A steering wheel that will not stay centred is one of the most common complaints we hear in April, and it is almost always the bill coming due for a winter of potholes and curb strikes.
The good news is that a pull has a short list of causes. The trick is proving which one you have rather than replacing parts in hope.
Start with tire pressure — it is free
Air contracts in the cold, and a tire that was correct in October can be 6 to 8 psi low by February. A meaningful pressure difference side to side produces a genuine pull, and it is the one cause you can rule out in your own driveway with a gauge and the placard inside the driver's door.
Alignment: the usual answer
If pressures are even and the vehicle still drifts, alignment is the probable cause. Toe and camber are set in millimetres and fractions of a degree, and a solid pothole hit is enough to move them.
On the alignment rack we measure all four corners against the manufacturer's specification and show you the before-and-after numbers. If the reading is far outside adjustment range, that itself is the diagnosis — something is bent, and no amount of adjustment will hold.
Brakes that never fully release
A caliper slide pin that has seized with salt and corrosion keeps one pad in light contact with the rotor. The result is a pull that gets stronger as you drive, a wheel noticeably hotter than its opposite number after a trip, and a fuel economy hit.
This one is worth catching quickly: a dragging caliper cooks its pad and rotor and can take the wheel bearing with it.
Tire condition and road crown
Uneven wear, a separated belt inside a tire, or two different tire models on the same axle all pull. So does mild road crown — most Ontario roads shed water to the right, which produces a slight, consistent rightward drift that is normal.
The distinguishing question is whether the pull persists on a flat, level stretch and whether it changes when you swap the front tires side to side. That is a five-minute test in the shop and it saves guessing.
- Pull that changes with braking → caliper or hydraulic
- Pull that follows a tire when you swap sides → tire
- Steady pull that never changes → alignment or bent component
- Pull with a clunk over bumps → worn suspension part first, then alignment