I have been thinking about buying a TL for some time, and I finally went to test drive one 2 days ago. During the test drive, I noticed the car pulled to the right when I let go of the wheel. I decided I wanted the car though, and the dealer said the problem would be fixed when I came back to pick it up a day later. So I came back the next day and the dealer said they tried to rotate the tires to fix the problem (not sure why they thought this was a good idea) but that didn't help, and so they did a front end allignment and he said this did fix the problem. But when I took the car for a 2nd test drive, it did the same thing. I wound up buying the car anyway, because I drove pretty far to pick up the car and I had my mind set on taking it home. The dealer assured me they would fix this whenever I wanted to bring it back. Any ideas on what could cause this and why the dealer didn't do a good job of fixing it the first time around? Thanks for any feedback. I want my experience with my new TL to be a good one, but it's not starting out so great. They also put some scratches in the lug holes on the wheels from the air wrench. That's just plain carelessness. Thanks everyone.

 

is that car A-Spec? If it is, then it's the problem with standard fitment of the A-Spec steerng wheel. It has to be manually adjusted.

If it's NOT A-Spec, then I don't know. Sorry

 

You're saying the steering wheel was put on the splines crooked and therefore the car pulls to the right? That makes no sense. The suspension doesn't "know" how the steering wheel is installed, and it has no effect on pulling to the right or left.

The problem could be alignment (camber, possibly, but NOT front toe-in, as that would only affect the steering wheel, and things like tendency to wander or self-center, but not pulling to the right or left). It could also be the tires themselves, which is why the dealer rotated them. If the tread or possibly belts aren't aligned correctly on the tire, the tire can pull, and it can't be fixed without replacing the tire. If the dealer rotated the tires left to right (changing sides on the car) and the pull didn't change to a pull to the left, then it probably isn't the tires, and it's alignment.

It could be an alignment spec. that isn't adjustable on the TL, or could be rear alignment. Rear toe-in could even possibly cause it. A shop that knows what it's doing need to look at it. (This may or may not be your dealer).

 

I would never buy a new car with a defect of any sort for any reason.
First off, you do not know if it can be fixed at all, and second, I dont want anyone else working on my cars but me.

Many people think the people working at dealers are experts, and sometimes they are, but many times they are low paid high school drop outs.

At the VW dealers, they were all under 30 years of age, and most looked about 20.

I thought the times when people believed what car salesmen told them was way past....

Brett

 

Correction to my post above: The problem wouldn't be rear toe-in adjustment. If both sides were both off the same direction in the rear, the car would "crab" down the road, but it really wouldn't pull. If they were toed-in or out, there would be tire wear issues, and maybe not optimum handling, but not pulling.

 

I have a feeling they moved the front tires to the rear, but that's just a guess. I noticed small scratches in at least on lug hole on each wheel. If they just moved the front tires left to right, I would think the back wheels wouldn't have any scratches.

I'm not an expert at this stuff, but I'm also thinking that if they moved the tires, and the car still pulls, it has to be some kind of allignment issue. Before I left the dealership, the salesmen told the sales manager about the scratches in the wheels and he said "we'll get a new set of wheels and tires off another TL". Anyone think I should push for this? The scratches are not huge or anything, but when you spend over $35,000 for a new car, I expect it to be closet to perfect.

 

I sometimes feel that my car pulls to the right also. I've noticed it really depends on the road surface that I'm driving on because sometimes I notice it, and other times I let go of the wheels and the car tracks straight.

I'm having my A-Spec suspension installed next week, and I will mention to them that I thought the car was pulling to the right before they do the alignment so they can investigate if anything is off.

 

I've had my new TL for about a week and I've been thinking mine pulls left. The wide front tires on certain road surfaces have so much to do with how the car reacts, i'm not sure there even is a problem. If you really think your car pulls a certain direction, I would push to get the tires and wheels replaced while you have the chance. At least you can rule out the tires, if the pulling does not go away.

Ted

 

Gentlemen, first thing I would do is check the tire pressure. Wait until the car has been sitting for at least three hours and there has been no sun or strong lights around it (a garage or under cover parking is best). Carefully check all four tires.

My front tires were not balance air pressure wise, when I took delivery of my '04 TL. I noticed a slight pull to the left and found that my left front tire was 4 pounds less than my right front tire.

