If your vehicle drifts left or right when you let go of the steering wheel, something is off. It might seem minor — just a slight tug — but that pull is a symptom of an underlying issue that gets worse over time. In heavy Market Street traffic, a pulling vehicle means constant steering correction, faster driver fatigue, and less margin when you need to react.
At Derham’s Alignment & Auto Repair we’re on Market Street at 6609, so we know what these roads do to vehicles. We diagnose pulling problems every week — and it’s not always alignment. Here are the three most common causes and how to tell which one you have.
1. Your Wheel Alignment Is Off
This is the most frequent cause of vehicle pull and the one most people think of first. Your wheels can shift out of alignment from hitting potholes, clipping curbs, or just everyday driving on uneven road surfaces.
Town roads are harder on alignment than they look. Patched and repatched pavement, utility cuts, settled surfaces and the transitions between them all put small impact loads through the suspension. No single one of them knocks a car out of spec — but thousands of passes over the same rough stretch will shift angles gradually, which is exactly how most vehicles end up misaligned without anything dramatic ever happening.
When alignment is off, your tires contact the road at the wrong angle, which causes the vehicle to drift and accelerates uneven tire wear. The wear is what makes this expensive — a misaligned vehicle can wear out a set of tires well short of its mileage rating, and you generally won’t spot it until the tires are already gone.
How to Tell It’s Alignment
Check your tires. If you see more wear on the inner or outer edge of the tread than in the center, alignment is almost certainly involved. Feathered wear — where the tread feels smooth in one direction and rough in the other — is another alignment signature, specifically toe misalignment. Also check whether your steering wheel sits off-center when driving straight. If it does, the toe or thrust angle has shifted.
An alignment at Derham’s starts at $89 and takes less than an hour. We provide a before-and-after printout showing all four wheel angles compared to factory specs.
2. Uneven Tire Pressure or Worn Tires
A tire with lower pressure on one side creates more rolling resistance, pulling the vehicle in that direction. This is the cheapest and easiest cause to check yourself — and it’s more common than you might think.
Tire pressure moves with temperature. A cool morning after a hot afternoon drops pressure noticeably, and summer heat pushes it back up again. If one tire is also leaking slightly — from a nail, a bead seep, or a corroded wheel — it drops faster than the others, and you get a pull without ever realising the pressures are uneven.
Unevenly worn tires create the same effect. If tread depth varies significantly from one side to the other, the vehicle will drift toward the side with less grip, especially in the wet. This is one reason we check tire wear patterns during every oil change and tire rotation.
How to Tell It’s Tire Pressure
Check all four tires with a gauge when the tires are cold, before driving. The correct pressure is on the sticker inside the driver’s door jamb — not the number moulded into the tire sidewall. If one tire is significantly lower, inflate it and monitor for a few days. If it drops again, you have a slow leak that needs repair. If all pressures are equal and the pull persists, it isn’t a pressure issue.
3. Brake or Suspension Component Problems
These are the most serious causes because they affect both steering control and stopping ability.
Sticking Brake Caliper
A brake caliper that doesn’t release fully creates constant drag on one wheel, pulling the vehicle in that direction. You might also notice a burning smell after driving, the affected wheel feeling hot to the touch, or the vehicle pulling harder during braking than while coasting. Salt air corrodes caliper slide pins and brackets, which is the most common reason calipers stick around here. A stuck caliper also creates rapid, uneven tire wear on that wheel and can warp the rotor from the heat. Our post on brake noise and warning signs covers what else to listen for.
Worn Suspension Components
A failing ball joint, tie rod end, or control arm bushing allows the wheel to shift out of its proper position under load. The pull may be subtle at low speed but worsen during turns or braking. Worn suspension components are the most dangerous cause of pulling, because they can fail entirely — a broken ball joint or tie rod means loss of steering control.
Coastal humidity and salt air accelerate rubber bushing deterioration. The bushings that locate your suspension components dry out, crack, and lose their ability to hold the wheel where it should be. It’s gradual, which is why most drivers adapt to the pull without realising a component is on its way out. If you’re also hearing clunks or squeaks over bumps, that’s the same story from a different angle.
How to Tell It’s Brakes or Suspension
If the pull is more pronounced during braking, suspect a caliper. If you hear clunking over bumps combined with a pull, suspect suspension. If you feel play or looseness in the steering wheel — especially at low speed in parking lots — suspect a tie rod end or ball joint. Any of these need professional diagnosis rather than a guess. Our guide to spotting a steering problem early goes into the warning signs.
