strange handling issues and possible cause

So after a dreadful winter and many potholes my car has been handling awfully.


Amongst the symptoms is pulling left ranging from a niggle to moderate annoyance, pulling right same as above, driving perfectly straight, driving straight but can feel tires scrubbing and slight pull back when trying to accelerate or instead of driving straight with the wheel held central it will drive to the right into the next lane.


I have had countless alignments that all show everything within spec using hunter systems, tires rotated, new set of tires, tire pressure constantly checked as the car feels like its weight has shifted or something as i dont feel the correct contact on the road from all 4 wheels......


anyways this has been going on for a long time and despite having mechanics looking for anything that could be the cause they couldnt find anything...


Until i happened to meet with a audi technician by chance, he decided to do something to check for play while the car was parked up.


He took both front tyres and shook them with his hands at the 3 and 9 position but never felt anything but then he grabbed both tires at the top and shook them and said there was play in the front left.


I tried it also and noticed when i shook the front left tirevigoursly with both hands on the top of tire there was a slight noise, i then did the same with the front right and heard the noise a little quieter as it was coming from nearer the left side.


What could be the possible cause so i know what to say when i go back to my dealership and how could something so simple/small sounding cause such a crazy handling issue ?


All i know is that after these checks my car was driving a lot more stable for a good while and even when it went back out again it wasnt as sever as before... theres not as much pull/lean going round corners etc.. and bump steer reduced.



i'm not very knowledgable with cars beyond changing bulbs and checking oil etc..


thanks for any help

I think any competent mechanic would look at wheel bearings, so let's rule that out. But I think even experienced mechanics might miss a damaged bushing - maybe more than one! That's where I would go.

I think any competent mechanic would look at wheel bearings, so let's rule that out. But I think even experienced mechanics might miss a damaged bushing - maybe more than one! That's where I would go.




Thanks man, all i know is through the course of a journery it will want to pull left then right and sometimes drive straight with only a tiny bit of pull...


i've also noticed it feels like the pull isnt as strong but it changes more now since the wheel play check the audi tech did... and the noise i hear going over speed bumps is a bit louder also... i would describe it as a light creak but cant be sure where its coming from.


what i dont get is why one wheel being the left could cause a pull to the right also... i would have thought it would either pull left or drive straight or maybe i'm missing something.

…….. what i dont get is why one wheel being the left could cause a pull to the right also... i would have thought it would either pull left or drive straight or maybe i'm missing something.

If it's a bushing, the control arm can move to a position that can get a pull to the right or one to the left depending on what position the control arm has moved to. And it will change as the bushing reorients itself.