The car pulls to the right (left): causes and troubleshooting

There are a number of malfunctions that inevitably arise during the operation of any vehicle. A common problem is that the car pulls to the side when driving smoothly in a straight line. The problem manifests itself in different ways: in one case the car pulls strongly to the left (or right), in the second it pulls slightly on a hard road surface, in the third it skids when braking. To eliminate this dangerous phenomenon, it is necessary to find out the reasons for this behavior of the car.

Why does the car deviate from a straight line?

When the car does not want to move straight, the ride becomes uncomfortable - the driver has to constantly steer, and in some situations actually keep the car from drifting. You can’t relax - you’ll end up in a ditch or have a head-on collision with an oncoming car. It is better not to delay in finding out the cause of the problem.

Spontaneous movement of the machine from a straight path may be a sign of the following problems:

The pressure in the front tires is very different;
uneven wear of the front wheel treads;
faulty steering parts;
problems with the front suspension and chassis;
malfunctions of the brake mechanisms.

Before looking for the cause, it is advisable to make sure that the car actually pulls to the side when you let go of the steering wheel. Example: When driving on unpaved and poorly paved roads with ruts, the wheels tend to follow the path of least resistance and are reluctant to leave the grooves. Carry out the test on a flat piece of road surface.

The bulk of the listed problems occur during the acceleration and forward movement of the car. Brake malfunctions are immediately noticeable: the car drifts when slowing down. The more intense the braking, the more the car deviates from the straight line, and the driver has to turn the steering wheel more to keep the vehicle on the desired trajectory.

Skidding to the right due to wheel alignment

If a shift to the side is clearly felt after an intense jump through the pits, then we can assume a wheel alignment violation. This will be indirectly evidenced by uneven rapid tire wear.

Violations of wheel alignment angles cause problems with vehicle controllability. Under such circumstances, you have to constantly taxi. In this case, the tire life will noticeably decrease. Therefore, it is better to adjust the wheel alignment.

Tire problems

The pressure difference in the front wheel cylinders is the most common reason for a car to easily pull away while driving. Diagnosis could not be easier - just measure the pressure with a pressure gauge and, if necessary, pump up the sagging slope. If the car pulls to the right, then low pressure should be observed in the right wheel and vice versa. Otherwise, you need to look for the problem elsewhere.

Equally common is uneven wear of the rubber on the wheels of the front axle. The reasons for the phenomenon are:

a car enthusiast rarely monitors tire pressure;
the wheels have not undergone the balancing procedure;
in front there are tires with different patterns and sizes;
slopes with a directional pattern are installed incorrectly;
long driving with unadjusted camber angles of the front wheels.

Rubber of varying degrees of wear often ends up on one axle as a result of seasonal replacement. The owner of the “iron horse” did not mark the removed wheels according to their installation locations and next time he put them on at random. As a result, the rear and front axle tires got mixed up.

Reference. On front-wheel drive cars, the front slopes wear out much faster than the rear ones. If the wheels are mixed up and placed on one axle, the car will begin to pull towards a lower tread.

How to solve the problem of unevenly worn rubber:

Choose a tire with high tread instead of a worn wheel. For example, install a spare tire.
Balance the wheels, check and adjust the camber angles. Continuing operation and waiting for the differential to complete its task will increase the load on a tire of a larger diameter, causing the tread to quickly wear out.
Place the rear slopes forward.

Avoiding the above-described manipulations is quite simple - pump up the cylinders in a timely manner, carry out balancing at intervals of 5 thousand km and visit the camber stand every 10-15 thousand km or after a strong blow to the suspension.

Main reasons

As you understand, spontaneous deviation of a vehicle from a given trajectory carries a potential threat. Sometimes this is accompanied by the steering wheel or pedal hitting.

I myself once encountered the fact that when I let go of the steering wheel, the car gradually moves to the right, although the road was smooth and straight.

There needs to be a reason why something like this happens. Often you can diagnose the problem yourself. The following reasons are identified:

tires are incorrectly inflated;
the rubber has worn off;
there are problems with the geometry of the body;
consequences of wheel alignment;
incorrect wheel alignment;
play in the steering unit;
The reason is the road surface.

