I think the confusion was introduced from the start. The original post really should have said steering wheel off-center.

Usually steering wheel of center can happen if a wheel slams a curb and a slight bend of the mechanical components occur.
This also changes the toe of the wheels and the compensation to steer straight results in steering wheel off-set.

This is then is fixed by turning the tie rod adjusters while setting back the correct toe.

The 20 degree off-set steering wheel not to be corrected by repositioning the steering wheel on the steering shaft is shown after a lock to lock is performed.
If one would simply remove the steering wheel to bring the steering wheel back to center, the car would increase/decrease the full turn ability left/right.

Steering wheel angle terms appears to be used only for calculations that is related to the sensor/CPU.
The neutral and the reset is all part of these calculations and how they are performed

I have always assumed that this particular problem only occurs when a steering wheel has been removed then reinstalled incorrectly, like can happen when someone is having some type of work done behind the dash that requires removing the steering wheel. Whereas hitting a curb etc requires fixing the mechanical problem that has caused the steering wheel to now be off-center. But I'll bet a lot of people just reposition the steering wheel in those cases, thinking they have fixed the problem, when the underlying issue is still there.

You are absolutely right about that mistake of just making a drastic correction of the offset by repositioning the wheel on the steering shaft. Usually that happens after major work where a lot of front end work is done, damage etc.

Not only can the left/right max lock to lock be off but the cancellation of the turn signal switch can be effected.

So Honda wants the rack and pinion gear to be in the center, steering wheel centered at the same time. In addition the steering shaft may also have to be centered if there are any mechanical functions on the shaft that depends on that.

Also of cause the toe in/toe out of the wheels also need to be in specification when the above is right, I guess most new cars are 0 but I cant find any info on the Clarity for that

I think there is usually (not always) a tiny bit of toe-in or toe-out set in the suspension so that when the vehicle is moving it will theoretically be at zero. Front wheels of FWD vehicles tend to have a bit of toe-out while RWD vehicles tend to have a bit of toe-in.

In general I agree, rear wheel drive cars used to have slight toe in and front wheel drive 0 to slight toe out.
I am still looking for info for the Clarity alignment specs, in the past that info would be in the manual.
There are some online sites that give Honda specs but the Clarity is never listed.

I just like to have the toe specs that I can easily check with an adjustable bar on the inside of the tires.

Yeah, I guess with the Clarity being a low production volume vehicle maybe those specs are a little more difficult to find. I would imagine if you can make friends with a tech/mechanic from a Honda dealership they could get the information for you.

Also, just my two cents’ worth on this whole thread of centering the steering wheel (and I realize it’s already been covered here) is that, indeed, the only right way to fix it is by manipulating the tie-rod ends to get it centered. The big question would be: how did the steering wheel get off center in the first place?

I think it was mentioned in the thread that sometimes after a front end damage the bodyshops will adjust the toe specs correctly but fail to center the wheel exactly.

It is actually pretty common that even dealerships fail to make this exact.

I had an electric steering column replaced under a recall on an Hyundai Elantra. The repair was fine but the steering wheel was slightly off center when I drove the car home. I did not bother taking it back, it was less of a hassle making the adjustment at home.

Yeah, I’ve done that once or twice too. You can mark the tie rods with a piece of chalk and then just rotate both sides equal number/fraction of turns in the right direction and it will fix it.

After a lot of searching for the Clarity wheel alignment specs I could only manage to find specs on the Accord.
The 2 models "appears" to be close in chassis build but not sure if that is good enough to draw a conclusion that the alignment specs are the same.

Anyway the attached picture shows the toe in spec for the Accord to be -0.08 to 0.08 degree.
I believe the parenthesis number (2) is mm.

A conversion table using 26" total tire height calculates this very close to 2 mm.
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