What happens when you have poor wheel alignment?
Driving with poor alignment may force you to purchase new tires sooner than expected, increase fuel intake, and may require costly repairs to the suspension system. Plus, driving at high speeds with poor alignment can affect your ability to steer, placing your safety at risk.
When do you need a 4 wheel alignment?
A 4-wheel alignment is usually only performed on vehicles with four wheel independent suspension systems. The technician will adjust all four wheels however, the adjustment varies from front to rear.
How do you know if your car needs an alignment?
So, the best way to know if your car needs an alignment is to take it to a reputable car repair facility. Here are 10 of the most common misconceptions about alignment we hear regularly: Wheel alignment falls under the repair category, not scheduled maintenance.
Can a pothole affect the alignment of a car?
2: Hitting a pothole will knock the alignment out of balance. Only major damage can affect your car’s alignment—an accident or other incident strong enough to bend steel—which is why an average pothole, or even hitting the curb, isn’t always serious enough to require an alignment.
What happens when rear wheels are not aligned?
If a repair shop’s alignment equipment says the rear wheels are already aligned, a thrust-angle alignment uses the rear wheels to align the fronts. If the rears aren’t aligned, a four-wheel service is needed.
What should I check before doing wheel alignment?
The front end and steering linkage should be checked for wear before performing an alignment. The tires should all be in good shape with even wear patterns.
What happens if you hit a car at wheel?
Without car in hand it’s near impossible to say but with an impact like this suspension, subframe, and floor pan problems are always a possibility. Other than the obvious control arm, strut, sway bar, wheel hub issues the subframe, strut tower, etc. should also be suspect.
Do you need a 4 wheel alignment if your car is thrust angle?
If the rears aren’t aligned, a four-wheel service is needed. But while four-wheel alignments are more expensive than the thrust-angle version, there’s nothing “premium” about it. So beware the mechanic who tries to sell you on a four-wheel alignment as soon as you bring your car in.