I don’t see any point in considering the last reason separately. But it is worth recognizing that sometimes such behavior of a car is associated precisely with the features or quality of the road surface.

Check whether the machine veers off course under all conditions. If this has nothing to do with the road, and the whole thing is in the car itself, you need to determine the source of the problem.

It’s not always about some kind of malfunction.

Owners of a variety of vehicles experience steering misalignment, including:

Hyundai Solaris;
VAZ 2107;
VAZ 2110;
Kia Rio;
VAZ 2109;
Lada Priora;
Gazelle;
Mazda 6;
Volkswagen Passat;
Kia Sportage;
Renault Duster, etc.

Despite the variety of reasons, they are typical for the vast majority of cars.

Let's find out in more detail what exactly is at stake in each individual case.

Tire pressure

You will be surprised how often the reason that the steering wheel pulls to the side is due to trivial tire pressure.

To ensure smooth and straight movement, the machine must have the pressure specified by the manufacturer.

There is nothing wrong with the fact that there is more pressure in the rear wheels and less in the front wheels. Or vice versa. The main thing here is that it is the same on two wheels of the same axle. If there is a difference, a tilt will definitely appear. The greater the difference, the stronger the deviation will appear. In this situation, it is enough to check the tire pressure and equalize it if necessary.

The relevant parameters are usually indicated on the inside of the fuel tank flap. Or just look in your car's owner's manual.

The rubber has worn off

Another reason why the steering wheel may pull to one side or another when the car is moving straight. It consists in the banal wear of tires.

Rolling is possible in case of baldness or defects in the rubber. It is also impossible to exclude the factor of damage to car rims, which entailed corresponding changes in the geometry of the wheel itself along with the tires. Correcting the situation is not difficult, but sometimes it turns out to be quite expensive. To do this you will have to replace the wheels. The entire set or just a couple of wheels on one axle. Just first make sure that this is the reason for this behavior of the car on the road.

A trivial, but still common reason that car owners regularly encounter.

In addition to changing your tires, you should definitely find out what led to premature baldness or tire damage.

Let's move on.

Body geometry

This is a rarer reason that cannot appear unexpectedly.

This is mainly what buyers of used cars face. The roll is sometimes only slightly noticeable. But when you drive long enough, you begin to feel the car better and feel the peculiarities of its behavior.

If you bought a used car that is pulling to one side, the car was probably involved in a serious accident. The body was damaged, it was repaired and welded. One can only imagine what procedures a vehicle has gone through whose body geometry is damaged, but there are no external signs. This is the competent and careful work of actual scammers. It is better to carefully check the behavior of the car before purchasing. If it rolls, abandon the car.

Broken body geometry is not always the final death sentence for a car. But objectively it’s not worth encountering such cars.

Wheel alignment

The next common source of trouble, manifested in the form of car roll when driving in a straight line, is wheel alignment.

Any intervention in the suspension requires mandatory wheel alignment.

Without this, various unpleasant situations may arise, including a steering wheel that pulls to the side, uneven tire wear, increased fuel consumption, and much more.

If you carried out the wheel alignment yourself, or a technician performed this procedure, making mistakes and inaccuracies, this can lead to a problem in the form of the car moving to the side. Can pull left and right. This directly depends on the exact nature of the violation of the car’s wheel alignment. It is better to carry out adjustments at professional service stations where there is specialized equipment.

Yes, many people manage to perform the wheel alignment procedure on their own using improvised means. But the result does not always live up to expectations.

Backlash

It would be a good idea to check for any play that may appear in the steering mechanism over time.

Worn tie rod end

The steering knuckle is a ball joint that connects the steering rack and the steering knuckle of the wheel. If the tip is worn out, it creates play (free movement of the axle), and the car pulls to the side. After replacing the part, you need to adjust the wheel alignment, after which the problem will disappear.

Wheel bearing wear

The malfunction is detected by hearing when the car is moving, or by spinning a hanging wheel. When the bearing wears out, it makes it difficult for the wheel to rotate and creates play, which is felt at a speed of 50 km/h. A faulty bearing does not ensure straight movement of the wheel, which is why the car will move to the side. Depending on the suspension design, the hub bearing can be replaced separately or as an assembly with the hub.

