Car Still Pulling to Left After Alignment
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Joined: Jan 2018
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2012 E350
Car Still Pulling to Left After Alignment
I love my 2012 E350 sedan. But about 6,000 t o8,000 miles ago I started noticing that the car is pulling to the left. At first I thought it was in my mind or that I typically drive in the left lane which has a grade in South Carolina to direct stormwater towards the median. Anyway, I had the car aligned by my Indy shop and it continues to pull to the left. Got out yesterday and the light hit my tire at just the right angle with dirty tires and I can see the outer edge wearing at a faster pace. Does anyone have a suggestion aside from alignment as to what this could be? I feel like I have done the logical thing by getting it aligned (and only toe was slightly out of spec). It's weird that it just developed a pull to the left and I want to get it corrected.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Feb 2014
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From: MA
2008 E350 4Matic, 2011 E350 4matic
Take it back and have them do it again. Probably some worn suspension component which they didn't notice but they're suppose to check all that. Wear items would be spring, strut, ball joint, tie rod, etc.
Super Member
Joined: Jul 2015
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From: San Diego, CA
2016 E350 Sport; Mom Wrecked the 2008 E350; sold the 2002 C320
Finally, if your tire is already showing signs of uneven wear, that might be what's causing the pull - you might be better off trying a fresh set of rubber.
[EDIT] A cheap way to check for this is to swap the 2 front tires. If it stops pulling or starts pulling to the right, It's definitely time to change them. Best to do both tires at the same time.
Hope you get it resolved - keep us posted.
Last edited by EuroDriverSD; Dec 20, 2019 at 06:47 PM.
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Mercedes-Benz CLK 550
I love my 2012 E350 sedan. But about 6,000 t o8,000 miles ago I started noticing that the car is pulling to the left. At first I thought it was in my mind or that I typically drive in the left lane which has a grade in South Carolina to direct stormwater towards the median. Anyway, I had the car aligned by my Indy shop and it continues to pull to the left. Got out yesterday and the light hit my tire at just the right angle with dirty tires and I can see the outer edge wearing at a faster pace. Does anyone have a suggestion aside from alignment as to what this could be? I feel like I have done the logical thing by getting it aligned (and only toe was slightly out of spec). It's weird that it just developed a pull to the left and I want to get it corrected.
Other than front and rear Toe (directional) adjustment !
OEM there is no front Caster adjustment needed to correctly resolve steering pull.
No front or rear Camber adjustment allowing to adjust tire contact angles to compensate for obvious signs of excess edge tire wear.
Owners further frustrated by being advised (because of broad alignment parameters) “is within specs”.
Its all to do with cost savings and ever increasing speed of assembly lines.
We saw the need therefore to re-instate from the early 90’s once again full alignment capability.
Front Camber and Caster. Rear Camber (and extra Toe).
Bolt-on, precisely adjustable (accurately under load, direct on alignment rack).
Catering for other than “showroom height” conditions - day to day commuting encountering high cambered roads, wheel squat through
load carrying or lowering, fitting wide profile tires/wheels, curb knock damage etc..
W 212/S E200-500, E63, E65 AMG
Front Camber & Caster kit #502916K $480
Rear Camber (& extra Toe) kit. #502226K $480
Rear uprated bushings for the 6 multi link rear arms - less twice, flex loss of traction. Especially when applying power to lane change/overtake. # 502628K $480
Note: For Performance/Track Days also manufactured Front replacement top strut mounts (coil spring models). Precisely Camber & Caster adjustable (from engine bay).
Additional 3 degrees Negative Camber, 1.5 Positive.
Stage 2 (Street/Race) #502916-2L $545 Pair
Stage 3 (Full Race) #502916-3L $545 Pair
Delivery $40 one kit ($20 each additional).
PayPal, Visa or M/Card
Last edited by K-Mac; Dec 23, 2019 at 06:21 PM.
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 48
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From: San Diego
2022 CLS450 2011 Boxster Spyder 2022 Bayliss V2
I had a 2012 W212 e350 and around 80k miles i had the same issue. the dealer told me the suspension parts needed to be replaced because the car was very heavy and over time the parts actually bend - so it cant be brought back into specs and this was with new properly inflated tires. so it was more than just struts / springs / coils. i ended up getting rid of it around 90k. the list of items was starting to grow and I estimated $3k - $4k to fix everything...i was getting tired of steering away from the pull!! when i would go on trips and rent cars i was like this is amazing it steers straight!!
Last edited by kdub; Dec 25, 2019 at 01:56 AM.
