Pulling to the left with perfect alignment specs

[fredjan]

Hi,

I've been having issues with my car pulling to the left despite pretty much perfect alignment specs after two alignments from my local Firestone. I know my car is capable of driving straight - it used to before I got my first alignment from Firestone. Now I'm wondering what the heck is going on. I don't have the specs from those alignments anymore, though.

This seems to be a common-ish issue, so I was hoping to hear from others who have gone through the same, and what worked and what didn't.

In my case, the car pulls to the left regardless of road crown. If I let my hands go of the steering wheel, the car will basically switch lanes to the left lane on its own. I've reset the steering angle in service mode a couple times and allowed the car to "re-learn" it, but that doesn't seen to work. From some digging, the problems could be due to:

*radial tire pull: switch tires from left to right (just front? Or also switch the rear tires from left to right?)

*steering wheel is not actually centered properly (alignment shop's fault?) (Edit: first have them center the steering wheel, THEN do the alignment?)

*steering angle needs to be reset right before the alignment is done? Or right after?

*non-zero thrust angle (I'm pretty sure my last alignment had this zeroed out, but I'll ask Firestone on my 3rd and hopefully final appointment)

*there is something physically wrong with the suspension (unlikely, I haven't hit a pothole or curb in the past few months, when my car suddenly started driving like this)

*the tie rods are not the correct lengths? (Idk much about suspensions, but there's something not quite right about how the steering wheel connects to the rest of the suspension?)


I set up an appointment at the Tesla service center where I've gone for windshield replacements and general warranty work, and the tech thought my car drives straight even though it really doesn't (much more noticeable at > 60 mph). I think he really just wanted to push me to get Firestone to fix it so I wouldn't spend $275 for no reason. So I've set up an appointment with Firestone a few weeks from now. If that doesn't work, it looks like I'll have to get my car aligned at a different service center :/

There are no vibrations from the steering wheel, so this likely isn't a balance problem. (Edit: tire pressures look OK. All four are at 44 right now, several hours after not being driven, at night)


Some references below. I've had this happen before, where Firestone couldn't fix it but Tesla SC did. Fortunately, about two hours from me there's at least one Firestone with a Tesla-certified tech. It is not the same Firestone where I've taken my car for rotations and alignments.

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[XPsionic]

Do you have the printout from firestone you could post?

I know in the BMW and Porsche world, to do the alignment correctly, they'd first center the steering, strap/lock it down so it stays completely centered, put weight on the driver's seat to simulate only having the driver in there, then do the alignment.

Does your car pull to the left with the steering pointed dead straight ahead, or does it pull to the left and is off centered? Either way it's hard to say anything more without seeing your alignment specs printout.

It is possible that some shops have no idea about adjusting rear toe, I've been to one like that before.

 

[fredjan]

Do you have the printout from firestone you could post?

I know in the BMW and Porsche world, to do the alignment correctly, they'd first center the steering, strap/lock it down so it stays completely centered, put weight on the driver's seat to simulate only having the driver in there, then do the alignment.

Does your car pull to the left with the steering pointed dead straight ahead, or does it pull to the left and is off centered? Either way it's hard to say anything more without seeing your alignment specs printout.

It is possible that some shops have no idea about adjusting rear toe, I've been to one like that before.

Unfortunately, I just threw away both printouts a couple days ago. I think the steering wheel is slightly off-centered to the left - I'll have to double check that tomorrow.

I found a more specialized alignment shop in a neighboring state that *does* take Teslas, so I'll probably take my car there and cancel my next Firestone visit. They probably aren't as expensive as the Tesla SC.

 

[XPsionic]

Unfortunately, I just threw away both printouts a couple days ago. I think the steering wheel is slightly off-centered to the left - I'll have to double check that tomorrow.

I found a more specialized alignment shop in a neighboring state that *does* take Teslas, so I'll probably take my car there and cancel my next Firestone visit. They probably aren't as expensive as the Tesla SC.

Yeah do that, also the Tesla service manuals are free to access, it wouldn't hurt to search for that on google, print/screenshot the instructions for the rear toe adjustment for your car, and show them to the shop. Some of the techs are ill informed or lazy and don't do a good job with the rear adjustments.

I'm assuming the car steers itself fine on autopilot?

 

[fredjan]

Yeah do that, also the Tesla service manuals are free to access, it wouldn't hurt to search for that on google, print/screenshot the instructions for the rear toe adjustment for your car, and show them to the shop. Some of the techs are ill informed or lazy and don't do a good job with the rear adjustments.

I'm assuming the car steers itself fine on autopilot?

Yup, there is no swaying left and right on autopilot. I've had that happen before after a *severe* misalignment, but that was fixed after getting an alignment from the Tesla service center. Back then, the SC reset the steering angle offset, which helped autopilot behave normally.

 

[Lindenwood]

Pulling is either a result of a non-zero thrust angle of the rear axle (either the left or right wheel is slightly angled to the right), OR the car’s electric steering is trying to actively “turn” left because there is a learned steering-angle bias.

