Toyota Forum banner

Hard Right Pulling Camry

1 reading
13K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  kennyg1963  
#1 · (Edited)
A few months ago, I noticed that something was awry with my Camry, as it had a nasty tendency to pull right. Happened all the time, so I figured it was just alignment. Took it to my Firestone shop, and the guys there aligned, balanced, and rotated all four tires. When I drove away from Firestone, it seemed that the problem had only gotten worse - now I had a violent rattling on the wheel and a SERIOUS right pull.
So back to Firestone I went while the tech tried to explain to me how they signed off on a car which was obviously not fixed.. Finally I left. Thank god for free lifetime alignment.
That was two months ago. And the right hand pull never went away. Even the day after I left the shop, it still had a tendency to veer right.
I got sick of fighting it today, so back to the shop I went. According to their machines, everything was within .1 of being perfect. I can post the printout if it would help. All the tires were still at 7/32" tread and the balance and rotation was completed as well. I took a tech out for a drive, and to illustrate I accelerated to 45mph and let go of the wheel. Within 10 seconds, the car was three lanes over and still going. But he failed to diagnose any problem (and charged me for the time..). I'd like to get this fixed so I can take a road trip, because I sure don't trust it now.
Anyone have any ideas? The car's got just shy of 143k on it, and aside from tires and some new steering gasket years ago and new brake pads everything but the tires are stock still. Could I have a bad shock/strut? Bent arm? Rim? Anything? And how much do you suppose it should cost to fix? I'm not savvy enough to even attempt anything more than a tire change so a shop would do it.
 
#6 ·
if you have any wore out steer components it will cause this too. check tie rods and wheel hubs for play. they probably arent lying. on an alignment rack, they can get the specs perfect, but if on the road the tire wont stay pointed in the straight direction then it will cause a pull. Its more common for vehicles to pull to the right, since roads are sloped to the right, and thats a good indicator that you have a worn component. but yes, also brakes can cause that pull too. either way you need to jack the car up and start spinning the wheels and pulling on them. make sure everything feels correct and uniform throughout
 
#7 ·
I've got a slight pull on both my cars too, but I know its not an alignment issue. Its due to tire pull.

Sometimes rotating the tires will make it worse, as a bad tire from the back could now be on the front wheel. Your options are not to play with the wheel combinations, including your full sized spare, to see what combinations reduce the severity of the pull. If push comes to shove, you'll have to get a pair (or a set) of new tires.
 
#8 ·
The first thing I would check is a sticky caliper. Hard pulling that is not related to tires or an alignment is almost always due to this.

You could simply look for lots of brake dust after a few days, or just put your hand on the rim after a good long drive. It will be way hotter if the caliper is sticking. In fact, you might not be able to touch it if it's sticking that bad.

After that, it's suspension/steering parts. This should be noticeable at other times though. Clunking noises, harder turning to one side vs the other, bumps being worse on one side vs the other, etc.

You didn't post the year or brake options, but if it's rear disc brakes, the parking brake shoes (there is an integrated drum inside the rear rotors) could also be sticking.