How to tell if car alignment is off

Drifting or pulling

Perhaps the most obvious signal that you need an alignment is if your vehicle is pulling to one side of the road.  If you are driving on a straight and flat surface and briefly let go of the steering wheel, does your vehicle want to drift to the left or right? Do you have to constantly steer in the opposite direction to keep the vehicle driving straight?  These are classic symptoms that the wheels are out of alignment.  If the drifting is only slight and towards the shoulder, it may simply be that the roads are sloped, which is common, and there may be nothing wrong with your alignment.

Steering wheel is off-center

Have you ever been confused as to why your steering wheel is at an odd angle?  It almost seems as if you are slowly turning in one direction. Ironically this can result from just having a front-end alignment and not a four-wheel alignment. During a front-end alignment, a technician will adjust your front tie rods to whatever degree necessary to remove any pull on the steering wheel. In the course of doing so, this may change the position of the wheels relative to the steering column just to keep them pointed in the same direction as the rear tires. While this may resolve a directional pull, it could be creating an issue of “off-tracking” or “dog-tracking”.  Imagine your car traveling down the road at a slight sideways angle. This is another dangerous situation as it alters your vehicle’s performance and handling characteristics.  Furthermore, it will reduce your fuel economy with the additional drag and wind resistance.

The simplest way to correct this issue is to have a four-wheel alignment done.  Since this is often a problem with the rear wheel angle, that needs to be adjusted first. Once the rear wheels are pointed perfectly straight, they’ll adjust the front tie rods to get the wheels straight in line with the rear tires. This should reset the steering wheel back to its normal and centered position.

Vibrating steering wheel

If your steering wheel vibrates when you are driving, this can be another indication that your wheels are out of alignment. The vibration can sometimes be caused by your wheels having been knocked out of alignment, for example it could be the result of hitting a pothole or a curb. The vibration may be a precursor to a bigger, more serious problem, so get it checked out before it gets worse.

Loose steering

If your steering feels kind of loose or wanders a little around the road, this can be another sign of a wheel alignment issue. Your car should have a relatively direct feel and response to the direction that you steer it.  If you feel you are turning the wheel often with very little tire movement, you should have the alignment checked out.

Uneven tire wear

If your wheels are out of alignment, you may notice uneven tread wear.  You may or may not experience other driving symptoms, but if you visually inspect your tires – you may see signs that your tires are not properly aligned. A good way to check is by measuring the tread depth in a few areas of each tire. If the wheels are aligned properly they will all be the same, but if there is a discrepancy, you may have a wheel alignment issue.

Tire alignment is not a situation that you want to take lightly.  While it may seem like a minor inconvenience, if you find yourself in an emergency situation or have to make a sharp turn at high speeds, your alignment and the response of your vehicle can play a critical role in avoiding a collision. If you are unsure about your car’s alignment or the safety of your vehicle, please feel free to contact us and have it checked out.

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Alignment refers to the angle and direction of the wheels on your vehicle, but it’s also the name of the repair procedure that fixes problems with your wheel alignment. It may sound confusing, but you need to get an alignment to fix your alignment! Alignment issues can be triggered by potholes, curbs, or heavy wear on your tires. Since this repair requires an alignment rack, it isn’t a problem you can fix without a mechanic. Luckily, alignment issues are relatively easy to diagnose and inexpensive to repair if you don’t need to replace parts of your wheel assembly.[1]

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   Check your tire pressure and reinflate your tires if necessary. Check the panel on the inside of your driver-side door to find the optimum psi for your tires. Then, grab a pressure gauge and unscrew the cap on your first tire’s air valve. Stick the gauge on the valve to take your reading. If any of your tires are underinflated, fill them up with air at a gas station to see if this resolves the problem.[2]

   • Often, what appears to be an alignment problem is simply a tire issue. If the problem goes away after you check and inflate your tires, you don’t need an alignment.
   • Psi stands for pound-force per square inch. It’s the unit of measurement for air pressure.
   • Typically, you want your tires to be 28-36 psi. This is different for every make and model, though.
   • When you’re inflating the tire, do it a little bit at a time and keep rechecking the pressure to make minor adjustments.

   Warning: Don’t go by the psi printed directly on your tires. This is the maximum pressure for your tires, not the optimum pressure for your vehicle. While you should never exceed the psi printed on the tires, you may end up losing gas mileage and wearing your tires out faster if you use the number on your tires as the benchmark.[3]

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   Tighten each of your lug nuts to see if a loose nut is the issue. Go into your trunk and grab the lug wrench that came with your spare tire. Take it out and go around your vehicle to tighten all of the lug nuts on the outside of your vehicle. If any of the nuts were loose, this was likely the issue. Tighten all of the lug nuts and see if the problem goes away.[4]

   • Lug nuts rarely get loose on their own if they’re dry. Loose lug nuts are typically the result of a hasty spare change.
   • If you lug nuts keep coming loose, use a degreaser to scrub any oil off of the bolts one at a time before reinstalling them. Lubricated bolts have a tendency to unscrew over time.

