My car was pulling a bit to the right and I needed tires so after I had the new tires put on I had the car aligned (maybe a month or two after). It still pulled so I took it back and they said everything was good and to rotate the tires if it still pulled. It's still pulling after the tires were rotated (just front to back - directional tires).

My car has about 175k miles (almost all highway) and the alignment shop's visual inspection of bushings said they were all fine. I'd just try a new shop but this was a 2-man place that is well respected by the local car crowd. I'm wondering if there is any common issue with 4th gen's that causes this and doesn't show up in alignment specs? I don't have the alignment printout, will check if that is something they can just pull up and print for me. The equipment is a Hunter hi-def hawkeye alignment system. Talked to the alignment shop again and they said to break down and swap the tires (though I'm pretty sure it was pulling before the tires) and check the motor mounts.

 

check you tie rods or even re balance your tires. mine shakes because i need new tie rods...

 

Always get the print out of the specs. Thats the only way we can see how the front end is set up and give you some suggestions.

 

This.

The shop (Brake Check) were very straight forward with the results, they told me they couldn't do it because of the control arm being damaged (my fault awhile back).

Definitely get your alignment specs, they will tell you how the car is behaving, if it pulls to the right and it's not your tires then it's your alignment.

 

all maxi have torque steer. It shdnt be bad, but on WOT it shd be there.

 

i have the exact same issue. i try to post here and found no resolve. so i guess i was back on my own. the 4th gen does have a tsb that will cause this pull. it is the caliper slides on the front tnd to "hang up" or "stick" the fix for this is nissans special caliper lube. it only costs 85 bucks. i did this to mine and to no avail the pull remains. but... this might not be the case with your car. i also have a few questions, is your car dropped? are the major suspension componenents in good repair? mine is dreopped 2 inches any drop will throw EVERY alignment angle off. my mesurement on camber are; -.02 left -1.4 right this car should make a left turn all by itself but it pulls right. one thing to remember is if it is a camber pull it will always pull to the most positive side. just a word of advice ALWAYS get a print out. i align many cars all day. and to not give one isnt really doin the customer justice. i hope this is of nsome help to you.

P-DIZZLE OUT

 

tsb??

 

technical service bulitin, its basically a quick easy fix for a common problem.

 

You're right - I was stupid not to get the printout, especially after going back a second time. I will try lubing the caliper slides and get a printout next time I have it checked out. My car isn't dropped, shocks have been replaced w/ tokico blues all around a few years ago. Car is driven mostly highway on newer roads so all the suspension components and bushings are in good shape as far as I can tell.

 

Has the car ever been in an accident, especially on the right side? The reason I ask is because my car also pulls to the right. And recently I went for wheels/suspension/alignment work and the owner of this shop(very professional) asked me if the car was ever in an accident. I told him it was years ago asked him why. He said because my numbers are just slightly off even after the alignment..And it seems like my right side is the problem..I told him i got hit by this kid pulling out of a driveway years ago and that the impact was on my right rear wheel/fender. So Im guessing something got screwed up in the axle/chassis..Which means I'll never have a perfect alignment

Ive had alignments done previously by various shops with the same end result afterwards(pulling to the right)..However this is the first time I got an explanation..

 

When do you notice the pull? Doing the old let go of the wheel test Is not an accurate test because almost all roads are slightly crowned for water drainage to the outside of the road which is to the right. Also what size tires are you running? Wider tires also make road crown drifts more noticeable.

 

Some tires are also very sensitive to tracking.

My 1999 ES is pretty neutral with the winter tires on, but with the Ultra-high performance unidirectionals (Kumho) it's constantly pulling.......although mine is mostly left.

 

me personally i have rikin raptors.... have you ever heard of them???... im almost possitive thats the cause for my pull. with that being said i forgot to mention the radial pull factor, some tires through no fault of anyone (stupid machines) are manufactured with a "egg shape" which would defenitly cause a pull. try switching your tires in the front from left to right if the pull goes away problem solved if there new tires go b***h to whoever sold them to you.

i will be eagerly awaiting a response

 

might be radial tire pull... try rotating the tires and see what happens.

 

sticking caliper maybe?

 

rotate the tires left to right and see if the pull changes. tire tread is only directional when it comes to rain. you can swap the sides for a test and swap back if you're that **** about it.

also get your printout of the alignment. check and see if it pulls under WOT and no throttle in 2nd gear. if the pull changes when on and off the gas, then it's likely a bad bushing or joint somewhere- strut mount, control arm, tie rod end, etc.

 

Update: so yesterday I finally go back to the alignment place and get a printout, it's all in spec except DS toe (barely), and the owner tells me about a guy who spent thousands trying to solve his pulling issue, and it was another 4th gen Maxima. He said they figured out it was his tires, and also recommended I swap my left/right fronts, even though they're directional, to see if it's the tires. Sure enough, after the swap the car pulled equally hard, but now to the left.

Like y'all said, he recommended breaking down the tires and swapping side just to see if that would lessen the problem, and it didn't, but at least now I know where the problem lies. The tires are General Altimax HP and I'm going to call Tire Rack tomorrow to see what they will do about this issue. Hope this helps anyone w/ a similar problem.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=12

This link is pretty useful in narrowing down which tire is the bad one.