Signs Your Wheel Alignment Is Off

Proper wheel alignment is crucial towards ensuring a safe and comfortable ride. However, many people still neglect to perform routine inspections and preventative measures when it comes to their car’s wheel alignment. 

In fact, your car’s wheel alignment may be off sooner than you think, especially if you’re constantly driving on uneven, bumpy roads. It's common for car owners to just ignore their bad alignment issues, but this over time can result with costly repair bills.

So how do you know if there are problems with your wheel alignment? Here are some tell-tale signs…

Steering

If the steering wheel's logo and spokes are not straight or upright as you are driving, your alignment is definitely out.

Yes, the road's camber will have some effect, but when driving, your steering wheel should primarily be upright and centred. Any deviation from dead centre is a sign that your car may require wheel alignment adjustment.

This is especially true if you find yourself holding the wheel in a way that would ordinarily cause the car to veer off the road.

 Pulling or Drifting

Can you feel your car drifting in one direction as you're driving down a straight, level road? A key sign of your wheels being out of alignment is when you find yourself having to maintain slight pressure on the steering wheel to keep it pointed straight. You can tell that the situation has gotten bad if there is a noticeable movement to one side.

Find your vehicle softly wandering in one way or the other when it is passively pulling? You can always take your hands off the wheel and test whether your car is actually tracking straight on a quiet, empty road. Before driving, always check the tyres to make sure they are properly inflated if it seems to be drifting slowly in one direction.

Steering Wheel that Vibrates

The likelihood is that the steering wheel vibration in your car is caused by the wheels pulling against each other as a result of poor alignment. In worst-case situations, this might cause the entire vehicle to shake, which can be felt in the front and back seats as well.

Loose Steering Wheel

Does your steering feel a little loose? Do you find yourself turning the wheel with very little tyre movement? These are yet more signs that your wheels are probably out of alignment.

Getting poor steering response from harder movement? Again, your wheels and tyres being out of alignment may be a potential culprits. This could also be a sign of your car’s power steering module (if equipped) having some kind of fault, hence it should be looked at whilst performing wheels and tyres alignment checks.

Steering Wheel Doesn’t Centralise

The steering wheel should automatically begin to revert to its centred, upright position as you continue to drive after completing a turn. You may test this similarly to how a car pulls; simply take your hands off the wheel for a brief period of time and see if the car tracks straight again on its own. If it doesn't, you may have worn-out suspension parts or perhaps a loose steering.

Squealing Tyres

Each wheel's alignment with relation to the road and the other wheels on the vehicle is determined by the camber and toe settings. If one of them deviates from its usual position, this might result in unfavourable friction, which can result in all manner of weird noises, such as squealing tyres.

Of course, keep in mind that wheel balancing, which deals with the distribution of weight across the tyre, is also fundamentally distinct from wheel alignment.

Uneven Tyre Wear

Tyre wear patterns can often act as the canary in the coal mine when it comes to problems with the alignment of your wheels. 

Check the tread depth on both sides of the tyres on your car; if one side looks to be more worn than the other, there may be an alignment issue.

Wear on the outside or inside edges typically denotes problems with camber adjustment, whereas feathering or scallop-shaped patterns denote toe adjustment troubles.

Take quick action as soon as you notice any of the signs detailed above because misaligned wheels can cause a variety of issues whilst driving, even before you consider them to be premature wear. Even if it costs you some money to have the car looked at, keep in mind that you've still saved money by avoiding the costs of repairing more extensive damages.