Rep Power: 0

Hey guys… I drive a ’02 DX Coupe. A few months ago the alignment was fine, and it would track straight on the freeway. I don't remember hitting any potholes or bumps or anything. I got the tires rotated and balanced and then it started pulling to the left about 3 months ago. I got the tires rebalanced, checked the tire pressure, and got them rotated again and it still pulled. I thought maybe switching to my snow tires would help… but now it pulls to the right instead! I even had the snow tires re-balanced, and checked the pressure again… I’m getting tired of fighting it down the freeway! Any suggestions? I can't imagine it needs an alignment since the direction it pulls depends on the tires... but I could be wrong!

 
Rep Power: 812

you need to realign the car whenever tires are changed. the same tires can be rotated and balanced, but if you swap on a newer or different set of tires, you need another alignment. this is because no set of tires is the same. even the same tires can potentially throw the alignment a lil bit when rotated, altho this is rare.

 
Rep Power: 0

Thanks for your help! Is there any chance it could be due to the shocks/struts? I have noticed they've started making some noise especially on cold days... If I'm going to get new shocks/struts, does it matter if I get an alignment before or after?

 
Rep Power: 812

also, you need to get alignment after changing ANY suspension components (ball joints, control arms, tie rods, shocks, some bushings, etc). so yeah wait til you change everything. if your shocks are going bad, the car will be more bouncy when you push down on it or when driving over bumps. it could cause uneven tire wear if shocks are bad, and the tires could then cause pulling issues.