Steering alignment

More likely, the old tires are worn badly to match the poor alignment. I found the same thing with my '87 Accord - the tires that came with it were very badly worn on the inside due to extreme negative camber caused by the previous owner chopping the springs to lower it over 2". After I put new struts in the front to level it back up, the steering became very stiff... until I put new tires on, and it loosened right up.

Solution: have an alignment done.

Thanks for your response. When I get the alignment done and 6 months down the line when I rotate the tites...would I not have an alignment problem again? I have 03 Accord EX, NA.

You might or might not have steering issues if you put them back on the front in 6 months. While they are on the back, they will tend to wear off the parts that are wrong as a result of the previous bad alignment and eventually will be back to normal. If you put them back on the front and it behaves badly, you should check them for tread separation or other damage, then just live with it until they wear down to being right again. You never want to change the alignment to accommodate a weirdly worn tire.

Thanks guys for your insights. I got the alignment done. The alignment was way off with toe being 0.52 for left front tore and 0.32 for right front tire. The suggested range is +- 0.08. I am just pretty satisfied with it now. I am so surprised that the dealer was not able to figure such a simple thing out.

I'd be worried about a tire dealer who didn't recognize poor alignment just from the wear patterns on the old tires.