since i bought my '04 coupe i noticed that it pulls to the right and left alot depending on what side of the street i drive. i can't even let go of the wheel for more than few without the car wheel turning on its own directly into the sidewalk. it is really bad when i'm breaking than it pulls from one side to another.
also when im one the freeway the car seems fine and doesnt seem to pull to neither side.
i just purchased a set of 18" winter tires for the rear and i thought that would solve the problem but it did not. also when i drive i have to hold the wheel slighly to the right almost unoticable in order for the car to go straight. how can i fix this problem???

 

It might be the road "ruts". Since it isn't doing it on the freeway.

Find some road where it is pulling and see if the car always pulls the same way on that particular piece of road.

.02

 

You should take it to a good mechanic.

 

if you hold the steering wheel straight and it starts to walk going from one side to the other, it would be wore out tie rod ends as they wear they become loose inside the knuckle and then the wheel will start moving from side to side when you pick up speed in a straight away theres a gyro effect on wheels that will make them straight as the faster you go.

you can check this by jacking your car up with the wheels locked straight high enough that there off the ground. if you are able to shake the wheel from side to side more than a 1/4 of an inch that would be the problem.

but if I'm wrong please tell me, but that is what it sounds like to me.

 

Yup...more than likely ball joints. If you have never hit any big pot holes, bumps, or anything that could bent anything in the front end...ball joints.

 

the crossfire has a very short wheelbase and relatively wide tires. these two characteristics will cause it to want to wander whenever on uneven pavement such as the deeper ruts that tend to form from vehicles braking as they approach traffic lights. the only real solution is to keep your hands on the wheel.

 

correct Rob i have a new 05 srt-6 , and it depends on the road environment.

 

When I first got my Crossfire, I was concerned about how it pulled to one side or the other - never consistantly left or right - when breaking from a SLOW speed. Steering issues? Alignment? Brakes?

I thought it was a problem, but after posting the same question as yours (maybe six or seven months ago) and reading the responses, I felt better about it, and I'm just used to it now.

I do NOT think it's a mechanical problem, and it's just a quirk of the Crossfire's tire/wheelbase combination as indicated by the sage posters above.

 

Me, too, on that one. It's particularly noticeable in my Limited.

 

Yes, I too have a similar problem and it turned out to be the grooves in the road. Around here there are spots on the highway i really can't drive on without looking like a drunk maniac trying to side-swipe everyone!! It's really annoying, but hey...I still have a kick *** car!

 

I have wider tires than stock on my SRT6 and it does make the 'pulling' a little bit stronger. I notice this especially on a road where CalTrans has removed the striping with some kind of scraper or cutting machine. This leaves groves instead of the regular stripes. These REALLY pull the car toward them.

Hope that helps...

 

I've also noticed a HUGE differrence when I switched from the Conti ASP tires to Eagle F1 A/S tires. The car travels much straighter now.

 

IMPORTANT***

I had the same exact problem when i bought my pt cruiser. After taking it to the dealer numerous times, after tire rotations, road tests, ect. There wasn't any problems with the car!!
It was the TIRE. The cords in the tire had either shifted or were misalligned from the factory. I always had to hold the wheel to one side to make the car drive straight. After i switched the tire, the car drove straight like anyother car.
CHECK that tire!!! on the side its pulling toward.

 

Please read the OP. It is clearly stated that the car pulls to either side which reflects a reaction to crowning and other characteristics of the road surface. The car drives straight on the highway, thus there should be no problem with the tires.