Might be the thing to check first.

 

If they rotated the tires (hopefullly swaped some of them to opposite sides of the car as opposed to just front to back) and verified the alignmet, I think you're fine.

My TL has had a slight inclination to pull since I bought it. I had the alignement checked many times, tires rotated, etc. as a part of normal maintence. Heck, I've even had the problem with a new set of tires that were put on the car. I really wouldn't worry about. I never had any unusal tire wear and the pull was very slight.

Southern Boys tire pressure recommendation is a good one too.

 

I've had my car for a month and I've checked my tire pressure several times just to make sure. Yes, I've done it when their cold. I check them in the morning after car has been sitting in the garage all night long. Thanks for the advice, but I already thought of that and it's not my problem. Good advice though!

 

Who cares what causes the problem since a new car should not be doing this. I know people like to troubleshoot on here and they offer lots of information, but a new car should not be doing this. More sloppy prep or manufacturing...

 

Yeah, then definitely get it back in to have in checked. I tend not to trust dealership service departments all that much. It's been my experience in the past that their "service" leaves a lot to be desired. I would rather find a good shop that I trust to do good work. Fortunately, there's one in my town within walking distance.

That said, since your prior experience with your dealer was not to your satisfaction, take it to a shop to have it checked out. Could be well worth the money spent.

 

I'm having the same problem with my 06 6MT where it pulls to the right under any sort of acceleration. I'm taking it into the dealer on thursday to see if they can fix it. Let me know if you find a solution.

 

Don't discount radial tire pull as the issue. Unless they dismounted the tires and put them on opposing sides of the car (therefore causing the car to pull LEFT) a rotation probably won't fix the problem.

My car pulls right too ever since I installed the Bridgestone RE750s about a year ago. I had it re-aligned several times but it still pulls right. I got used to it, I guess.... waiting for my next set of four tires before I try to work on what the hell's going on again.

 

I just had my Aspec suspension installed yesterday. I did tell the dealer I thought my car was pulling to the right prior (not that it mattered since they were doing an alignment anyways). The dealer told me to check if it pulls during acceleration of just coasting.

I notice that if I'm coasting the car tracks straight and true. If I accelerate if pulls slightly to the right. It's not that big of a deal, so I'm fine with it. Dealer said it's normal for a 6sp-manual to pull slightly to the right under acceleration. If that true or not, I don't know.... either way I don't really care. I'm happy with my car.

 

My car is officially fixed! It feels 100% better, it's a totally different car now. The culprit was a bad tire on the front right wheel. The dealer replaced it under warranty, but It took them two attempts to finally fix the problem...first did an alignment and rebalanced the tires, but that didn't do anything. I've got the stock michelin pilots that come with the Navi equipped cars. Maybe there's a bad batch of them out there.

 

I've had my car a little over a week now, and I noticed that it actually pulls to the right AND to the left. Once it starts tracking one direction, it just keeps going. It just won't run straight on any road. The dealer said they will replace all the tires for me, and this might be done sometime this week. I'll let you know the results. I'm also starting to think the tires are to blame. Plus, I noticed that the steering is pretty heavy on this car, and perhaps the front wheel drive system is partially responsible for the way the car tracks???

 

Huberc, i had the exact same problem with mine about 3 months after I got it. Bad tire and acura replaced it. I have the bridgestone's on mine and got my TL back in Dec. 03. No problems since, but time to get new my first set of new tires so I hope the new ones don't have the same problem again.

 

Took the car back to the dealer this week. They switched the wheels and tires with another new TL/Nav, but the car still drifts left and right. I guess this is just something that I'm going to have to live with. They said the allignment is right. At least I have new wheels with no scratches.

 

I tend to agree (actually more than "tend") with your statement, "..a new car should not be doing this". In 1987, my wife and I ordered a new Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Brougham for her and to use to pull our boat we had at the time. It pulled (don't remember which direction) pretty significantly. Turned out to be a bad tire, also.

Car manufacturers have no control over tires, but you would think that if you took your car in with this problem and they checked out the alignment and it was fine, then the tires would be strongly suspect. If the service department just returns the car and says nothing is wrong with the car, they are not doing their job, nor are they doing you a service.

My TL tracks dead on the money, even with the stock EL42's still on it. I can't stand driving a car that does not track properly.