Wi Acura TL Fan

From the time that my TL was new, it has had a pull to the right. You (safely) take your hands off the steering wheel and the car distinctly starts going to the right. I took the car back to the dealership to have this checked out. They checked the alignment, said it was off slightly so they adjusted it. I get the car back and guess what, no improvement. I set up another appointment. In the mean time, I decided to do a little troubleshooting on my own. I switched the front tires. The car now pulls to the left! Ah hah! I say to myself. The problem is with the tires, not the alignment. So, the car goes back to the dealer today. I told them what I found. I just called them to find out the status of my car expecting them to tell me they replaced front tires. Nope, they rotated the tires (front to rear I'm guessing) and aligned it again. They claim all is good now.

Am I missing something here! How can the tires not be a problem? Anyone else go through this scenario? My belief is that the next time the tires are rotated, I'll have a pull again. Oh, by the way, this car does not even have 1k miles on it yet!!!!!!

Legend75

WOW! I would demand new tires especially for a $35,000 vehicle! Especially since you have gone out of your way more than once and the problem keeps happening! No excuses demand new tires! Or tell them that word of mouth advertising is a great way to have a reputation become negative with people's perceptions of YOUR dealership, and that you sure would hate for that to happen with all the clients and friends you know! That'll teach em!

brucedeb1

You are not alone. I had what I thought was an alignment issue from day one. I had to wait until the dealer got two things though, one a new machine and two the proper settings provided from American Honda for our new car.
After being patient for months, I contacted the dealer to get an update on their receipt of the above items. They had them and I scheduled the service visit. I picked up the car fixed as the "toe" was off. They next day I called them back to tell them it didn't fix the problem. While my car was having the alignment fixed I also had them put the new EL42s on to fix the vibration that my early build had due to the faulty tires. I brought the car back in and they swapped the tires right to left as you had done. The drift changed with the tire swap. They determined that I had defective EL42s on the fronts. I had them replaced and the drift is much better. Though it is still slightly present. I am keeping an eye on the progress and hope that it doesn't get any worse. If it does I will be taking it back in. Bottom line it seems that I had a similar problem as you and suggest you investigate the defective tire angle as your problem too.

pettydw

Tire pull is quite common. I have experieinced it in many brands of tires, so swapping to another brand or tire model may not cure it.

Wi Acura TL Fan

Update...I talked to a local tire store this afternoon and they felt very strongly that it was a defective tire. I am planning to call the dealership tomorrow am and discuss my findings with them. It is irritating to spend this kind of money on a car and have problems.

mason1125

Bruce,
Can you mention which dealer you went to? Thanks!

RunSilent

I had the same problem until I checked the tire inflation. On my car, at least, the pulling was dramatically affected by slight differences in front tire pressures. Suggest you check inflation pressure in each tire and make sure they are the same. Also, if you have 6MT, the recommended inflation is 3 psi higher than for an AT. My dealer hasn't picked up on that yet....... so I get the car back with incorrect inflation in the front.

campIIIMAF

how many miles on your car?

tire wear (camber) could result in a feel of a pull in the opposite direction if switched. Also, make sure your tire PSI is checked with cold tires. I could never understand how a dealer can adjust tires when they take 3 hours to cool down.

In any event, I had a pull problem and found out it was the highway!!!

6spdzoomzoom

I had this issue, until I had the rotors turned. My car no longer pull to the right. I had my rotors turned because when I was breaking at high speeds the car was vibrating. I already had the tires replaced. I'm running Pilot sport A/S

Tuetatesu

Few things... if your area crowns the road at high angels then any properly aligned car will pull to the right because of the slope of the road. Another issue may be the alignment system last used. Speaking from experience... I have a story I'd like to share.

I had a Honda Civic SI and a few months after I bought it I curbed it in a snow storm. It really bent the right front pretty bad. After getting the parts fixed it never felt the same and it did seem to pull to the right until one day I took my car to a very nice shop.

This shop had a laser alignment system. They noticed that the car was out of alignment. Now mind you this was years after I curbed the car, but recently had tires, brakes, and with that alignments done by several shops who used the standard wire or electronic system. The shop where I took the car had the only laser alignement system in the state. I can't remember the exact name of the system but it was something like this...

http://www.rtitech.com/Catalog%20200...0Alignment.htm

After the alignment was done with the laser system it was so incredible! Felt like a race car on a rail. Then later I had my drive axles replaced and a different shop. It to had the basic alignment system again. Guess what... it pulled to the right again and felt horable. So, I took it back to the good shop and wham I was happy again. It was so much smoother.

Anyhow... it does make a big difference where you get your car aligned. Check out what kind of system they use. The shop I took it to is called Park Place LTD in Bellevue WA. and it is a pretty exclusive place thus may be the reason why they had such an alignment system. http://www.parkplaceltd.com/

Oh one more thing... after the great laser alignment the car had much less torque steer as well!

brucedeb1

Ask for Alfred the service advisor and tell him I sent you. If he is off, find out when he is in and only deal with him. He truly is there to help us.
Bruce

eamiller

My 89 Integra has ALWAYS been sensitive to alignment and tire pressures.. In the 9 years I have owned it, I only recently had an alignment that was perfect.. Also, a year afterward, the tires are still wearing evenly and has only a very slight pull (mostly due to the fact that my right front tire loses air a bit faster than the rest)...