2001 civic pulls to the left
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2001 civic pulls to the left
Greetings All,
I just bought a 2001 Civic LX, c. 40,000 miles. When I took the car for a test drive it was on local streets and I never worked up any speed. On the highway, though, say at 40-45 mph and above, the car drifts to the left.
I line it up on a straightaway and release the wheel: 1 second, 2 seconds . . . and there she goes, gradually moving left. I've done this on several different highways.
Maybe this will help:
When I bought the car a very experienced mechanic checked it out and saw no leaks underneath. He said I should get an alignment and I did. Also rotated the tires. After 4 days I took the car back for a second alignment. The left drift continues. The tire pressure is OK. I checked it. The car does not bounce, or bottom, or sway, or dip, although the ride is hard with the tires at 30lbs. The steering is good.
Could somebody tell me step by step how to proceed? I'll do whatever is necessary to get rid of the drift, but naturally I don't want to spend more that I have to.
Thanks in advance.
I just bought a 2001 Civic LX, c. 40,000 miles. When I took the car for a test drive it was on local streets and I never worked up any speed. On the highway, though, say at 40-45 mph and above, the car drifts to the left.
I line it up on a straightaway and release the wheel: 1 second, 2 seconds . . . and there she goes, gradually moving left. I've done this on several different highways.
Maybe this will help:
When I bought the car a very experienced mechanic checked it out and saw no leaks underneath. He said I should get an alignment and I did. Also rotated the tires. After 4 days I took the car back for a second alignment. The left drift continues. The tire pressure is OK. I checked it. The car does not bounce, or bottom, or sway, or dip, although the ride is hard with the tires at 30lbs. The steering is good.
Could somebody tell me step by step how to proceed? I'll do whatever is necessary to get rid of the drift, but naturally I don't want to spend more that I have to.
Thanks in advance.
Drunken Master-7thgen Ninja
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how bout you balance the tires and realize that wind will make your car go left or right. tire pressure ok? is it even on all 4 sides of the car? thats the big one. either pressure or balance
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Rep Power: 812 you need to get an alignment from a shop that specializes in it. the other place prolly did a crap job. pulling left or right is an alignment issue.
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Rep Power: 812 cool. yea i'm going in for alignment tomorrow. usually once a year is standard especially with bumpy roads. now if your wheel shakes at a certain speed, its a balance issue. And actually alot of places like sams club do not know how to balance a tire. they'll charge you but won't do anything.
Drunken Master-7thgen Ninja
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Originally Posted by gearbox
cool. yea i'm going in for alignment tomorrow. usually once a year is standard especially with bumpy roads. now if your wheel shakes at a certain speed, its a balance issue. And actually alot of places like sams club do not know how to balance a tire. they'll charge you but won't do anything.
so they are not bad. scince sams is walmart- they should know
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 nope. they did mine and still vibration. took it to pro place and they said nothing was done. so they wrote me a note, i went back to sams and got my $ back yeling at manager.
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Rep Power: 0 I didn't have time to wait around at the shop today, but I had the last two alignments (both in the same week) done at a Mavis Tire dealership. You'd THINK they would know how to get an alignment right.
I have no shaking at any speed. All four tires are inflated exactly at 30 lbs. Mavis was very accommodating today and said I should bring it in again and they would look at it. I also told the manager that I didn't want to take it to a front end specialist because . . . and then he laughed and completed my sentence: because they'll sell you everything they can think of.
I have no humming or whirring up front which might indicate a worn wheel hub bearing. I'm just plain stumped. But, if you think I should have the tires balanced anyway, I'll do it. It's not going to cost an arm and a leg, so why not?
I also asked about "torque steer," but that was described to me as a much more pronounced problem and more often found when there is a lot of horsepower involved. Not the case in a civic lx.
I have no shaking at any speed. All four tires are inflated exactly at 30 lbs. Mavis was very accommodating today and said I should bring it in again and they would look at it. I also told the manager that I didn't want to take it to a front end specialist because . . . and then he laughed and completed my sentence: because they'll sell you everything they can think of.
I have no humming or whirring up front which might indicate a worn wheel hub bearing. I'm just plain stumped. But, if you think I should have the tires balanced anyway, I'll do it. It's not going to cost an arm and a leg, so why not?
I also asked about "torque steer," but that was described to me as a much more pronounced problem and more often found when there is a lot of horsepower involved. Not the case in a civic lx.
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Originally Posted by Waschbaer
Greetings All,
I just bought a 2001 Civic LX, c. 40,000 miles. When I took the car for a test drive it was on local streets and I never worked up any speed. On the highway, though, say at 40-45 mph and above, the car drifts to the left.
I line it up on a straightaway and release the wheel: 1 second, 2 seconds . . . and there she goes, gradually moving left. I've done this on several different highways.
