You May Need To Have Your Wheel Alignment Checked

Signs It’s Time for Service

Proper wheel alignment helps extend the life of your tires, allows your car to drive smoothly and uses less energy (gas).  Over time, though, normal driving and wear and tear can cause your car’s alignment to become uneven.  Luckily, wheel alignment evaluations and readjustments are relatively common procedures to do and allow your car to be able to run properly and smoothly again.  The professionals at Rick’s Auto Repair, in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, have years of experience with alignment and are always happy to answer your questions.

Causes of Misalignment

If you are driving and hit a curb with force, have to drive on bad, uneven roads, or drive on roads that have potholes, your alignment can go more quickly.  Also, if your tire pressure is too low or you have too much weight in your trunk, it can affect your alignment.  

Common Signs of Possible Misalignment

You may want to have your wheel alignment checked if you notice any of these symptoms:

• Your car pulls strongly to the left or the right while driving straight
• The steering wheel does not stay centered (while driving straight) or does not return to the center, when released
• You feel lots of shaking or notice poor handling
• There is gentle pulling to one side (while driving slowly in a straight line)
• Noisy steering
• Vibrations are felt through the steering wheel
• The handling feels loose
• Uneven tire wear – tires are great indicators for alignment problems and qualified mechanics notice problems during tire rotations and inspections.  Common tire problems include squealing and treads wearing unevenly – on the inside or outside edges (camber adjustment) or feathering or scalloping (toe adjustments).   

Reasons to fix alignment

Advantages of proper wheel alignment include:

• Longer tire life (which is good, because they can be expensive)
• Smoother driving (due to an even suspension system)
• Using less energy (as the tires are pointing it the same direction)

Wheel Alignment Made Easy

It is important to check your wheel alignment every 6,000 miles.  If you have any questions or suspect that your alignment might be off, the experts at Rick’s Auto Repair, conveniently located in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, can help you.  Making an appointment is easy – just call, go online, or walk in!