ANYONE ELSE HAVING THESE PROBLEMS I GOT 2 300'S 1 300C AND 1 300 BASIC, BOTH PULL TO THE RIGHT.
626-255-5218 WILLIE TOOK MY 300C TWICE 2 DEALER AND STILL PULLS TO RIGHT TOOK MY 300 BASIC AND STILL PULLS TO RIGHTMAYBE YOU SHOULD PUT YOUR WIFE ON A DIET.
Most likely the problem is alignment. To rule that in or out, someone has to look at the alignment numbers and give them an honest and intelligent analysis. Without that, you're just shooting in the dark.
If it turns out that alignment is not the problem, then at least you will have eliminated that and can explore other areas (but, barring a mechanical defect, such as brake binding, or a tire issue, it's most likely alignment). No doubt, based on your experience showing that it may be a prevalent problem, DC will issue a TSB before long on the problem just as it did on similar problems and diagnosis techniques that it released on the LH vehicles in 1999.
Some alignment parameters are not adjustable without some tricks - but usuaully there's a way to make the "non-adjustables" adjustable with minimum expense - most dealers don't want to get involved in what it takes to get to the root of the problem because the diagnosis and solutions don't fit into the warranty reimbursement criteria, with the result being that you will just continue to be strung along with no real resolution of the problem, but instead be placated with b.s. non-explanations or no admision that a problem exists (or be told that it's due to the crown on the road even if it's not).
If it was me, I'd find a good independent alignment shop that is willing to give you a printout of your complete alignment (and allowable limits) and deal honestly with you on where you are on alignment so you can determine if that is the problem, and if so, how you might resolve it.
In the mean time, as a no-cost initial effort, you might want to look at your tires to make sure they're all the same size on each vehicle, and experiment with rotating the tires around to see if that changes the problem (i.e., swap sides and it starts pulling to the left). If rotating has no affect, then it's not a tire issue. Check and adjust tire pressures as needed to make sure that is not contributing to or causign the problem.
Couple of questions: Is the pulling to the right due to the crown in the road, or does it also pull to the right when the road is tilted left (i.e., when you're in the left lane)? Does it do it all the time (straight and level, maintaining speed), or only when accelerating?
BTW - I think your post is officially the first question regarding a problem on the 300C on this ng.
Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
Yeah thats what they said on the invoice its due to the crown. But i mean when i let go of the steering on the freeway, or in center of both lanes it goes to the right. I think im just going to take it in and have them road test it with me in the car. This is on my 300 basic model.
My 300c pulls but very little, and the invoicing it also says because of crown.
Yep - that's the standard non-answer that dealers and the entire alignment industry use when they don't want to deal with diagnosing and fixing a pull problem. I don't think I have ever asked an alignment shop about pulling in one direction or the other where the answer wasn't either: (1) (if it pulls to the right) "It's because of the crown to the right of the right lane" (doesn't explain the pulling to the right when you're in the left lane with the crown slanting to the left), or (2) (if it pulls to the left) "It's because the alignment is compensated for the crown in the right lane, so it pulls to the left on straight pavement or when in the left lane".
Funny thing is that once you get the alignment issues corrected, you find that the crown has very little, if any, effect on pulling right or left - i.e., once I got my alignment and tire issues fixed, my car tracks straight regardless of whether I'm in the right or left lane. IOW, it's just their excuse to not have to deal with the problem.
I also wanted to add one other possibility to my suggestions from yesterday: Rack and pinions can have a defect that causes a slight bias in valve pressure to one side or the other (this is from the TSB on pulling in the LH vehicles, but it is a generic possibility). That's just another thing to put on the list of possibilities, but I'd check out the more inexpensive, easy-to-check out, and likely things first like the tires (same size all around and pressure) and four-wheel alingment.
Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
It's also the correct answer in both cases. If you can find a large, level parking lot, then you can determine if the pull is real. My vehicles all pull left in the left lane of a crowned road and right in the right lane.
If it has no effect, then you have too much friction in your steering somewhere.
I agree that the pulling shouldn't be severe on a crowned road, but if you let go of the wheel on the right side of a crowned road and the car doesn't start to drift towards the berm, then something is too tight in your steering system.
Matt
Not if what I described to them was pulling in one direction regardless of the direction of the crown (which I explained in the parentheses in that post). So - no - you cannot blame it on crowning, which his dealer did, if it pulls in the same direction regardless of direction of crowning.
We really don't know how much pull the OP is seeing, do we. That's why I covered myself in the previous post by sticking the words "the crown has very little, if any, effect on pulling right or left".
Obviously there is no such thing as "zero" in anything (in this case, pull). If we're going to start parsing words Clinton-style, then we both have to define what pull we're taling about (3 feet in 10 feet of run, ...in 100 feet of run, ...in 1 mile of run, ..., etc.). Admittedly, it would be an exageration to say that there is absolutely zero drifting with crowning to either side. But in context of the OP's post, it definitely doesn't climb up the crown, which he said his is doing.
The OP already stated that it goes right no matter which lane he is in, so I stand behind my statements about the crowning being used as an excuse not to do anything to troubleshoot the problem.
And - no - my steering is not binding.
Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
they said it was due to the crown, and the 300 pulls to the right alot more than my other cars on the same road conditions. i've tested it on the opposite side of the street so that it would pull to the left but it doesn't it keeps straight. As soon i let go of the steering wheel the steering tilts to the right on a straight road and starts going to the right. i took it to pasadena chrysler and basically they just said its due to the crown of the road, but the pull of my 300 i know its not normal. so i decided to take it back to the dealer i bought it and see what they say. next time if its still not corrected i will have to take a road test with them.
If they do something, I will be happy for you, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting. This is generally one of those matters where you can beat your head against a wall trying to get/make them do what's right, or deciding to take matters into your own hands and fix the problem. I really do hope you prove me wrong in this case.
Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
No doubt you mean Edmunds.com - the 300 forum. So much for the "crown in the road" b.s., eh?
Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")
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