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   Try letting go of the steering wheel in an empty lot to see if it turns. Take your vehicle to an empty parking lot. Press the gas a little but don’t touch the steering wheel. Watch the logo in the center of your steering wheel. If the wheel turns more than 5- to 10-degrees over 40–50 feet (12–15 m), you may have an alignment issue. If it turns in the same direction when driving back and forth across the lot, it’s even more likely that you need an alignment.[5]

   • Unless you’re driving over a perfectly flat surface, the wheel will naturally turn a little due to the angle of the road.
   • If the wheel turns the same direction when you’re driving back and forth over the same strip, it’s a sign that the alignment is particularly bad since the wheel is ignoring the natural angle of the road and always pulling in the same direction.

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   Listen to hear if noise is coming from your tires when you drive. Take your vehicle out on a main road or highway. Lower the windows all the way and listen carefully as you accelerate to see if noise starts coming out of your tires. If you do hear a noise, you may need an alignment. This is especially true if you only hear a noise on one side and you already checked your tires.[6]

   • This noise is usually a squeaking, which is caused by a tire rotating at the wrong angle on the road. It may be a screeching or flicking noise, though.
   • If one of your tires is misaligned, you may notice a noise whenever you turn in a certain direction.

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   Grip the steering wheel while accelerating to see if it shakes or tilts. The next time you’re driving, grip the steering wheel firmly at 10 and 2 as you accelerate. If the wheel starts vibrating or shaking while you accelerate, or you feel the wheel fighting against you to turn left or right when you’re going straight, you may have an alignment problem.[7]

   • This is not as reliable a test on vehicles made before 1990, since the steering column is likely to be a little worn down from years of use.

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   Look for uneven tread wear on the sides of the tires to find toe problems. Get down on the ground or remove your tire to inspect the tread. If a tire is angled inwards, it is “toe in” and the inner portion of the wheel will look worn down compared to the rest of the tire. If the tire points away from the vehicle, it is “toe out.” Both of these issues are resolved on an alignment rack.[8]

   • Toe refers to the angle of the tire in relation to the vehicle and steering wheel. If one or two of your tires has a toe problem, the tires will wear down unevenly over time.
   • A wavy pattern on both tires is typically the result of both tires being toe in or toe out at the same angle. This is typically solved by replacing a component that broke down on your axle or in your wheel well.

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   Get the camber adjusted if part of the tire looks pristine. Either get down on the ground or remove a tire to inspect the tread. If part of the tire looks completely pristine but the other portion is worn down, you have an issue with your tire’s camber. Camber refers to the vertical angle of the tire as it sits on your axle. A misaligned camber can cause part of the tire to lift off of the ground. This issue is solved on an alignment rack.[9]

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   Check the tread for hash marks or even wear to find issues with the caster. If there are hash marks on the tire or the tread looks fine but your vehicle is still tilting when you drive, your caster may be misaligned. The caster refers to the steering axis of the wheel as it lines up with your suspension. If the caster is positive or negative, it can throw your alignment off. This issue is also fixed on an alignment rack, although the mechanic will need to adjust the suspension in your vehicle.[10]

   • If it feels like your alignment is randomly thrown off when you turn, it’s probably a misaligned caster pulling the vehicle in an odd direction.

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   Take your vehicle to a mechanic to fix or align your vehicle. No matter what kind of DIY solution you stumble across, you can’t really fix alignment issues in your garage. A proper alignment requires an alignment rack, which you’re unlikely to have in your garage. Take your vehicle to your mechanic and describe the problem in detail to get it fixed.[11]

   Tip: Aligning a vehicle comes down to adjustments that are made in thousandths of an inch (or cm). There’s no way for you to possibly get it right in the garage. Even seasoned gearheads need the equipment you find at a shop sometimes!

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   Get your alignment shifted to resolve issues with the toe, caster, and camber. If your tires are out of line with the vehicle and they’re pointing in or out, the mechanic will reorient the wheel to line it up with your axle. They may also adjust your suspension or the caster to change the position or angle of the tire. These are common adjustments done on an alignment rack.[12]

   • This procedure is what people are referring to when they talk about “getting an alignment.”
   • Expect to spend $50-300 on an alignment depending on the cost of labor and how many tires need to be adjusted.
   • Since the wheels are being reoriented anyway, this is a great time for a tire rotation if you need one.

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   Get the axle or A-frame components replaced if the tires can’t be aligned. If a pothole or unaligned tire has damaged a component on your vehicle, you may need to get it replaced before your tires can be properly aligned. Your coil spring, spindle, ball joint, control bushings, or some other part of your axle assembly may need to be replaced.[13]

   • The A-frame refers to the chassis of your vehicle that the axles are mounted on. If the A-frame is damaged, it can throw off the way the axle sits on your vehicle.
   • These repairs vary depending on what component needs to be replaced. Expect to spend $150-1,500 depending on your make, model, and the part that needs replacing. Then, throw in the standard alignment cost. These repairs vary depending on the part.

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• Alignment issues almost always develop on your front tires since your back tires don’t actually move when you turn.[14]

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