Hey guys, so I previously posted that i've crashed in the snow, very light crash but lotsa body damage, anyway i went to le shwab yesterday, after an hour of testing, aligning, drive tests, they concluded the alignment is more than perfect, BUT they did notice the pull to the right, strangely it occurs more on lower speeds, so cruising at 25mph it'll go right right away, but 60mph it'll go ever so slowly almost unnoticeable, just today braking for a light, the steering wheel completely turned to the right, but this has happened when i first got it, i think its cuz of the light steering wheel, but its much stronger to the right now, its not just when i brake, just depends on the speed im going, anyone have any idea what could be causing this? :eek.:
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- Thread starter mopixel
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if the alignment is confirmed to be correct then try switching the tires from left to right. also don't assume it can only be the front, it is possible for a rear to cause this as well, so you can try switching both right to left. if a tire is causing the pull this should show it to you.
wouldnt that make it pull right only when the breaks are applied?
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brakes*
---------- Post added at 10:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 AM ----------
if it were the caliper piston wouldnt it only pull when i brake?
---------- Post added at 10:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:53 AM ----------
brakes*
---------- Post added at 10:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 AM ----------
if it were the caliper piston wouldnt it only pull when i brake?
a dragging caliper can cause this even when not braking but this is not likely tbh. sticking yes, where it pulls on initial braking then pulls back, stuff like that, sticking caliper can cause weird stuff but it would have to be really screwed up to pull all the time
so to get this story straight, you had the alignment confirmed by 2 different alignment shops or is it the one only that keeps saying it's ok.
also on the other subject, yes geico does suck, but geico is really not the one fixing the car, they're just the ones paying for it. the responsability still falls with the shop. geico has many faults but this doesn't appear to be one of them.
so to get this story straight, you had the alignment confirmed by 2 different alignment shops or is it the one only that keeps saying it's ok.
also on the other subject, yes geico does suck, but geico is really not the one fixing the car, they're just the ones paying for it. the responsability still falls with the shop. geico has many faults but this doesn't appear to be one of them.
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Turbocad , thats correct, i took it to le shwab, and a tire place , both say the alignment is more than perfect, i looked at the papers myself, so its not the alignment nor the wheels since we switched them, im tempted to take it to the dealership but i leased mine, i dont know if that will void any warranty ;/
wow, sounds like a strange issue then. if all 4 wheels are aligned within spec, and no wheel is binding or dragging, and all 4 wheels are good/true and flat, and the road itself is normal and there are no strange aerodynamics coming into play like say a 4'x8' sheet of plywood hung off one side of the vehicle, then there really should be no way for it to pull...
last thing I can guess at is maybe a damaged rack and pinion. I've seen some that are damaged internally. what happens is the power assist of the fluid pumping is to aid in reducing steering effort, but it's possible for internal damage to cause one side to pressurize while the other leaks pressure internally. this can cause the steering to almost kind of steer on it's own. try hanging the front wheels off the ground facing straight, steering loose enough to turn freely, then start the car and rev it up a bit, if you see the steering trying to turn a bit on it's own then you'll see this, again, not common or likely but not impossible either. I've seen one car bad enough that as soon as you start the car the wheel will just whip to one side by itself but this is very rare... otherwise kind of running out of ideas without seeing it. I might think to try borrowing a complete different set of wheels to try too if I was otherwise stumped at this point...
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also do not be afraid to take it to the dealer. it is not against the lease contract or any laws to have an accident and they can not hold you liable unless the repairs are inadiquate, which also wouldn't fall on you but on the repairer. the only way you could be held somewhat responsible is if you worked a deal with the shop to save deductable or otherwise caused the shop to not be allowed to repair as written by the insurance company, then they could try to shift some blame towards you. otherwise it all falls on the repairer and the insurance company
last thing I can guess at is maybe a damaged rack and pinion. I've seen some that are damaged internally. what happens is the power assist of the fluid pumping is to aid in reducing steering effort, but it's possible for internal damage to cause one side to pressurize while the other leaks pressure internally. this can cause the steering to almost kind of steer on it's own. try hanging the front wheels off the ground facing straight, steering loose enough to turn freely, then start the car and rev it up a bit, if you see the steering trying to turn a bit on it's own then you'll see this, again, not common or likely but not impossible either. I've seen one car bad enough that as soon as you start the car the wheel will just whip to one side by itself but this is very rare... otherwise kind of running out of ideas without seeing it. I might think to try borrowing a complete different set of wheels to try too if I was otherwise stumped at this point...
---------- Post added at 03:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:33 PM ----------
also do not be afraid to take it to the dealer. it is not against the lease contract or any laws to have an accident and they can not hold you liable unless the repairs are inadiquate, which also wouldn't fall on you but on the repairer. the only way you could be held somewhat responsible is if you worked a deal with the shop to save deductable or otherwise caused the shop to not be allowed to repair as written by the insurance company, then they could try to shift some blame towards you. otherwise it all falls on the repairer and the insurance company
Turbocad thank you for all your advice and taking the time to think about it, im as stumped as you are, even the guys at le schwab were stumped, but no i didnt make any deal i payed the deductable and that was it, if thats the case then i will take the car to the dealership and have them figure it out and have geico pay for it i guess, I might just go back to the shop that fixed it and tell the manager off because his dumb ass had the nerve to tell me " maybe your not use to driving it " (@K#($K#@$ im glad i was at work else i would of told him off and he can put his management certificate where the sun dont shine, but yeah i will keep you guys posted on this, i hope no one else encounters this problem ;/
good luck with it man. one issue you may encounter is that geico will not want to pay the dealers labor rate leaving you holding the bag for the difference between what they allow and what the dealer will charge per hour. might be something to ask the claim rep about beforehand, I've seen stuff like this get a little sticky and it might wind up costing you a little in the end but there has to be a solution to this problem one way or the other... good luck with it 