Hello All!
I have a 2008 PT Cruiser that my wife and I bought to travel her mother about town.

Just replaced most of the big stuff underneath, including shocks, struts, subframe, control arms. etc. With all of that done, the car rode quite a bit higher in the front and seemed to want to wander a lot going down the road. Had an alignment done the next day and while it's better (rides good, not rattles, stops straight), there still seems to be something seriously wrong.

When accelerating, the car/steering wheel pulls HARD to the right - the harder the acceleration, the harder it pulls to the right. From a stop, if I was to moderately accelerate without holding the steering wheel, the car would be in the curb within 10-15 feet. If holding the car/wheel straight when accelerating - then take my foot off the gas, the car wants to jump into the left lane.

Is this normal? I've had a 20-year stint driving big trucks so have a few miles under me, but I don't care for this situation at all. Was better before I fixed it!

Would it be correct to assume that power is only going to one side? Is that the way it should be?

Thanks for any assistance and insight!

 

Its called torque steering common in FWD cars Google it PTs are known for it

 

Was the pull noticed before the front-end work was done? What prompted the extensive work/replacement on the front suspension? Is the engine turbo-charged? A non-turbocharged engine, that is naturally aspirated, will not have torque-steer unless a suspension component is having a problem.

Moderate acceleration should not cause torque steer. Torque steer will only show on acceleration, there should be no jump/drift to the left when taking your foot off the gas when cruising.

 

HI Guys,
I appreciate your assistance with this issue, but think we found the problem.

When subframe was replaced, my tech said it'll need a wheel bearing. So on the next visit to the mechanic for that, he also found that the tie rod end needed to be replaced as well.

BINGO! The tie-rod end was the fix, and that all makes sense to me.

It's my wife's car, but in the few miles that I've driven it so far it is 90% better than it was.

THANKS!
EZ EEE

 

Appreciate the follow-up. Thanks

I would have expected the alignment tech to notice the bad tie-rod end. I would request a 'no charge' alignment as the first alignment could not be properly done because of the bad tie rod end that should have been noted/reported.