car pulls towards one side

[lklee]

When I'm driving in a straight line, and let go of the steering wheel slightly, the car pulls towards the right. So I'm constantly pulling the wheel towards the left to keep the car going straight. Anyone else notice this? The pull is very subtle so I never bothered having it checked out.

[ebumdude]

alignment check should help you out

[b0r1cha]

yeah mine pulls to the left. i never got it aligned after i got my car lowered. you and I sohuld go both get an alignment as the pull may result in uneven tire wear. at least thats wat i heard. regardless its annoying to me so im gonna go get an alignment done ASAP. i hear that the firestone in my neighborhood does lifetime alignments for 150 or something. call your local firestone if u have one and see if u have adeal like that. it should come in convenient if you change ur suspension or if u are just not happy with your alignment,.

[808YOTA]

Mine slightly does the same.
Its the alignment!

[b0r1cha]

yeah im sure. and if i pas 60mph. my steering wheel shakes. i dont know if that happens to you guys but i was wondering if thats the alignment too

[skyxliner]

yeah my dad was really picky about the alignment when he bought the car. he test drove 3 US made camrys and they all swerved to a side. then on his first luck with the japanese made camry, it was nearly perfect.... and since then it's still pretty good alignment.

costco provides free tire repair and i think alignment if you buy tires from them lifetime. otherwise just get it alignment check.

if the problem keeps reoccurring, you can get it fixed at the dealership and if after many documented fix attempts, you actually qualify as lemon car if your in California.

[geoff5093]

Originally Posted by b0r1cha

yeah im sure. and if i pas 60mph. my steering wheel shakes. i dont know if that happens to you guys but i was wondering if thats the alignment too

Mine does that, but thats because it has a slightly bent wheel.

As for pulling to one side, I believe it's normal if it pulls to the right because most roads are slanted to the right to help drain water off the roads.

[streetxdreamer]

Originally Posted by b0r1cha

yeah im sure. and if i pas 60mph. my steering wheel shakes. i dont know if that happens to you guys but i was wondering if thats the alignment too

wheels might need to be rebalanced

as for the car pulling left its most likely alignment or could be the road like geoff said. my car drives perfectly straight on flat road (FYI i have a kentucky built gen 6).

[EJA]

I just put new tires and wheels on my car along with having an alignment done and it still pulls to the right. I went back and they hooked it back up but the computer shows it is aligned perfectly. They rotated the tires from front to back but the pull is still there.

[TRD VVTi]

Pull = Road (ruts or road crown), radial pull (tire), tire pressure, or alignment. Usually, it's not alignment. If the car pulls right, rotate the front tires from side to side. If it then pulls left the left tire has a radial pull in it.

Vibration when braking is usually warped rotors or drums.

Vibration when driving is usually tire balance, tire defect, bent wheel, or possibly loose steering or suspension componants.

Alignment does not cause a car to vibrate. That's a common myth.

[PRINCESS PEACH]

trd is right. korean tea, you should get ur tires rebalanced.

[ebumdude]

Originally Posted by b0r1cha

yeah im sure. and if i pas 60mph. my steering wheel shakes. i dont know if that happens to you guys but i was wondering if thats the alignment too

If it shakes, your tires need to be balanced.

[marc780]

I agree with the other guy, the most common cause of pulling is radial pull! This happens on alot of front wheel drive cars not just camry, it happened on my old sentra too. The fix is as described, rotate your tires around until you find a combo the car "likes" and the pull may go away.
Also it helps to buy good tires at least for the fronts, michelin and dunlop tend NOT to pull as much as the others. On the rear tires you can use whatever the heck brand you want, doesnt matter, but put good ones on the front.

[toy4x4man]

I had the tires rotated about a month ago on my 08 SE and had the same problem. I switched the two fronts and the problem went away. My dad suggested the switch and also he has seen that some cars with certain tire combinations will follow the slope of the road to the right that is built in for drainage, especially here in the NW where we tend to get a little rain from time to time!

[b0r1cha]

dammit i just got my rims and tires mounted and now i have to go back to get them rebalanced...