A4 · Suspension & Steering≈ 8 minCheapest checks first
01 The Method
A pull is a process of elimination — rule out the cheap, easy stuff before you reach for the alignment rack.
"It pulls" can be a tire, a brake, an alignment angle, or just the road. The pros don't guess — they eliminate in order, cheapest first, so they don't sell an alignment for a problem a tire swap would've found.
1
Verify it.Road test on a flat, level surface, hands light on the wheel. Confirm the direction and that it's steady, not darting.
2
Tire pressures.Set them equal and correct first — a low tire alone pulls toward the low side.
3
Swap the front tires side-to-side.The single most useful test. If the pull follows the tire, it's the tire.
4
Check the brakes.A pull that appears or worsens under braking = a dragging caliper or hose on one side.
5
Now the angles.Cross-camber and cross-caster. Only after the above are ruled out.
⚑ The tire-swap test settles it
Cross the two front tires left-to-right and drive again. Pull follows the tire → it's the tire (radial/conicity pull). Pull stays the same → it's the vehicle (alignment, brake, or bent part). One five-minute test tells you which world you're in.
02 Work a Real Pull
Answer each step the way the car behaves. It walks you to the cause.
03 What If…
Reason first, then reveal.
?Why swap the tires before putting it on the alignment rack?
Because a tire can pull all by itself (belt/conicity) with perfect alignment. The swap test is free and takes minutes; an alignment doesn't fix a bad tire. Rule out the tire first or you'll chase angles that are already in spec.
?A car tracks straight in a flat parking lot but drifts slightly right on the highway. Alignment problem?
Probably not — that's road crown. Roads are built to shed water, so a mild right drift is normal and expected. A true alignment pull shows up on a flat, level surface too. Verify on level ground before condemning anything.
?Pull is gone with the tire swap and the brakes, angles are in spec — but it still tugs. Next suspects?
A bent or worn part the angles don't fully show: a tweaked strut, a collapsed control-arm bushing, a bent spindle, or unequal ride height side to side. Also re-confirm it isn't road crown or a soft/dragging wheel bearing.