Bad wheel alignment in your car can be extremely detrimental to the vehicle. It can cause your tires to wear out a lot faster and make it difficult to steer, which can result in safety hazards as well. Because of this, it is important that you know how to tell if your car is out of alignment on your own. You don’t want to have to exclusively rely on your auto repair shop to tell you when you bring in your car for any other service. Take a look at these signs of bad wheel alignment and how to avoid messing it up yourself!
Signs of Bad Alignment
First off, let’s talk about how your wheels get misaligned in the first place. There are many random ways that this can happen but the two main causes are potholes and hitting curbs while driving. You might not notice any obvious signs of bad alignment right about so if you do hit a pothole or curb, try to pay extra attention to how your car is operating for at least a month.
There are a few ways you can tell if your car’s wheels are misaligned. The first sign of bad wheel alignment is if your car pulls to one side more than it should. You can test this by finding a safe and straight road to drive on and slightly taking your hands off the wheel. Fairly quickly, you would notice the car pulling to either the left or the right. Along with that, the wheel not being centered as it should be is another indicator. These are perhaps the first signs of bad wheel alignment. The more serious ones would likely come later on.
Additionally, if you are steering any other way than straight ahead, you may notice that the steering wheel vibrates or shakes. This may make driving uncomfortable or make it difficult to keep a safe grip on the wheel.
As for the wheels, there are three specific signs that you need a front end alignment. The first would be that both of your wheels are being worn down at a much faster rate. The second would be that one of the wheels is significantly more worn down than the other. The third is a loud squeaking sound coming from the wheels when you turn or accelerate.
What To Do When You Notice These Signs Of Bad Wheel Alignment
If left unfixed, your misaligned wheels will only get worse. In order to avoid heavier and heavier repair costs and even permanently damaging your well-earned vehicle, you should bring your car into the shop as soon as you notice these signs of bad alignment. Our team at Osborn’s Automotive is more than qualified to fix your wheel alignment. We get the job done fast so that you can get back to your life. Call our office today at (310) 400-5924 or text us at (310) 421-4894 to schedule your service or get a free price quote!