Violation of body integrity

Deformation of the body or frame occurs due to damage to the power elements of the body structure, as well as after poor-quality body repairs. This is also affected by the age of the car (metal fatigue). If the suspension is working properly and the tires are also in good condition, then this directly indicates deformation of the subframe or side members.

Changing the axis angle

This problem occurs rarely and at high mileage. When the differential pinions wear out, the torque on the axle shaft is transmitted with a large difference; accordingly, the less loaded side drives the car in its direction.

The same thing happens if the differential locking clutch malfunctions, which is especially dangerous when turning at high speed - the car will go into an uncontrolled skid.

Bad road surface

Potholes, potholes and humps on the roads also affect the handling of the vehicle.

The bottom line is that most of the road surfaces have a natural slope towards the curb from the moment of construction. This is designed to drain water during rain so that it does not accumulate and impair traction and interfere with braking.

After leaving the federal highways, drivers are met with a harsh reality

If such a moment can be observed only on a certain section of the road, then there is no reason to blame your car.

There are different reasons why a car pulls to the side. To understand exactly why the vehicle is less controllable, diagnostics should be carried out. This will allow you to avoid unnecessary problems and fully restore the vehicle’s performance, ensuring complete control over it.

Other reasons

So we have listed the main reasons that can cause the car to pull to the right or left. But these are only the most common reasons. Meanwhile, although much less frequently, such difficulties can be caused by pads that have not completely moved away from the brake disc. The wheel again wedges slightly and slows down, which causes deviations from the straight line along which the car is moving. In severe cases of traffic accidents, suspension arms and even body elements may become bent. In such situations, it is not surprising that the car pulls to the right or left. And it is extremely difficult to correct anything here.

Well, if a left-hand drive car pulls a little to the right, and a right-hand drive car, respectively, to the left, then this may be a normal setting of the power steering. For safety reasons, car manufacturers provide for the car to smoothly move away from oncoming traffic if you suddenly fall asleep or feel ill. But such a deviation is not clearly expressed, and, moreover, does not appear immediately. Actually, breakdowns of the power steering, and especially the electric power steering, as well as other steering elements, can cause the car to deviate from a straight line when you have poor control of the steering wheel.

Chassis and suspension malfunctions

When mechanical problems occur, the car pulls to the side much more than from the difference in tire pressure or different tread heights. The following faults cause the vehicle to be driven away:

Worn tie rod ends. The ball pin does not turn well in the hinge, and sometimes it simply jams. A clear sign is that the steering wheel does not return to its original position on its own, the car continues to move in an arc.
One of the steering rods was bent as a result of the impact and became several millimeters shorter. The toe angle of the front wheels is disrupted, tire wear on the affected side is accelerated, and the car is driven in the appropriate direction.
The ball joint is stuck. The pin rotates around its own axis with great difficulty and does not allow the wheels to turn freely. At the last stage of wear, the hinge emits a loud creaking sound - a harbinger of final failure.
The separator of one of the wheel bearings is destroyed. The balls scattered and ground into metal shavings, blocking the rotation of the hub. The car pulls towards the jammed wheel.
After repairing the suspension, the alignment procedure was performed incorrectly or not done at all.

Advice. Not all reasons for a vehicle's deviation from a straight line are so critical. More prosaic moments also happen, for example, the bolts holding the hub have come loose. Hence the recommendation: before troubleshooting, check the reliability of the threaded connections of the suspension, chassis and steering rods.

How to diagnose these faults in a garage environment:

Drive the car into an inspection ditch and check the steering rod ball pins. You need to grab the rod with your hand and try to rotate it around its axis. A serviceable hinge will allow it to rotate with little tension, a loose one will allow it to rotate very easily, and a jammed one will not allow it to rotate at all.
The bent rod is also easy to notice from the inspection hole. The part must be replaced immediately, you can drive further only after adjusting the camber.
To check the rotation of the ball joint, it is advisable to hang the front of the car and turn the wheels manually. Option two: diagnose play by alternately rocking the wheels.
Wear and destruction of the bearing does not occur silently - the phenomenon is accompanied by a hum and grinding noise while the vehicle is moving. To check for damage, hang the wheel from the “noisy” side and spin it by hand. A broken bearing will immediately stop rotating or start grinding.

