The Importance of Wheel Alignment in Chevys: Symptoms and Solutions

Even the sturdiest of vehicles occasionally suffer from misaligned wheels. When your wheels come out of parallel positioning, your car’s responsiveness, maneuverability, and road safety all diminish. It’s important to quickly identify improper wheel alignment and have the problem rectified at your local Chevy dealership. Here’s an outline of what to look out for.

Squealing Tires

Any misalignment in your wheels naturally also misaligns your tires, and when pressed against the road at odd angles, car tires can start to squeal alarmingly. You’re most likely to hear this squealing when you either corner or accelerate.

Uneven Tread Wear

While checking the air pressure inside your car’s tires, it’s a good idea to inspect the treads to see if they’re wearing down uniformly. When misaligned, a wheel’s position will cause the tire to wear down unevenly, which shortens the tire’s lifespan and also creates a safety hazard.

Sloppy Steering Wheel

If your wheels become considerably misaligned, the steering system will be impacted. You may find your steering wheel feels looser than usual, with more free play, giving you less precise control over your driving wheels and car.

Crooked Steering Wheel

When cruising down a perfectly straight street, check the positioning of your steering wheel. When all’s well, the logo will be perfectly centered and you won’t need to apply any pressure to keep going straight. If your wheel is even a fraction off-center, have your wheels checked at once by a trusted technician.

Pulling to One Side

As the angle of the wheels determines the direction that any car travels, misalignment often causes veering to one side. If you find yourself drifting to the right or the left when you should be going straight, your wheels may have become knocked out of position.

Visibly Crooked Wheels

Car wheels can become misaligned along three different angles: toe, camber, caster, and sometimes all three at once. If you walk slowly around your car, observing the wheels from all perspectives, you may be able to see any crookedness. However, even if your wheels look perfectly straight, it’s wise to have them measured with an alignment machine, which will detect even the slightest positioning fault.

Have Your Wheels Realigned at Your Chevy Dealership

Biannual inspections are the key to resolving this common issue. Each time you bring your car in for a tire rotation, ask our technicians to measure their alignment too. With a computerized interface and imaging diagnostics, our alignment machines can precisely identify flaws and guide us to bring your wheels back into their original factory positioning.

Visit Matt LaFontaine Chevrolet GMC in Grayling, MI, to have your wheels set straight. We provide quick, friendly service and serve as a one-stop shop for all your automobile needs.

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