Maybe this will help:
When I bought the car a very experienced mechanic checked it out and saw no leaks underneath. He said I should get an alignment and I did. Also rotated the tires. After 4 days I took the car back for a second alignment. The left drift continues. The tire pressure is OK. I checked it. The car does not bounce, or bottom, or sway, or dip, although the ride is hard with the tires at 30lbs. The steering is good.
Could somebody tell me step by step how to proceed? I'll do whatever is necessary to get rid of the drift, but naturally I don't want to spend more that I have to.
Thanks in advance.
I just bought a 2001 Civic LX, c. 40,000 miles. When I took the car for a test drive it was on local streets and I never worked up any speed. On the highway, though, say at 40-45 mph and above, the car drifts to the left.
I line it up on a straightaway and release the wheel: 1 second, 2 seconds . . . and there she goes, gradually moving left. I've done this on several different highways.
Maybe this will help:
When I bought the car a very experienced mechanic checked it out and saw no leaks underneath. He said I should get an alignment and I did. Also rotated the tires. After 4 days I took the car back for a second alignment. The left drift continues. The tire pressure is OK. I checked it. The car does not bounce, or bottom, or sway, or dip, although the ride is hard with the tires at 30lbs. The steering is good.
Could somebody tell me step by step how to proceed? I'll do whatever is necessary to get rid of the drift, but naturally I don't want to spend more that I have to.
Thanks in advance.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 They did mine today and $100 later, I still had great alignment (all green). What they ended up doing was moving the two worst tires to the rear and re-balancing them with gram weight. I suspect that the weights fell off driving to chicago on sucky roads. Well everything is fine now no vibration or pull.
Crayons taste like purple...
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From: Orlando by way of Altoona, PA!!!
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Originally Posted by gearbox
They did mine today and $100 later, I still had great alignment (all green). What they ended up doing was moving the two worst tires to the rear and re-balancing them with gram weight. I suspect that the weights fell off driving to chicago on sucky roads. Well everything is fine now no vibration or pull.
lol gram weights...welcome to Europe.....
anyways what lane were you in? anyone notice the tires might have bad belts? inspect rims for damage? bad arms, steering, loose axle or hub?
torque steer doesn't always happen on high torque or hp engines...g/f toyota has a damaged mount somewhere and acceleartion causes the steering to shift..
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 they said it was mostly the tires starting to wear but they're only 20k old. and the gram weights are more accurate than ounces. the lane doesn't matter. neither does this cause the problem is fixed.
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First and foremost, thanks for all the responses.
Here's my explanation. The previous owner wore one of the tires down a bit, maybe (plaese!) by not rotating them regularly. At some time before the car was sold to me, however, the tires WERE rotated, with the one slightly worn tire winding up somewhere in the back.
When I bought the car and had the alignment done, I also had the tires rotated as a matter of course. And where did that one worn tire wind up after the rotation? On the front left. Yesterday I had the tire shop switch the front left tire with the rear right and the left drifting problem is gone. She tracks straight as can be. Tomorrow I'll have the front wheels balanced since that was so strongly recommended. Then we'll see how they hold up over the next couple thousand miles. Hopefully the problem isn’t something more complicated and this is the end of it.
tfnaaf
“If they did an alignment they should have given you what the alignment was set to in the form of a print out. post the numbers and it will help lots !”
That’s a good thing to know. I’ll make a point of asking for a print-out next time.
Gearbox
“. . . and what would a front-end specialist sell you? new axles?”
Buddy, a front end shop could sell me just about anything from axles to tie rod ends to filet steaks and French fries. Know what I mean? Without a place to get information, like this list, I’m a goner. (very big grin)
Much obliged, folks! With any luck I won’t have to drift back here with the same problem.
Here's my explanation. The previous owner wore one of the tires down a bit, maybe (plaese!) by not rotating them regularly. At some time before the car was sold to me, however, the tires WERE rotated, with the one slightly worn tire winding up somewhere in the back.
When I bought the car and had the alignment done, I also had the tires rotated as a matter of course. And where did that one worn tire wind up after the rotation? On the front left. Yesterday I had the tire shop switch the front left tire with the rear right and the left drifting problem is gone. She tracks straight as can be. Tomorrow I'll have the front wheels balanced since that was so strongly recommended. Then we'll see how they hold up over the next couple thousand miles. Hopefully the problem isn’t something more complicated and this is the end of it.
tfnaaf
“If they did an alignment they should have given you what the alignment was set to in the form of a print out. post the numbers and it will help lots !”
That’s a good thing to know. I’ll make a point of asking for a print-out next time.
Gearbox
“. . . and what would a front-end specialist sell you? new axles?”
Buddy, a front end shop could sell me just about anything from axles to tie rod ends to filet steaks and French fries. Know what I mean? Without a place to get information, like this list, I’m a goner. (very big grin)
Much obliged, folks! With any luck I won’t have to drift back here with the same problem.
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Originally Posted by gearbox
they said it was mostly the tires starting to wear but they're only 20k old. and the gram weights are more accurate than ounces. the lane doesn't matter. neither does this cause the problem is fixed.
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