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Pulls To One Side When Hitting Drains.


jackrmee
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I've just bought a 2004 StreetKa.

I've been quite impressed with how nippy it is.
The thing is, as I haven't driven one before, I'm not sure how it's meant to handle.

It seems quite responsive and a bit like a go kart I suppose. Seems to stick to the road quite well. However, when I hit a drain (especially when wet), the car seems to want to drag itself into the direction of which wheel it hits. eg. if the passenger wheel hits the drain, it pulls me suddenly towards the curb.

I'm sure it isn't supposed to be like this as it could be quite scary for someone else.
It feels almost like I have slick tyres (which I don't) or I'm hitting a patch of ice.

I also noticed that the steering doesn't correct itself when pulling away with the steering wheel turned. Normally, when driving other cars, the steering will straighten up itself.


Thanks in advance.

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I've just bought a 2004 StreetKa.

I've been quite impressed with how nippy it is.

The thing is, as I haven't driven one before, I'm not sure how it's meant to handle.

It seems quite responsive and a bit like a go kart I suppose. Seems to stick to the road quite well. However, when I hit a drain (especially when wet), the car seems to want to drag itself into the direction of which wheel it hits. eg. if the passenger wheel hits the drain, it pulls me suddenly towards the curb.

I'm sure it isn't supposed to be like this as it could be quite scary for someone else.

It feels almost like I have slick tyres (which I don't) or I'm hitting a patch of ice.

I also noticed that the steering doesn't correct itself when pulling away with the steering wheel turned. Normally, when driving other cars, the steering will straighten up itself.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Gar,

Small cars generally have smaller wheels so I'm guessing your rolling 13 or 14 inch rims which will be around 4.5 inches wide,

This is great for speed but means its easier to sink the whole wheel in to a drain where before you maybe had tyres that were up to 8" wide and would handle a drop much easier.

In any case where possible I highly recommend you avoid drains, speed ramps at over 10mph and pot holes,

Things like this buckle your wheels and off set your tracking,

This is why your car is pulling to one side,

Its because one of your wheels is buckled,

I highly recommend you go to a tyre fitting place they will diagnose what wheels are buckled and repair the buckles aswell as laser align your tracking,

Now a buckle could be 30 pounds to fix,

But your car will feel much better when fixed, your shocks will last longer and your mpg will increase slightly because you will be rolling on circles again instead of blocks.

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Hi Gar,

Small cars generally have smaller wheels so I'm guessing your rolling 13 or 14 inch rims which will be around 4.5 inches wide,

This is great for speed but means its easier to sink the whole wheel in to a drain where before you maybe had tyres that were up to 8" wide and would handle a drop much easier.

In any case where possible I highly recommend you avoid drains, speed ramps at over 10mph and pot holes,

Things like this buckle your wheels and off set your tracking,

This is why your car is pulling to one side,

Its because one of your wheels is buckled,

I highly recommend you go to a tyre fitting place they will diagnose what wheels are buckled and repair the buckles aswell as laser align your tracking,

Now a buckle could be 30 pounds to fix,

But your car will feel much better when fixed, your shocks will last longer and your mpg will increase slightly because you will be rolling on circles again instead of blocks.

It's only pulling to one side when I hit a drain. If the drain hits the drivers wheel, the car shoots to the centre of the road. It's impossible to avoid all drains, they're everywhere.

Apart from that the car drives fine.

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Sounds like u have an issue with ur steering rack steering wheel not centralising itself after turning

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i would have a free wheel alignment check done & ask them to check the lower suspension arms whilst there as they wear &

can cause the symptons you talking about. for how much they cost i would replace both lower suspension arms & you will feel a hell of a diffrence. they cost about £30.00 each so worth it m8 if you can do them yourself.as said by mick85 its worth getting the steering rack looked at or atleast change the tie rod end as they maybe worn but do anywork like tie rods and lower suspension befor you pay out for wheel alignment. my local garage diagnose a some parts on my car needed replacing so tracked as best they could for me then i done the work & they redone the tracking for me for nothing the following week.

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It sounds to me like there's some sort of 'imbalance' somewhere that isn't keeping the two front wheels aligned with each other.

Jack the car up and give each wheel the "dodgy bearing" test - see if there is any movement in the wheel by trying to wobble it with hands at 12/6 and 9/3. I'm guessing that there'll be excess movement on at least one side. Key culprit for that would be a worn track rod end (if not a wheel bearing), but it might be something more serious/costly so do get it checked. You can't drive a car safely if it's lurching all over the place.

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