The Diagnostic Shortcut That Doesn’t Work
Some drivers, and some shops, skip diagnosis and go straight to an alignment adjustment, assuming that will fix the pull. It won’t, if the pull is caused by a caliper, tire pressure, or worn suspension. Worse, adjusting alignment angles to compensate for brake drag or a worn ball joint creates a second problem — the alignment will be wrong once the actual fault is repaired.
At Derham’s, we check tire pressure, brake drag, and suspension condition before touching the alignment machine. If the pull is caused by something other than alignment, we tell you before you spend money on an adjustment that won’t help.
Why Town Driving Is Hard on Your Vehicle
Market Street is busy, and the stop-and-go traffic through the commercial stretches means a lot of brake applications per commute — which is hard on pads and calipers. The road surface itself is a patchwork of repair layers from years of utility work and resurfacing, and every transition and patch is a small impact through the suspension. Add the turn lanes, median cuts, and commercial driveways that force constant speed changes, and it puts more combined stress on alignment, brakes, and suspension than steady highway miles ever would.
College Road has much the same character. If your daily commute runs through either, annual alignment and suspension checks aren’t optional — they’re the cheaper option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my car pull to one side when driving?
The three most common causes are wheel misalignment, uneven tire pressure, and a brake or suspension problem. Misalignment makes the tires contact the road at the wrong angle, pulling the vehicle one way. A tire with lower pressure creates more rolling resistance on that side. A sticking brake caliper creates constant drag, and a worn ball joint or tie rod end lets the wheel shift out of position under load.
How can I tell if my car pulls because of alignment or brakes?
If the pull is constant whether you are braking or coasting, alignment or tire pressure is the more likely cause. If it is more pronounced under braking, or you notice a burning smell or a hot wheel afterwards, a sticking caliper is the likely culprit. Get it diagnosed rather than guessed, because adjusting alignment to compensate for brake drag does not fix the brake and leaves the alignment wrong once the brake is repaired.
Can a pothole cause my car to pull to one side?
Yes. A single hard pothole impact can shift toe and camber angles instantly. If your vehicle starts pulling after hitting something hard, have the alignment checked promptly — the pull is the symptom you notice, and uneven tire wear is the cost you don’t notice until later.
Is it safe to drive a car that pulls to one side?
A mild pull from alignment or tire pressure is generally safe for the short distance to a repair shop, though it wears tires with every mile. A pull from a sticking caliper risks rotor damage and reduced braking. A pull from a failing ball joint or tie rod end is the dangerous one, because those parts can fail completely and take your steering with them. Any pull is worth diagnosing promptly.
Does road surface affect alignment?
Yes. Patched and repatched pavement, utility cuts, settled surfaces and pothole edges all put impact loads through the suspension. Individually none of them will knock a car out of alignment, but thousands of passes over the same rough stretch will shift angles gradually — which is why cars driven mostly in town need alignment checked more often than highway cars.
Schedule Your Pulling Diagnosis
If your vehicle pulls to one side, don’t guess at the cause. Call us at 910-399-4442 or schedule online. We’ll check tires, brakes, suspension, and alignment to find the actual cause — not just the obvious one. Every repair is backed by our 12-month / 12,000-mile guarantee. Visit us at 6609 Market Street, Wilmington NC 28405 — right on the road that’s probably causing the problem.
Related reading:
Wheel Alignment in Wilmington NC — Full details on camber, caster, toe, and our alignment process.
7 Signs You Need a Wheel Alignment — The full list of warning signs and what each one means.
Top Causes of Uneven Tire Wear — How alignment, suspension, and tire pressure combine to wear tires.
How to Spot a Steering Problem Early — When loose steering stops being an annoyance.
Squealing Brakes? 5 Causes — Brake noise, brake drag, and the sounds that mean stop driving.
Brake Repair & Replacement — Sticking calipers, warped rotors, and brake drag diagnosis.
Suspension Work — Ball joints, tie rod ends, control arms, and bushings.
Tire Mounting & Balancing — Tire pressure, wear patterns, and tire replacement.
What Wilmington Drivers Say About Derham’s
Visit Derham’s Alignment & Auto Repair in Wilmington NC