Car is steering to the right

[yenchew88]

A few weeks ago I have a flat.
I drove it to a gas station and refill the tire preassure. The next day brought it into a tire shop and had it patched. I noticed my 330i is steering right when driven on a straight path. I set an appointment for an oil change at 7500 miles with a BMW dealer 2 weeks later and also requested them to check the problem I have. The mechanic change the tire preassure but the problem is still there. Does anyone know whether I just need an alignment? Please also your answer to yenchew@earthlink.net. Thanks guys.

[Zoneblitz]

You may have knocked the front out of allignment when you had you flat. I would have it done ASAP.

Tires on the 330 go quick and are not cheap. I would take the precution to save the tires.

[tingzilla]

do alignment...if you have your car lowered. Maybe your car needs camber kit to adjust.

[cvbmr]

I had the same problem. Had the car aligned at Roger Kraus Racing, however the problem still there but less. The alignment tech said it is probably the tire, so he swapped the front tires (right to left and left to right). Now it slightly pulls to the left, so I know now it the tire.

Hope that helps.

[superdad]

I am haveing the same problem right now. All I am getting is....well, everyone is "passing the buck" on my cars problem.I have taken it to 3 different places to be looked at including the dealer.First they said it was alignment,but I had just got it done the day before so I know it wasnt that. Then they said that it was the tires, so I put 4 brand new tires on it.Problem still there.So then they blames it on "warped Rotors".They replaced them and guess what.......still pulls right.My car has never been wrecked so I told them not to even try that on me.So they said now its the NITTO 555 tires that suck and that is why.So I am getting them "Road Forced Balanced" on monday.Oh and since they replaced the brakes the car pulsates when the brake is applied.
So I call this one guy and he said that the ABS or the DSC might be sending bad info to the computer to cause it to pull. The dealer dissmisses that idea all together and doesnt even hoopk my car up to check it out.I am one frustrated dude, and am really starting to hate my service advisor and my car.
Anyone have any Ideas?

[MarvelPhx]

Is it always pulling to the right, or on certain roads more than others?

The crown of a road is famous for causing a pull to the right.

Does it pull to the right all the time, or only during braking, or only during acceleration?

[superdad]

It pulls to the right all the time.I had my alignment dont today again for like the 5th time this month and its still pulling. Even in the left lane it pulls over to the right.The dealer said they would try to replace the rotors again to see what would happen.I think that its the ABS or the DSC on the blink.Its so damn annoying!
Any thoughts on what to do next?

[fcotanis]

The front control arms bushings are famous for becoming loose after track time abuse.

I've done a few "laps" on my car circling on a highway merge and exit. Had to keep on turning right so most stress was on my left side.
When i went for an oil change the tech looked at my bushings (raised car grabbed right front wheel and vigurously try to move it and see if there is any play - repeat on the other wheel)
He reported to me that the right side was perfect but on the left side (where those laps had most stressed my car) had a slight start of wear but still plenty left.
I'm wandering if your flat couldn't have loosened some of those bushings specially since you kinda drove on it for a lil while.
Good luck,
Filip

PS Let me know is changing the front control arm bushings helped. All the bushings and rubber components would help to be changed.

Ah!!!! Another idea really worth investigating before this would be to balance yoru front wheels again after the flat repair. Might be a wheel out of balance.
Let me know how it works out. I'm sure you will cure this.

[superdad]

when the dealer replaced the brakes last week they replaced all the bushings too.I am at a loss with this crap.Do I have a lemon?I mean I cant do the lemon law becouse the car is almost 2 years old right?This sucks!!!!I just want my car to work right.

[fcotanis]

YOur missing only one explanation

It's you!

You weigh to little and the car is made to pull right so that it balances itself with the driver and goes straight when it has a driver in it. /forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

But seriously - maybe now it's engraved in yoru mind that it pulls right. All the roads are arched so it pulls right .... try again - get that "it pulls right" out of your mind and try test it again as impartial as possible.


If after a long drive you still get the same then go ahead and start researching about the lemon law in your state.

[gf1021]

talked to my friend who is a bmw mechanic about 330 problems he's seen and he said to look out for the ball joints on the front end.

have them check the ball joints...He told me if you're hard on your brakes the ball joints wear really quickly. he said to test this by braking really hard and see if you hear a clunk come from the front. if so, bmw will replace them if it's still under warranty.

i don't know if this related to your problem, but it might be something to check out.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: gregf on 2003-02-14 11:22 ]</font>

[Vcamayd]

My car was pulling to the right when i got it. After getting it aligned 3 times I changed the tires to Bridgestone Potenza S-03 Pole Position's and that solved the problem. This is called radial pull and it happens on certain brand of tires and/or can occur if a bad batch of tires is created so in some cases changing the tire with the same model doesn't help. Anyways, the SO-3's are great tires and they were recommended to me by a friend with a similar 330.

Hope this helps,
Vince