We purchased a brand new 2016 Dodge Journey FWD 4cyl about 9 months ago and noticed after driving it for a few months that it tends to pull to the left.


You can let go of the steering wheel and the journey just starts to drift immediately to the left, this is even when the road is sloped and doesn't matter what lane you are in. On long trips I get sore from having to hold the steering wheel firm to stay straight.


Today will be the 3rd time I bring it into the dealership and we are looking at a 4th time because this still isn't resolved.


We have done the following:


Visit:
1. Check alignment, make adjustment to the alignment and center steering wheel.


2. Swapped the left wheels to the right **** now pulls to the right


3. Check alignment, made adjustments. (today)


Now before the 3rd visit, we changed the tires from the 4 seasons to winter so we can rule out the tires.


I am at a complete and total loss, the service guy doesn't seem to think that this has to do with the wheels because if they were bent then we would feel a wobble or something like this.


I have no idea why swapping the wheels would make the vehicle pull to the other side, I am hopping that someone here has had this problem and offer a solution before I go into the dealer and waste another morning.


Thanks!

 

If the pull moved then....well...

 

My thinking exactly, but if the tires have changed and are balanced, can a rim really affect the pull like that?


Have you seen this before?

Should I ask them to change the rims?

 

Tell them to move wheels from back to front. I'm not 100% positive that a wheel with runout will do much other than vibrate.


Did they take tires from another lot car? There could be a malformation on the part of the wheel that contacts the wheel hub.

 

I will suggest they do the back to front, but these are new winter tires, the tires that were on the vehicle when we purchased are sitting in the garage.

Still worth the swap?

Thanks for your quick replies!

 

If it's still pulling then don't re-swap them. It wouldn't do any good. Focus on that wheel for now.

 

If one of the wheels is out of spec on the wheel offset that could cause this.

 

its not the rim, its the tire...you have a conical tire....its a defect in the tire ply construction or a broken belt in the tire. replace the tires. It common with old or cheap tires. a road force balance can measure the amount of pull a tire has and radial tire variation.

If you have a awd vehicle all the tires should be replaced so they all have the same circumference...mismatched tire circumference stresses the tcase or pto as the axles and differentials are turning at different speeds from tire mismatch.

 

 

Torque pull, well...noticeable torque pull in a passenger car is not normal. Maybe in a truck with a trailer load on the back.

Alignment is past spec, an half shaft is bad or something is bent.