The bearing, which is in the initial stages of wear, moves the machine off the trajectory slightly. It is easier to guess about a malfunction by the buzzing sound. The damaged element is replaced immediately at the nearest car service center or on your own. If after replacement the car continues to deviate from a straight line, look for a breakdown elsewhere.

You can replace the rods and steering ends yourself (you will need a special puller), but you cannot drive further without adjusting the toe on the stand. By squeezing out the ball pins or unscrewing the tips, you will inevitably break the old settings.

Do-it-yourself diagnostics

If you notice even the slightest skidding while driving, you should first carefully inspect all the wheels. To check, you will need an inspection hole, a lift or jack, a level and a pressure gauge. It is advisable to carry out such work together.

To determine the reason for the car moving to the side, as a rule, you need to perform the following steps:

Conduct a wheel alignment study. This can be done when coasting on smooth asphalt without holding the steering wheel.
Check the steering. To do this, raise the front of the car. One person should hold the steering wheel firmly, and the other should rock the wheel left and right. The problem will manifest itself as the presence of backlash.
Inspect the wheels. Here you need to inspect the treads from different angles for wear, the presence of bumps, and cracks. Inspect the discs to identify dents and other damage. Lift each wheel and spin it. Normally there should be no beats or figure eights.
Inspect the chassis. Particular attention should be paid to shock absorbers and springs. To do this, press each wing in turn, which should smoothly return to its place. Check the play of the moving joints. Examine the suspension for creaks, knocks and other unusual noises.
Check the brakes. Here you should focus on the level of the working fluid, study the degree of wear of the pads, disc, and caliper guides.
Study the operation of hubs and brakes. To do this, in neutral gear you need to spin the suspended wheels manually. They should rotate freely, equally, without noise or play.

Such actions make it possible to identify the initial reasons for the car pulling to the right while driving.

Brake problems

Problems with brake mechanisms appear both after pressing the pedal and while driving. The reasons are as follows:

complete failure of one of the working cylinders, including on the rear axle;
jamming of the working cylinder piston in various positions;
fluid leakage from the brake circuit tube;
failure of the hydraulic valve of the anti-lock braking system.

When the working cylinder on one of the front wheels fails, the car literally rolls away after sharply pressing the brake. If the car pulls to the left, it means the right cylinder is not functioning and vice versa. When the brake cylinder of the rear axle fails, the car does not pull away so clearly. The easiest way to find the “culprit” is by leaking brake fluid, inspecting each hub from an inspection ditch or simply looking under the car.

On cars with high mileage and worn calipers, the piston of the working cylinder may become stuck in the position of squeezing the pads. The wheel on the side of the faulty mechanism is continuously braked, and the car constantly moves in the same direction. It is easy to identify a breakdown: after driving 1–2 km, feel all the wheel rims with your hand. The “culprit” will be revealed by the heated rim.

If the piston of the working cylinder is frozen in a free position, then the vehicle will drift during the braking process - the car will drift in the direction opposite to the non-working mechanism. To finally make sure that the element is broken, hang the wheel from the suspicious side and try to spin it with the brake pedal pressed.

Diagnosing anti-lock braking system (ABS) problems in a garage environment is difficult. If fluid does not pass through one of the valves, you will have to disassemble the calipers and make sure that the cylinders are functioning normally. It’s easier to go to the nearest car service center, where technicians will check the brakes using specialized equipment.

Pulls when braking

Separately, I would like to consider the situation when the steering wheel begins to pull strongly when braking, pressing the brake pedal.

This mainly happens if the brake pads are stuck. It's not difficult to check. You need to drive about 15 kilometers in quiet city mode without overloading the brakes. Then stop, get out of the car, and pour a small amount of water on the brakes. Approximately in the caliper area. If the brakes are hot and evaporation begins, the cause has been found.

