7 Signs Your Car Needs an Alignment

DETAIL

On a flat, level road with no camber slope, a properly aligned vehicle should track straight. If you have to apply constant steering correction, alignment is the most likely cause. Test on a private flat road, briefly reduce grip on the wheel, watch which way the car drifts. A persistent left or right drift on flat surface is the giveaway.

LIKELY ANGLE

Camber or unequal caster

COST OF DELAY

Adds 25 to 50 percent to tire wear rate. A $700 set of tires can lose 15,000 miles of life over a year of driving with a noticeable pull.

DETAIL

Misaligned tires scrub at an angle instead of rolling cleanly, producing distinctive wear patterns. Toe error makes the tread feathered: smooth one direction, ribbed the other when you run a hand across it. Camber error wears the inner or outer shoulder fast while the centre stays normal. Inner-edge wear on the front is the most common pattern and the easiest to miss because you have to crouch to see it.

LIKELY ANGLE

Toe (feathered) or camber (one shoulder)

COST OF DELAY

Once a tire is feathered, the wear pattern is permanent. The tire is on a compressed lifespan curve from that point forward. Schedule alignment immediately and rotate to even out remaining tread.

DETAIL

If the steering wheel logo or spokes sit visibly tilted while the car tracks straight, the front toe is out. Often happens after a hard impact to one wheel, after a tie rod is replaced, or after a previous alignment was done sloppily. Not necessarily dangerous on its own, but a clear marker that the geometry is off and tire wear is being accelerated.

LIKELY ANGLE

Toe imbalance, left vs right

COST OF DELAY

30 days is fine; 6 months will start to show in tire wear. Many shops will recentre the wheel as part of any 4-wheel alignment.

DETAIL

If the steering does not self-centre cleanly after a turn, or you feel the car wandering on a straight road and constantly adjusting, caster is too low or steering components are worn. Both reduce the car's natural straight-line stability. Worth a check that includes a suspension inspection, not just an alignment.

LIKELY ANGLE

Caster, or worn tie rod / ball joint

COST OF DELAY

Schedule within 30 days. If the cause is a worn tie rod or ball joint, delaying turns into a parts plus alignment job rather than just an alignment.

DETAIL

A squeal during low-speed cornering, especially in parking lots, often means front toe is significantly out of spec. The two front tires are scrubbing against each other through the corner. Not a safety issue at low speed but a clear toe-error tell.

LIKELY ANGLE

Excess toe, both wheels fighting each other

COST OF DELAY

Schedule within 30 days. Toe error this far out is wearing tires fast, not just embarrassing in parking lots.

DETAIL

Vibration that appears at one speed and disappears above or below it is almost always a balance problem, not alignment. Vibration that worsens with speed and stays bad above 50 mph is also balance. Alignment can produce a steady vibration that does not vary with speed, but balance is the much more common cause.

LIKELY ANGLE

Usually balance, sometimes alignment

COST OF DELAY

If a rebalance fixes it, you saved an alignment trip. Get the tires balanced first.

DETAIL

Any hard impact to a wheel can knock alignment out instantly. If the impact was bad enough to feel through the steering wheel, schedule an alignment check before the next long drive. Some impacts also bend a control arm or tie rod, which the shop will catch on inspection.

LIKELY ANGLE

Could be any of toe, camber, caster

COST OF DELAY

Drive on it for two months and the tires will already show inner-edge wear. Drive on it for a year and it is a tire replacement.