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Car pulls underbraking - is it the alloys?

Hi,

Could really do with some answers/comments here.

My wife recently purchased a Fiesta Zetec 03 Model. Virtualy from day one the car has pulled mainly to the left under breaking. Problem is it isn't consistent. Tracking and brakes have been checked several times and each time they seem fine.

The car has alloys and I guess you could call the tyres low profile (Its all standard stuff). It has been suggested that it is followng the countour of the road, I could potentially beleive this but surely its a hazard? I've had the sterring wheel almost yanked out of my hand at one point. Do other people have similar problems, I've not driven any other car that does this and I have driven ones with alloys and low profiles.

The garage are now wiping their hands of it so I would like to make sure there is no other cause.

Any suggestions more than welcome.

Thanks

Gary

Reply to
Gary Davidson
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Gary Davidson ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

What size?

Tyre pressures OK? It's not been lowered, has it?

Tried another similar Fiesta?

Reply to
Adrian

  1. Put it on an MoT roller brake tester, this will show immediately if the brake balance is wrong in any significant way.
  2. Swap left and right front wheels over (assuming they are not directional tyres) Otherwise swap rear to front.
  3. Measure from front hub to wheel arch opening each side to check for bent bits.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

IF you hunt round locally you'll find someone who can do a real 4 wheel alignment for ~£50. Then you can enjoy the rant when you go back to your dealer. If it's following the contour of the road then it'll drift when you're not braking, & if you find an empty country road it'll do it the other way if you drive on the right. If it's snatching the wheel on braking are you sure they're the right alloy wheels?

Reply to
DuncanWood

followng

Reply to
gdavid9

If it is any use I drive a Fiesta Zetec 04 Model with alloys and it doesn't exibit those problems.

Reply to
Mark Hewitt

followng

Thanks Mark, I was kind of hoping to hear from others who drive fiestas to get a feel for it.

Gary

Reply to
gdavid9

my omega has started doing this and still does it even after 2 new callipers. I've had it on the mot rollers and nothing shows up.The tester says all bushes and suspension is ok so its not that . Ive had it 4wheel aligned where i work so its not that. Ive only once come across any thing like this before and it was a partially collapsed brake hose not allowing the fluid through in the proper manner. However when you released the brake pedal the car would pull the opposite way until the pressure was relieved. By the way ain't it great these days how garages can walk away from potentially lethal problems if they can't be bothered to sort them out.>

Reply to
Gary Millar

Speaks volumes! Would this be because they've realised they're not going to make a small fortune out of the OP?

krystnors

Reply to
krystnors

Exactly!

I consider it a bit of a safety hazard, you can easily be caught out by it.

Not being a mechanic and having limited knowledge of these things makes it very difficult to push it much further with them. I think the next step would be an independant garage and see what they find. If there is anything I can go back to the original garage and give them what for!

Gary

Reply to
gdavid9

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