New to the forum here so please go easy when popping my cherry folks! I have a 04 TL (AT) w/ 42K and bought it used at 39K. In the 3 months that I've had it I've experienced the familiar pulling to the right issue. I had front vibration issues as well so I decided have an alignment and rotation/balance. That didn't really help so the next chance I got I had another alignment by a different shop (same franchise) done a few weeks later - Expert Tire and done under their alignment warranty.

Didn't really help so I went to the next step - replacing the crappy (and slightly warped) front rotors and pads. Just about all of the vibration is gone but it seems like the "pull to the right" has actually become worse! I didn't replace the two rotor screws on the advice of the many threads I've read on here. Is it going to take the dealer unbolting the subframe to fix this? Try replacing the rotor screws? I did the rotor and brake job and am pretty confident in my handy work. As mentioned I had the tires rotated so that the front went to the back, etc. to rule tire probs out. Tire shop commented that the tires were absolutely fine. Thanks for all of the help and I'm enjoying the great advice out there!

 

They are utilized during assembly to hold the rotor in place, and are not needed to be installed if they are destroyed during rotor removal.

If that’s what the problem is. Measure the distance from the center of the front wheel to the center of the rear wheel on one side, then on the other and compare.

It’s certainly difficult to fix a problem from in front of the computer, but as many items have already been addressed, switch the tires to the opposite side to see if any difference.

Many years ago I had a used car I purchased very cheap that pulled to the right, and no one could find the problem. I measured the distance on both sides, and as the right front wheel was actually back too far, I corrected the distance and no more pull.

 

Well you might want to start with the rims and tires on the pulling issue, if all the rims seem to be in round then you might want to have the tires checked. Try rotating the front tires from side to side to see if the car pulls the other way, if not its probably not a tire issue. A subframe adjustment might help fix this, its probably worth a try!

 

I have an 05 TL that pulls to the left. The dealer has done 2 alignments and now says this is how the TL drives. Has any one had this problem?

 

Go to an independant body shop and have them do a body alignment, they will tell you if the subframe is bent and if it is it'll need to be replaced, and if this is the case you go straight to where you bought the car from and give them all hell. Because the only way the subframe would be bent is if it was in an accident whereby one of the wheels collided with a solid object.

I hit a curb once and I bent my subframe I speak from experience.

 

You can't really measure the subframe with your naked eye or a primitive ruler, because even if the subframe is off just so slightly you will get a pull, you need some good equipment to accurately measure the subframe to the nearst .01 of a millimeter.

 

Is this a pull to the right under braking only, because how I have described it in my other posts, I thought it was a pull to the right as in the car won't track straight.

 

If this is a braking issue you may want to replace the rear rotors and pads. If you get a pull to one side it can be caused by the rear brakes. Since you are going over the entire brake system I would recommend bleeding the system completely with ATE SuperBlue as well. When I had my TL I boiled the fluid a couple times and had air in the lines. Swapped the fluid for the ATE and never had a problem again.


Another thing is your car could be following the grooves in the road made by semi's when they stop. That's if it is indeed a problem you are experiencing while braking. Good luck.

 

I beg to differ with you as you can get a feel for out of tolerance frame alignment with a measuring tape as long as it has 16ths. No on mentioned using the eye or a primitive ruler, but certainly you don't need a laser measurement device to do a check. Have done it many times to see if any problems when installing subframes on F body GM cars. As the FSM denote distance in mm and inches, one can get an idea of a problem with a quick measurement. Gees, people have even used strings to check frame alignment.

We aren't talking about having the car on a rack and pulling the frame back into position!