5 Signs it’s Time for a Wheel Alignment
Extending the life of your vehicle while maximizing performance requires regular maintenance. Potholes, curbs, imperfect roads, and imperfect driving (this last one doesn’t apply to you, of course) all impact the alignment of your wheels over time. When wheels become misaligned, several components of your car become stressed. From the impact on your vehicle’s suspension to uneven wear on your tires, there is a long list of potential issues that can arise if you don’t take the time to realign your wheels. In this post, we’ll cover five tell-tale signs that it’s time for you to book your wheel alignment service.
1. Your Car is “Pulling” to the Left or Right
It’s unlikely that your vehicle will drive perfectly straight if you don’t apply pressure to your steering wheel, but you shouldn’t experience a strong “pull” to one side or the other. When it feels like you’re fighting with your car to keep it between the lines, that’s an indication that your wheels may be out of alignment.
Your car was manufactured with everything pointing in the same direction, allowing it to move forward with minimal resistance. Unfortunately, over time, small bumps in the road will slowly push your wheels in other directions, leading to misalignment.
2. Uneven Tire Wear
You should rotate your tires every 7,000 – 8,000 miles to ensure even wear. However, if your wheels are misaligned, a tire rotation may not effectively remedy the issue. The driving symptoms that indicate a tire rotation or wheel alignment is necessary are closely related, so many drivers take care of both maintenance tasks at once. If you have questions about what’s causing your car to pull to a particular side, the expert and certified service technicians at each of our 43 convenient Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers can help you find the answer.
3. The Shakes
Even the slightest wheel misalignment can cause your vehicle to “shake” or “vibrate” – especially when traveling at higher speeds. In severe cases, this issue might be unmistakable, but in more subtle instances, the shaking or vibration might only be recognizable when your hands are on the steering wheel. These particular symptoms of wheel misalignment could also have other causes, most-commonly unbalanced tires. Still, if you’re experiencing a shake or vibration when you hit full speed on the highway, there’s a good chance wheel alignment is to blame.
4. Your Steering Wheel and Driving Direction Aren’t Lining Up
One easy way to recognize alignment issues on your vehicle is by giving it the straight steering wheel test. When you’re in a safe location – such as a mostly-empty parking lot or driveway – set your wheel to what you deem to be a perfectly straight position. Use your hands to maintain that steering wheel position and slowly ease forward. If you notice your car going significantly to the right or left despite the wheel remaining straight, your wheels probably need an alignment service. Another way to conduct this test is by driving in a straight line while keeping an eye on the wheel (please, keep the other eye on the road). If you notice that your steering wheel needs to be slightly off center in order to move your car in a straight line, it’s time to give us a call!
5. Loose Handling
When you’re at the wheel, you should feel total control over your vehicle’s direction at all times. You shouldn’t feel like significant force is required to get your vehicle to go where you want. To illustrate the point, let’s compare it to a problem most people are familiar with: shopping carts with a defective wheel.
Anyone who has had the misfortune of grabbing a cart with a bad wheel knows it takes extra strength just to keep your cart moving where you want it to go. If any one of the four wheels isn’t able to point in the same direction as the other three, you’re not going to have perfect control over the cart. The same philosophy applies to a car with one wheel out of alignment – it’s just not going to handle as effectively as if they were all going in the same direction.
In Need of Wheel Alignment Services? Book Your Appointment Today
The expert and certified service technicians at each of our 43 convenient Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers can quickly tell you whether or not improper wheel alignment is the source of the problems you’ve been experiencing.
Don’t wait until the problem gets worse to book your service. Get in touch today to schedule an alignment appointment, and we’ll ensure your car is performing its best while limiting long-term wear and tear.
