Alignment issues?

[ctdet]

Just purchased a 2005 Base Model 5 Speed Salsa Vibe a couple weeks ago. Since last week I noticed that to go straight I have to have the steering wheel turned slightly to the right. In other words if I am on a flat straight rode and let go of the wheel the car steers to the left. Is this a problem others have experienced? What could be the issue? Anything I should do or check out with the car or should I just take it back to Pontiac Service? Is something like this covered under the warranty?Thanks,MikeWaukesha WI

[Atomb]

i vaguely remember hearing somewhere that some shops will do this to compensate for the camber in the road while driving in the right lane (the lane we SHOULD be driving in most of the time).The majority of shops stopped doing this due to complaints but there are still some 'old-timers' out there that still set up cars this way.Ask your dealership but if I were you i'd just bring it back and ask them to fix it either way.

[JohnC]

ctdet; Mine was out of alignment when I first purchased the Vibe, headlights were aimed way low and the tires had greater than 50# in em. Anyway I took it in right away and they said they aligned it, but the steering still felt strange, long story short my front tires were pretty much worn out by the time it was due for rotation. At 14k I had to pay $575 for new tires. Eventually the dealer alligned it corectly. I have put on another 13k miles on my "new" tires with barely noticable wear. Here is a post from awhile back about it. http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...34797

[ctdet]

Dealer said the toe was off. They fixed it yesterday and it seems to be riding well now. I did check my tire pressure and all 4 were dead on.Thanks for all the advice and tips.

[William-w]

same to me, I just bought a 2005 base auto yesterday. When I test drive it, I felt that I have to slightly turn to right to keep the car going straight, not big. Then I told them that I want this car but it needs a alignment. When I picked up this car, they said that nothing is wrong with alignment, but I still do not feel good about it. Today it is only my second day to drive it. I like this car, but what should I do if they insist that there is nothing wrong with the alignment.

[Raven]

Drive it for a week or so and if the problem continues bring it back. If your dealer won't align it, bring it to another who will.

[ragingfish]

There appears to be a common issue with steering wheels not being perfectly straight when the car is going perfectly straight...Mine is the same way, but I really don't notice it...My understand is that it's not an alignment issue, but a simple fix requiring removing and reseating the steering wheel...Anyone jump in to correct me if I'm wrong!

[MadBill]

What often happens is that the steering is not locked exactly straight ahead when the toe-in is adjusted. The result is that the one tie rod is adjusted a little long and the other equally short, thus the wheel is crooked when driving straight. Sometime it can be corrected by re-positioning the wheel, but this is two wrongs trying to make a right.

[ragingfish]

Oh I see what you mean...the steering column isn't locked, so the wheel freely turns while they mess with the steering?Or are you saying they aren't paying close enough attention to pull the key out with the wheel straight, so they let it lock slightly crooked?

[MadBill]

Either can cause the problem Mike, but they'd have to be pretty clumsy to skip locking it altogether.