What Happens When You Drive on Bad Alignment? (2024)

FAQs

What Happens When You Drive on Bad Alignment? ›

Not only is it uncomfortable, but it can lead to significant issues that become costly over time. Poor car alignment causes suspension stress, steering difficulty, compromised handling and braking, increased fuel consumption, and premature tire wear. Worst of all, it increases the risk of an accident.

Continuing to drive a vehicle with bad alignment will: Wear out your tires faster and even permanently damage them. Increase friction on your tires, making them less fuel efficient. Make steering difficult to control and may put you at risk of an accident.

Many mechanics recommend an alignment at least every couple of years, but if you often drive on rough roads or put a lot of miles on your car, you may consider getting an alignment much more frequently.

When your vehicle is out of alignment, it can cause the car to pull significantly to one side or the other. You will notice yourself constantly wrestling with the steering wheel, and never really being able to take both hands off, even for a second before it veers to the side.

As a result, it can help your car drive better by improving how it handles turns as well as how efficiently it uses fuel.

A good rule of thumb is to bring in your car for a wheel alignment each time you drive a total of 6,000 miles.

Squeaking, squealing, creaking, or knocking sounds from under the car, it is bad wheel alignment. The noise comes when the tires are being dragged on the road instead of rolling normally. You will happen to hear all of these sounds and noises considering them a cry for help. Find bad alignment solutions immediately.

Everything from the transmission and differentials to the axles, wheels and wheel bearings can be affected by the wheel alignment. One thing off its desired axis can snowball into many other mechanical problems.

What does it feel like when your car is out of alignment? ›

If your vehicle is out of alignment, uneven tire wear can occur, which can cause a vibration that is felt in your steering wheel. Steering wheel vibrations can also be because of unbalanced tires or a bent rim caused by hitting a curb or pothole.

Pressure on shocks, springs, and tires can cause them to slowly slip out of alignment over time. More drastic causes of wheel misalignment include dramatic, jolting impacts. If you hit a curb or a pothole, take a speed bump too quickly, or have an accident, this can knock your wheels out of alignment.

Here are the top three reasons your vehicle may fall out of alignment: Sudden disturbance or impact from hitting something such as a pothole, bumping into a curb, going too fast over a speed bump, or an accident. Suspension components, including poor shocks or struts, become worn or loose affecting alignment.

Driving a car with bad alignment is never recommended and can cause more than just an annoying driving experience. Doing so could lead to reduced fuel economy, expensive tire replacement costs, and steering concerns that could put you, your passengers, and other motorists at risk.

Generally speaking, you'll want to get your vehicle's wheels at least checked for proper alignment once a year or every other oil change. If you're looking for a numerical value, most tire professionals will cite the 6,000-mile figure as a rule of thumb.

Balancing also contributes to overall ride comfort. Imbalanced tires can wobble or hop up and down, causing vibration. If a front tire isn't properly balanced, you'll likely feel vibration in the steering wheel. If the problem is in the rear, you'll feel shaking in the seat or floor.

Caution: since bad alignment can lead to accelerated or uneven tyre wear, it can compromise the tyre's grip on the road, especially in slippery conditions. In severe cases, it can even lead to a blowout, so alignment is necessary as a safety precaution.

Driving a vehicle with improper wheel alignment will result in uneven tire wear. If the problem is not corrected right away, the lifespan of the tires will be drastically reduced, and you will end up spending a lot of money to replace your tires prematurely.

A bad wheel alignment can make it difficult to steer when driving at high speeds. This increases the risk of causing an accident. Tires that are misaligned can easily drag the vehicle sideways, which forces the driver to maintain a hard grip on their steering wheel.