there something else I can do?

Many thanks in advance!

Oh, I forgot to say that it's only recently that I got the 2.4 litre and my other car is a 2002 Vtec Sport that I love driving because the feedback is great.

Do you feel any difference in the feel between VSA on and off ?

http://typeaccord.co.uk/forum/topic/23455-vsa-warning-light/?p=244499

Thanks, went and gave it a go, no unfortunately.

I did discover that it's not the first time this has been complained about though ...

" 7th gen v. 6th gen steering feel?
Every since I bougt my 2004, I have noticed the very different steering nature over my 2002. I've found that the 7th gen has a much more "artificial" feel to it. The steering wheel is easier to move in a parking lot setting, you can almost move it with one finger. It's very light and that's not a bad thing at these speeds. The 6th gen, by comparison, feels heavier at low speeds. Nothing near BMW heavy or anything, but heavier.

Now, as both cars get up to speeds, say more than 30mph, I tend to notice the differences greatly. The 6th gen steering wheel feels tauter, tighter, more organtic. When I am traveling down the highway, I am able to leave the wheel in the center and it won't wobble from side to side. It's a nice highway cruiser for this reason alone. In comparison, the 7th gen's low speed lightness is almost painfully apparent as I get up to speed. The steering wheel is borderline annoying on the highway to me, requiring constant adjustments to keep the car tracking in a strait line. The wheel moves from side to side in a dead zone with virtually no connection to the wheels. Throwing the car into a turn, I find the feedback to be lacking greatly. I feel as if there is no connection to the road, I can't "feel" the wheels like I can with the 6th gens steering. Mind you, the 7th gen is a more capable handler , but it doesn't seem to inspire much confidence because of it's extremely overboosted and artificially light steering. It's gotten to the point of annoyance for me, whehter on the highway or on my favorite backroads. The 6th gen just feels more fun to drive becuase of the added connection with the steering and wheels, something I can't find on the 7th gen. Again, great for the parking lot, but I can't stand it otherwise. I thought finger light steering feel was for big SUVs and trucks, not for small cars.

Does anybody else who owns both a 6th and 7th gen feel the same way? I've driven an 8th gen sedan and the same light steering is in that car as well. It's far from what a truly fun to drive car should feel like in my opinion. "

... from http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/15-7th-generation/26545-7th-gen-v-6th-gen-steering-feel.html#/topics/26545

How is the tracking set up? It might be worth talking to a decent alignment workshop that actually understands what you want from the car, some will just track to spec others can offer solutions that may help.
I'm pretty sure there was a place that could help with this as they specialized in this kind of work but their name escapes me now.
edit: this is the place http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/steeringgeometry.php

After having all that work done on the car an alignment would be a necessity anyway.
Do you have hydraulic power steering or electronic, the Accords were manufactured with either depending on spec. Normally Exec models had electronic and Sport had hydraulic systems iirc.
What tyres are you running on too?