Led the body/frame

If you feel that your car is constantly moving at an angle (not straight), and it has recently been in an accident, then the likely cause of this car movement is incorrect body/frame geometry. The fact is that even in the case of minor accidents, the geometry of the body or frame can seriously change. For example, body parts can, when deformed, simply bend and even twist.

In order to understand this, it is better for you to contact a tinsmith at a car service center, where they will quickly determine the geometry of the body or frame.

Remember, only a professional can really determine that the body of your car has moved.

Prevention

To prevent unpleasant situations, you should constantly monitor the technical condition of the car. Particular attention should be paid to the elements of the suspension and chassis. When repairing the brake system and steering, you need to use only new consumables. Even after the slightest accident, it is important to check the wheel alignment. In addition, it is recommended to replace all symmetrical parts only in pairs. Also, you should not use expired tires, regardless of their condition.

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When a car does not “listen to the steering wheel,” operating it is quite dangerous. Not every driver can control a vehicle while driving, so it can become a terrible murder weapon. When the first signs of a problem appear, adequate measures must be taken immediately.

Video: Steering Wheel Pulls Left or Right - 5 Possible Reasons

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I’ll say right away that there shouldn’t be any play there. Even the traffic regulations stipulate that operating a vehicle where there is play of certain values in the steering wheel is not allowed.

The maximum permissible backlash is 10 degrees. But even with such a deviation from the norm, the car will probably begin to pull to the side. If the backlash is more than 10 degrees, the machine with such a malfunction is considered unsuitable for use.

But it may also happen that after replacing the tires or after a wheel alignment, nothing changes. Here it is better to turn to professionals for help.

Why does the steering wheel pull to the side when coasting or accelerating:

Uneven tire pressure is the first thing to check, because it is the difference in pressure in the front wheels that most often leads to steering wheel pull when driving, is the easiest to diagnose and no less easy to correct, and is also the most common cause of this symptom. Just check the pressure in the tires of your car and, if they are different, pump them up and make them the same on both tires of one (front, obviously) axle of the car. The pressure on the side where the car is leading should be less than on the other side - only in this case this is the reason. After pumping, drive again in different conditions, on different roads and at different speeds to make sure that the symptom disappears. If you don’t know what pressure should be in the wheels of your car, you can find out in one of our tables by selecting your car brand.

Uneven tire wear - this is most often inextricably linked with the first reason - different tire pressures, because it is incorrect pressure that leads to excessive tire wear, and if this pressure is different in different wheels, then their tires will also wear out at different rates. However, this problem is often discovered after a seasonal change of tires from winter to summer or, conversely, simply after installing other (not new) tires on the car. In this case, you may simply not take into account which side and on which axle this or that tire was installed on the previous car (in the case of, for example, purchasing used tires) or on your car last season

For example, on front-wheel drive cars, the front tires wear out a little faster than the rear, and therefore, if you put the rear tire forward on only one side of the car next season, the steering wheel will most likely pull in the direction opposite to where the less worn tire is located. rubber. Therefore, it is very important when changing tires to always mark the tires or wheels that you are removing and storing with chalk or even more abrasion-resistant materials, where which wheel was on the car before removal from it. But you shouldn’t think that the problem can only arise if you use used tires - there are cases (although far from frequent) when new tires (especially if they are cheap and of a little-known brand) lead to the steering wheel starting to pull. To best establish this exact reason that the steering wheel is pulling to the left or right, swap the front wheels of the car (namely wheels, not tires)..

Of course, after you check the pressure in both. If this is the reason, then the steering wheel will begin to pull in the other direction and even with the same force as before (of course, if there are no other reasons). Obviously, to correct a malfunction due to differences in tire wear, you just need to swap the wheels on one side of the car - put the rear one forward, the front one back. If this does not help, then try to do a similar procedure on the other side of the car.

Broken wheel camber/alignment - this reason certainly leads to the fact that the car pulls to the right or left. Wheel alignment/camber needs to be checked if both of the above methods fail. To identify and eliminate this malfunction, it is necessary to check and adjust the wheel alignment angles - this can only be done by a specialist... of course, if you are not this specialist yourself, but in this case you would not have read this article.

