Subject: [Shop-talk] Car pulls left

From: Jim Franklin <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2022 09:33:34 -0400

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With a bunch of car folks here maybe someone has some insight? I am =
pulling (what's left of) my hair out.

I bought a 2013 Mazda3 in January after an exhaustive search for a wagon =
with a stick. With only 55k miles, I justified the hugely inflated price =
tag. During the test drive I noticed a shake in the front end as well as =
a pull to the left.=20

Fast forward: The dealer aligned it 3 times, rebalanced wheels twice, =
and then a local shop checked and said the alignment was in spec. The =
local shop swapped front tires L-R and the pull completely went away but =
the shake didn't (shop said rims were bent).=20

Because the shake would come and go as I took long but gently sweeping =
curves, I figured the tires were both faulty and the faults were going =
in and out of phase as I traversed the curve. I bought bew tires =
(Michelin Pilot A/S 4) and the pull came back strongly. Local shop again =
swapped front tires L-R and the pull is greatly reduced but still there. =
Shake is gone until 85mph.=20

I find steering pull to be very distracting unless there's a reason for =
it (road crown etc). On a flat road I need it to not pull. Tire =
pressures are fine, brakes aren't dragging. Could my car just be super =
sensitive to imperfect alignments? Could there be a bent suspension item =
that wouldn't show up in an alignment (the bent rims suggest a few good =
hits). Is my local shop just too lazy to make adjustments to what might =
be very generous manufacturer's tolerance numbers? I've attached the =
alignment printout.

I'm ready to ditch this car and buy almost anything else just so it =
won't pull. It's like an itch on my back I can't scratch.=20

thanks,
jim

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<html><head><meta http-equiv=3D"Content-Type" content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Dus-ascii"></head><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; =
-webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;">With a bunch =
of car folks here maybe someone has some insight? I am pulling (what's =
left of) my hair out.<div class=3D""><br class=3D""></div><div =
class=3D"">I bought a 2013 Mazda3 in January after an exhaustive search =
for a wagon with a stick. With only 55k miles, I justified the hugely =
inflated price tag. During the test drive I noticed a shake in the front =
end as well as a pull to the left.&nbsp;</div><div class=3D""><br =
class=3D""></div><div class=3D"">Fast forward: The dealer aligned it 3 =
times, rebalanced wheels twice, and then a local shop checked and said =
the alignment was in spec. The local shop swapped front tires L-R and =
the pull completely went away but the shake didn't (shop said rims were =
bent).&nbsp;</div><div class=3D""><br class=3D""></div><div =
class=3D"">Because the shake would come and go as I took long but gently =
sweeping curves, I figured the tires were both faulty and the faults =
were going in and out of phase as I traversed the curve. I bought bew =
tires (Michelin Pilot A/S 4) and the pull came back strongly. Local shop =
again swapped front tires L-R and the pull is greatly reduced but still =
there. Shake is gone until 85mph.&nbsp;</div><div class=3D""><br =
class=3D""></div><div class=3D"">I find steering pull to be very =
distracting unless there's a reason for it (road crown etc). On a flat =
road I need it to not pull. Tire pressures are fine, brakes aren't =
dragging. Could my car just be super sensitive to imperfect alignments? =
Could there be a bent suspension item that wouldn't show up in an =
alignment (the bent rims suggest a few good hits). Is my local shop just =
too lazy to make adjustments to what might be very generous =
manufacturer's tolerance numbers? I've attached the alignment =
printout.</div><div class=3D""><br class=3D""></div><div class=3D"">I'm =
ready to ditch this car and buy almost anything else just so it won't =
pull. It's like an itch on my back I can't scratch.&nbsp;</div><div =
class=3D""><br class=3D""></div><div class=3D"">thanks,</div><div =
class=3D"">jim</div><div class=3D""><br class=3D""></div><div =
class=3D""><img apple-inline=3D"yes" =
id=3D"D64D0DA5-BD20-4374-B25A-2B8663D622A9" =
src=3D"cid:[email-masked]" =
class=3D""></div></body></html>=

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Content-Id: <[email-masked]>

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