Preventative Maintenance – Why is My Car Pulling to the Right?
Wheel alignment at John’s Thistle Auto
It’s no surprise that your vehicle will drive better if all the wheels are pointed in the same direction. That’s called wheel alignment. If your wheels are out of alignment, you may notice that your vehicle pulls to one side or the other.
Something that you won’t notice right away, with unaligned wheels, is that your tires are wearing unevenly and fairly quickly. That’s because when the vehicle is pulling to one side, you have to steer it back straight. The outside of the tire wears quicker because you’re constantly turning. The consistent fighting to keep the vehicle going straight down the road is exhausting on you as well as your tires.
There are many road hazards that can throw out your vehicle’s wheel alignment:
- slamming into a pothole
- smacking a curb
- hitting a large rock
However, it doesn’t have to be a big shock, it can just be the regular bumps and bangs of daily driving that add up and eventually take your vehicle out of alignment. That’s why your owner’s manual and John’s Thistle Auto will suggest having your alignment checked periodically.
With an alignment service at John’s Thistle Auto, we measure each wheel’s alignment to see where they are relative to factory specifications. While we have the vehicle on the alignment rack, we inspect the tires for wear as well as the suspension and steering components for damage or wear. These are other issues that can contribute to alignment problems. Depending on the type of your vehicle, we will either perform a 2-wheel or 4-wheel alignment inspection. Four-wheel drive vehicles may have an additional charge because they can be more difficult to align.
If it’s been a while since you’ve had your wheels aligned, bring your vehicle to John’s Thistle Auto in Ladner for an alignment check.
Call 604-946-6626 or email thistleauto@telus.net or drop by the shop in Ladner at 4892 Elliott Street.
