Em Bee Lover

2007. 4Matic. 177,123rd off the line. OEM 18" Continentals, stock wheels. 2nd owner, no accident history.

Release steering wheel in town/on highway, it drifts very strongly to the right. I know roads are "crowned". I know there's a built in drift, ostensibly to veer you off center if you fall asleep. Least that's what MB tech told me. But, this thing pulls right w/in 10-15 yards of letting go of the steering wheel.

Put on MB alignment equipment and every number was smack in the middle of tolerance/target. Guy checked linkage, other structural and suspension parts. Nothing visibly bad. I had both right and left lower control arms recently replaced, so sthey're not in play.

The Conti's have about 12000 miles on them. All four tires/rims have been on the right front at some point to eliminate an out of round or other tire issue, so that should not come into play.

It was suggested I have the alignment kit installed and the car set to pull left, to offset. I see the logic, but don't embrace the idea. I shouldn't have to do that w/ a straight, accident free S Class car.

Anyone else had this issue? I am out of options and tired of "fighting" the steering wheel. Anyone have the issue and find the culprit? Regardless, what should I be looking for to get this, if you will, straightened out?

Lotsa words, but all help and suggestions really appreciated. Thanks.

Mike5215

The "veer you off center" safety device business is complete nonsense. A properly aligned car compensates for the crown in the road by being slightly biased to drift left. If the car pulls right when you take your hands off the wheel there's something wrong.

Presuming you were given a copy of the pre and post alignment read-outs from the shop and all were in the green, I'd suggest getting the car to a high end body shop with a laser unibody rack and have it measured to verify it's square and to MB specs. Should be no more than a couple of hours to set up and measure. They'll also produce a read out showing the results.

If it's out of spec (which almost always means it's been hit) the shop can perform a "pull" and get it back where it belongs. Once the car is square, an alignment will be effective.

Donnymac

I have the exact same issue but on a 2012 w about 36k miles. The only person asleep is your tech. We think we have airmatic issue and that is the next rabbit to chase down.

Watch for abnormal tire wear. I had 3 good and one bad.....bad was RR and it was severe. Tires were showroom Conts. Running Michliens with high wear rating now.

ImInPA

The dealers alignment machine could need a calibration. Have them move the RF tire to the Left, and, The left front tire to the right. If this reverses the pull, it is likely you have a belt separating within one of the front tires or both. If it makes no difference, I would seek out an independent shop that has the latest version of the Hunter Road force balancing system and a "known good" alignment machine. If it is alignment, caster is generally the culprit for a strong pull as you describe. I am not sure if caster is adjustable on our vehicles, so I will let someone else chime in on that. Bottom line: Something is either bent or out of spec or worn out, a tire(s)s gone bad, or the road is really goofy. I do have a 7 mile stretch of I83 near me that makes my car feel not only out of alignment and out of balance. It is only this stretch of road, and, it has only been like this since they re-paved it. Good luck.

E300_Diesel

I can honestly say that alignments at the dealers for me have been hit or miss through multiple vehicles. On my current S class I paid for the alignment, drove onto the freeway after leaving the dealership, and found it pulling hard to the right. I took it right back and SA tells me it's "tire pull". I ask that the foreman test drives the car, which he does, and SA tells me "he knows what the problem is". An hour later car tracks perfectly straight.

On my E class trips to two different dealers for alignment issues and I hear everything from "its supposed to drift" to "you have cheap tires" to "it's the crown of the road". I finally took it to a body shop (as suggested in the forums) that was a Certified MB Collision Center and they put it up on a laser rack and basically examined the whole car. Turns out I had some frame damage and other related injury from a severe pot hole incident. My insurance paid for the repair and now it tracks perfectly straight.

marthyh

Please have a look at air-strut height calibration at all 4 corners as well: mine was off and caused pulling ..once I corrected that ,car goes straight as an arrow.

Mike5215

The rack at the MB dealer should be able to test for correct ride height at all four corners during the measurement phase.

Em Bee Lover

Thank you, thank you. Good advice from all I asked the same question months ago and got zero input. I appreciate everyone's suggestions and will chase them. Appreciated.