Steering components are poorly tightened - it happens that the reason that the steering wheel pulls to the side may be the negligence of the specialists who repaired certain steering elements, or simply loose components. To establish this, it is also necessary to carry out diagnostics from specialists - check the steering rods and steering rack.

Tire condition

A common occurrence is various tire defects. So, on cars (including new ones), the tire wears unevenly. Therefore, the steering mechanism is unstable.

Also, during the operation of the car, deformations of the metal frame of the tires are possible when driving on bad roads with low pressure. In this case, there will be no characteristic beating in the steering wheel. But the car’s drift off course appears immediately.

There are also situations when a narrow part of the cord layer in a tire breaks. Most often, such ruptures occur when the car is driven on uneven roads with low tire pressure. The result is the formation of a thin strip opposite the bead of the disk inside or outside the tire.

But naturally, if the wear of the rubber is large, a simple rearrangement will not be enough for a long time, and after a while the situation may repeat itself or the rubber will wear out completely.

Changing the axis angle

This is not the most common reason that leads to a car starting to pull to the side on the road. But nevertheless, this also happens. This occurs when the differential gears wear out. In this case, the distribution of torque in the car becomes ineffective. That is, incorrect. This problem is usually accompanied by metallic noise. You should also smell burnt transmission oil.

Why does the steering wheel pull to the side when coasting or accelerating?

Uneven tire pressure is the first thing that needs to be checked, because it is the difference in pressure in the front wheels that most often leads to steering wheel pull when driving, is the easiest to diagnose and no less easy to correct. Just check the pressure in the tires of your car and, if they are different, pump them up and make them the same on both tires of one (front, obviously) axle of the car. The pressure on the side where the car is leading must be less than on the other side - only in this case this is the reason. After pumping, drive again in different conditions, on different roads and at different speeds to make sure that the symptom disappears.

Uneven tire wear is often inextricably linked to the first reason - different tire pressures. However, this problem is often discovered after a seasonal change of tires from winter to summer or, conversely, simply after installing other (not new) tires on the car. In this case, you may not take into account which side and on which axle a particular tire was installed on the previous car (in the case of, for example, purchasing used tires) or on your car last season. For example, on front-wheel drive cars, the front tires wear out a little faster than the rear, and therefore, if you put the rear tire forward on only one side of the car next season, the steering wheel will most likely pull in the direction opposite to where the less worn tire is located. rubber

Therefore, it is very important when changing tires to always mark the tires or wheels that you are removing and storing with chalk or even more abrasion-resistant materials, where which wheel was on the car before removal from it. But you don’t need to think that the problem can only arise if you use used tires - there are cases (although far from frequent) when new tires (especially if they are cheap and of a little-known brand) lead to the steering wheel starting to pull

To determine exactly this reason, swap the front wheels of the car (namely wheels, not tires) ... of course, after checking the pressure in both. If this is the reason, then the steering wheel will begin to pull in the other direction and even with the same force as before (of course, if there are no other reasons). Obviously, to correct a malfunction due to differences in tire wear, you just need to swap the wheels on one side of the car - put the rear one forward, the front one back. If this does not help, then try to do a similar procedure on the other side of the car.

Broken wheel alignment leads to the car pulling to the right or left. Wheel alignment/camber needs to be checked if both of the above methods fail. To identify and eliminate this malfunction, it is necessary to check and adjust the wheel alignment angles - this can only be done by a specialist.

Steering components are poorly tightened - it happens that the cause may be the negligence of the specialists who repaired certain steering elements, or simply loose components. To establish this, it is also necessary to carry out diagnostics from specialists - check the steering rods and steering rack.

Why are installation angles disrupted during operation?

Probably every car owner has noticed that over time the car changes its behavior. So, even if the car did not get into an accident, if the owner drove very carefully, then sooner or later the car will begin to move away from straight-line motion.

This happens due to subsidence of elastic parts in the suspension mechanism. These are springs, rubber bands, body parts. Also, over time, gaps appear and accumulate in the hinge joints in the suspension. When these gaps add up, a quite noticeable change in angles is formed.

The angle also changes due to the aging of the car body. He experiences bending and torque. This leads to the fact that the geometry gradually changes, and the wheel alignment angles increase. As a result, the car pulls to the left or right while driving.