How long can you drive with misaligned wheels for?
Posted by PopAnxious4482@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 44 comments
Was driving home from the mall and hit a nasty pothole going around 25-30 mph. Didn’t even see it, which sucks. Car now veers to the right when I drive.
Organic-Baker-4156@reddit
You're going to grind up tires.
It's likely something is bent and needs replaced.
Real-Mode-3417@reddit
If your alignment was modified by a pothole, you'll need to replace parts as well. Alignments don't change without intervention or wear
PopAnxious4482@reddit (OP)
What parts would need to be replaced?
Real-Mode-3417@reddit
Without seeing it, I’d have no clue. But alignment just means the suspension is adjusted to the proper specifications. Hitting a pothole won’t change that, unless the pothole damaged something enough to bring the suspension out of spec. Bent wheel, tie rod end, strut? A tire shop could tell you for minimal/no fee.
NarrowCup2920@reddit
Until something breaks.
Sir_J15@reddit
As long as you want to until you blow a tire. I have seen bad enough alignment eat tires with in 50 miles. All depends on how bad it is.
PopAnxious4482@reddit (OP)
It pulls slightly to the right, but not enough to where I have to constantly fight the steering wheel to be straight
Sir_J15@reddit
No way to truly know. Once a wear pattern starts though it won’t stop. Even after you correct the alignment
Gunk_Olgidar@reddit
You can drive it to the alignment shop where you will spent $150 for the alignment. More if anything was damaged.
Beneficial_Try9602@reddit
Get it fixed as soon as you can. It won’t get better and will cost you the repair PLUS tires if you drive like that.
Ok-Ad8998@reddit
It will chew up tires, probably quicker than you would guess.
Also: - may cause damage to suspension parts - may cause unpredictable handling - your car may already have damaged suspension parts that could break
You should get it looked at soon.
PopAnxious4482@reddit (OP)
The car still drives and handles smoothly, thankfully. It’s just the veering that concerns me. I also hear a slight rumbling noise from the right side, and I’m not sure if that’s caused by the misalignment
Cranks_No_Start@reddit
You should get this looked at sooner rather than later. Odds are its going to wear the tires up front and it can do it rather fast. A bigger issue is that pull can be exacerbated if you have to do a panic stop possibly enough to make you change lanes.
PopAnxious4482@reddit (OP)
Yeah. I’m hoping some shops will be open tomorrow because of the holiday. Worst case scenario is that I get it checked out and aligned Tuesday
Cranks_No_Start@reddit
It sucks but its for the best. Hope it turns out ok.
Ok-Ad8998@reddit
My car had a bad shock absorber fail last year that caused a damaged tire. So I had new front tires and an alignment when they replaced the shocks. Then took a 900-mile road trip. The shop got the alignment wrong and when I was back home, I noticed that the inner edge of one of the (new!) tires was down to the cords. The car drove okay on the trip.
SpaceAgePotatoCakes@reddit
My guesstimate alignment when I redid the suspension in my old Jeep put visible camber wear into the front tires within about 300km. It drove fine as well since I was out roughly the same amount on both sides.
ariGee@reddit
You should be concerned.
robert32940@reddit
Bearing issues too
SpanishFlamingoPie@reddit
You'll be fine. Just get it checked out and aligned as soon as you can.
Dch112@reddit
Until your tires prematurely wear out, maybe sooner if you have front suspension wear or damage.
rudbri93@reddit
you can usually drive a while as long as you correct for the issue, however its gonna wear your tires down faster so it costs in the long run
PopAnxious4482@reddit (OP)
I’m gonna get a realignment either Tuesday or Friday when I get paid. I would go tomorrow but I’m unsure if the dealership would be open due to the holiday
nerobro@reddit
Don't go to a dealer if budget is a concern.
SpaceAgePotatoCakes@reddit
Yeah take it to an alignment shop and be very transparent about what happened. Tell them how it feels to drive and that you want it aligned if possible but to check it for damage.
CentipedePowder@reddit
Till the wheels fall off. Its pretty expensive to do that
PopAnxious4482@reddit (OP)
Thankfully I don’t intend to do that
teefau@reddit
There is no way for us to answer this question with the information given.
Obviously the steering geometry has been damaged but it will depend on whether it’s mostly caster, camber or toe in/out.
Tyres will wear faster, anything from several months down to just a day or two depending on how bad.
If you feel it pulling noticeably, then it’s likely got significant damage.
Obviously best practice is to only drive it to a workshop to have it properly repaired.
Be aware that it’s not just steering and tyre wear at risk here but also braking performance could be significantly degraded thus leading to or increasing the severity of a crash.
PopAnxious4482@reddit (OP)
I’m not sure how to attach images to replies but I did notice slight damage to the front passenger side rim. It pulls slightly, but it is noticeable after a while
Spud8000@reddit
after maybe 500 miles the tires will be noticeably distorted in wear
Antique-Nobody-1797@reddit
Depends on how bad the alignment. Something slight? It will wear the tires weird, but not immediately unsafe. If you can make a tight circle around the telephone pole, you might need a tow.
PopAnxious4482@reddit (OP)
It’s pretty slight but noticeable. It sucks because I just got this car brand new a month ago. Not even 1000 miles on the odometer.
I-r0ck@reddit
You can ask the dealership if they will cover it under warranty. Just don’t mention the pothole and say you just noticed it started to pull one way.
jonm61@reddit
OP mentioned a noise coming from that side too, so there's probably more than just the alignment.
Aloha-Eh@reddit
Those new tires, you will be lucky to get 30,000 miles out of them. Significantly less if you don't get this sorted out.
jibaro1953@reddit
Get it fixed ASAP or you'll be buying new tires and additional suspension components.
Artistic_Bit_4665@reddit
That means that something is bent. Alignment does not get "knocked out".... it is not something that is fragile. You need to get the car into a shop and checked to see what is damaged.
vastly101@reddit
You should get it checked by a pro (mechanic? body shop?) for more than just alignment. Could be suspension damage and dangerous.
ColonEscapee@reddit
It will chew into your tires among other issues that would be more of a problem
BasilVegetable3339@reddit
Until it fucks up the rest of your suspension.
muphasta@reddit
Alignment is cheaper than new tires, and they can get chewed up quickly.
Get the alignment ASAP.
Aloha-Eh@reddit
You can drive until your tires are totally trashed and then you need new tires AND an alignment.
What the actual fuck. Take care of your car, and it will take care of you. Fuck around and then wonder why your car is a piece of shit?
Because of you. Take care of shit, right, when it happens.
2 days before a 10 hour road trip I realized the tires were all dry rotted. I hadn't noticed, and the tire store that rotated and balanced the tires the week before hadn't noticed either. The tread was fine, but I was looking at new tires before winter anyway.
One tire had cracking on the sidewall. All tires had cracking between the treads. I got 4 new tires that day, and her trip there was no problem, not a blowout waiting to happen. And in Wyoming, it's going to happen north of nowhere.
Seriously. Fix that shit now, before you trash your tires.
nerobro@reddit
Until you can't afford to buy tires anymore.
It's frankly, more expensive to drive with your alignment screwed up, than it is to spend the couple hundred to get a tie rod replaced.
jrileyy229@reddit
You're fine, just go get it taken care of tomorrow or Tuesday