I do my own alignments for Autocross, and early on didn’t realize how quickly it would re-learn the steering angle bias. I now zero the steering angle at the same time as I do the alignment so I don’t conflate one issue with the other.

 

[BigNick]

If you're a larger person, have them re-check the alignment and thrust angle while you sit in the driver's seat.

When I drove a featherweight Honda in the 90s, this was definitely a thing for me, though I haven't noticed a pull with more recent (newer and heavier) cars.

 

[Lindenwood]

Specifically, the car would often pick up a new steering bias in my first 25-mile round trip to work. I’d adjust my alignment after a weekend race thinking I’d make any final tweaks after work Monday. I’d write down any oddities on the way to work (steering angle, thrust angle, etc). Then I’d mechanically adjust to fix, not realizing the car had also started to adjust steering to compensate, and we’d go back and forth all week .

 

[subieworx]

Your alignment is either not perfect or you have a tire issue.

 

[fredjan]

If you're a larger person, have them re-check the alignment and thrust angle while you sit in the driver's seat.

When I drove a featherweight Honda in the 90s, this was definitely a thing for me, though I haven't noticed a pull with more recent (newer and heavier) cars.

I'm like 170-180 lbs, but yeah I've heard of that being an issue for much larger drivers.

 

[PianoAl]

Use the dashcam or other cam to document the problem.

 

[fredjan]

Your alignment is either not perfect or you have a tire issue.

Like very unevenly worn tires? They seemed OK the last time I had them checked (fronts are 4/5/4 iirc), and all four tire pressures are the same.

When I inflate my tires, I usually do so to 42.5 psig cold, at 6-7 AM first thing in the morning

 

[3geekfamily]

Like very unevenly worn tires? They seemed OK the last time I had them checked (fronts are 4/5/4 iirc), and all four tire pressures are the same.

When I inflate my tires, I usually do so to 42.5 psig cold, at 6-7 AM first thing in the morning

No, a bad tire can cause this. Easiest way to confirm is to swap tires Between sides of the vehicle, and see if the problem persists, or changes sides. If it persists, it’s something with your alignment. If it starts pulling the other direction. You likely have a bad tire.

This was a huge issue with the STi, quite a few came with a bad tire (or two) from the factory, which caused the same problem.

 

[gearchruncher]

Unless you have either driven it about 200 miles, or you've gone into the service menu and reset the alignment calibration, this behavior is not unexpected. Teslas are unlike most other cars in that they attempt to "learn" and calibrate for slightly off alignments, but they have no idea you just did an alignment so they take a while to learn the new one.

Or you can go into the service mode and reset the learning.

 

[fredjan]

Unless you have either driven it about 200 miles, or you've gone into the service menu and reset the alignment calibration, this behavior is not unexpected. Teslas are unlike most other cars in that they attempt to "learn" and calibrate for slightly off alignments, but they have no idea you just did an alignment so they take a while to learn the new one.

Or you can go into the service mode and reset the learning.

I did this for Firestone in their parking lot right before they aligned my car the 2nd time. At most the car was driven a few feet before it reached their alignment machine

I don't think my local branch knows how to do it tbh

 

[gearchruncher]

I did this for Firestone in their parking lot right before they aligned my car the 2nd time. At most the car was driven a few feet before it reached their alignment machine

You can do it after too. It doesn't physically change the car at all or fight the alignment being done. If the car is mechanically aligned right, it will be right.

don't think my local branch knows how to do it tbh

It's not a required part of an alignment. It just makes it easier to tell how good the alignment is right after the alignment instead of waiting for it to re-adjust.

 

[fredjan]

I just got the front tires rotated. On the flattest surface I could find, the car still seems to be pulling to the left.
It feels slightly more stable, though.

The tech also noticed that my left front tire was slightly more worn than the right front tire (before rotating them). When he rolled one of the tires, he felt a slight bounce but could not replicate it. This was just him rolling the tire on the floor, not while driving.

 

[fredjan]

Rotating the front tires seems to have worked well enough. I don't think I need a new alignment yet. I'll probably try again in a few months once I need to replace my tires (which are almost due)

 

[GabeM]

@fredjan I’d go with Lindenwood’s, Subieworx, and 3geekfamily’s suggestions. I also do my own alignments and reset from AX to street back in Oct. My measurements were good, test drove & rechecked 3 times, but was still off a little, steering wheel was straight but drifted left. If I held the steering slightly to the right it steered straight.

I fixed it by adjusting the front toe, rotated rod about .25 turn for both, toed in for LF and toed out for RF.

Yeah, a bad tire will def do it too, I’ve seen that before. Good luck.

 

[fredjan]

Finally got an alignment from a specialty shop that aligns Teslas all the time.

It turns out that my car was severely misaligned. So they adjusted the toe, and that got my car driving more or less straight. There is still a very slight pull to the left, but I think that is to be expected (road crown?). The car feels more stable while accelerating. I no longer feel like I'm fighting the car trying to switch lanes by itself.

The tires looked "new," and there was no damage to the suspension components.