After wheel alignment, still pulls to right? How to test?

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

2016 Acura MDX SH-AWD, 41K miles

Just got new tires so I decided to get the 4wheel alignment done. Took it to a reputable shop which does alignmentment mostly. To my surprise, it only took 20 minutes and I was told that the wheels weren’t off by much and got charged little for it. I remember it took them about an hour for my other car that was older.

So while driving and if I let go the steering, it still pulls to the right slightly. Not sure if it’s caused by the road that may not be completely flat. Is this normal and what’s the sure way to test out if the alignment was done accurately? However, car did pull to the left when I tried on a road that had a slight slope to the left.

2

I think you answered your question and keep your hands on the wheel.

Edit: If you really think you have a problem return to the shop.

3

The slight pull to the right might caused by what is called Road Crown.

Find a flat parking lot and see if the pull is still there when the steering wheel is released.

Tester

1 Like
4

were the old tires worn evenly?
did the acura drive straight with old tires?
did acura drive straight after you got new tires?
did the pull or drift appear after you had it aligned?

5

This could also be caused by tire bias if the pull did not exist before the new tires were installed.

You migh try rotating the 2 fronts from side to side to see if the pull goes away.

As for the alignment, I can’t speak for that without knowing the specs from the printout.

6

Tester showed it perfectly. You’d be surprised how much a car would veer to one side due to the crown in the road. Imperceptible slope would make a car drift quite a bit. Try a road that slopes to the right.

Also, your all-wheel-drive car may not feel as true-tracking as rear-drive cars of the old days. I don’t understand charging less for alignment (heck an alignment is an alignment), but yours being 2016, the tie-rods were probably not so rusted, which allowed making adjustment easier, hence, shorter time in doing the job.

7

Try swapping the front tires side to side.

If the problem is the tires, the pull will reverse itself.

If the problem is alignment (or some other vehicle related problem) the pull will not change.

But if the problem disappears or is substantially different, then both the tires and the vehicle are involved.