Signs Your Car Needs An Alignment

With all the advances in vehicle technology and performance, it can be difficult to keep up with all the required maintenance and repairs. Proper wheel alignment is one of the most important criterion to keeping your car driving safely and happily.

1. Your steering wheel is not centered
If you’re driving straight down a flat, level road, your steering wheel should be sitting close to perfectly straight. There’s usually a small amount of discrepancy allowed depending on the crown of the road, but overall the wheel should be sitting centered and straight, and your vehicle emblem in the center of the steering wheel should appear level to you.

2. Your vehicle pulls to one side or the other
Similar to the first point, vehicle pull is most easily noticed while driving straight down a level road. There is a common misconception that the vehicle should drive perfectly straight with your hands off the steering wheel. In a perfect world, this would be true, but in reality this isn’t the case because all roads have some degree of crowning which causes a slight pull to one side. Completely removing your hands from the steering wheel is also very dangerous.

3. You notice abnormal tire wear in certain spots
Tire wear is most often noticed by a mechanic while performing a tire rotation or an inspection performed during a service. Proper alignment greatly increases the life of your tires, so if you have any abnormal tire wear patterns, you should have an alignment performed on your vehicle.

4. The handling feels loose when driving
If the steering in your car feels a little loose or unstable, one of the possible causes is poor wheel alignment. This can be felt as wandering across the road when driving, or the car may feel very loose and sloppy around corners. If you notice symptoms like this, you should have the alignment checked and corrected if necessary.