Have you noticed that your vehicle is pulling to the right or left? While there are many reasons why this can happen, here are some common issues you need to be aware of.

Your Wheels Are Misaligned

Every vehicle should have a wheel alignment performed when putting on new tires, which will ensure that everything is in the proper position and that the tires wear down properly. However, wheels can become misaligned over time. It can be due to no fault of your own, as the vehicle simply sees wear and tear from driving thousands of miles, or due to hitting potholes or running over curbs my accident that throws the alignment off. 

When the wheels are out of alignment, they are going to cause the car to drift to the left or right. You'll notice this if you remove your hands from the wheel while driving on a straight road and notice that the car drifts. It can be extreme and incredibly noticeable or slight and subtle. 

In either situation, you'll need to take your vehicle into an auto shop to have a wheel alignment. Your vehicle will be put on a hoist so that measurements can be taken by a computer, which will tell the mechanic exactly how to adjust the tires so they are in proper alignment. 

Your Tires Have Low Air Pressure

It's important to check the tire pressure when you notice that the car drifts. If your vehicle drifts to the left, it is possible that you have a tire with low air pressure on the left side of the car. That's due to the vehicle being lower to the ground on that side and compensating with the drift. Be aware that a single tire with bad air pressure could be caused by damage. Check the tire to make sure that you have not run over any debris that could be causing air to leak out. 

Your Brakes Have Uneven Wear

Having improperly installed brakes can cause the brake pads to wear unevenly. This will cause the drift to happen when you apply the brakes, because more of one brake pad is coming in contact with the wheel than the other pad. Have your brakes inspected to find out if the pads are worn down unevenly. If so, you'll likely need to have the brakes fixes so that this problem does not happen again after new pads are installed.

For more information about services like wheel alignment, contact a company like D Wells Automotive Service.