When diagnosing vehicle ride/handling complaints, it is often necessary to treat the vehicle as an entire system, due to the fact that many subsystems (such as the front and rear suspensions, steering, tires and wheels) can contribute to ride/handling problems. Because of this, comprehensive ride/handling problem diagnosis must consider all these systems. Once a diagnosis has been made, reference the appropriate service manual for further service information.
Complaint/Condition | Possible Causes | Corrections |
---|---|---|
Vehicle pulls | Mismatched, unevenly worn, or improperly inflated tires | Replace or inflate tires correctly. |
Improper front or rear wheel alignment | Perform wheel alignment. | |
Worn or bent suspension components | Replace components. | |
Worn wheel bearings | Replace wheel bearings. | |
Steering gear out of adjustment or worn | Replace or adjust steering gear. | |
Sagging springs | Replace damaged springs. | |
Worn struts | Replace worn struts. | |
Abnormal or excessive tire wear | Worn suspension components | Replace components. |
Hard driving | Advise customer. | |
Tires improperly inflated | Inflate tires correctly. | |
Worn struts | Replace worn struts. | |
Excessive body roll/pitching | Front stabilizer shaft bent or broken | Replace front stabilizer shaft. |
Rear stabilizer shaft or stabilizer bar links bent or broken | Replace rear stabilizer bar/stabilizer shaft links. | |
Broken or sagging springs | Replace damaged springs. | |
Tires improperly inflated | Inflate tires correctly. | |
Struts worn | Replace worn struts. | |
Suspension bottoming | Broken or sagging springs | Replace damaged springs. |
Struts worn | Replace worn struts. | |
Front wheel shimmy | Tires worn, out of round, or improperly inflated | Replace or inflate tires. |
Wheels out of balance | Balance wheels. | |
Worn struts | Replace worn struts. | |
Wheel bearings worn | Replace worn bearings. | |
Ball studs worn | Replace worn ball studs. | |
Lower control arm bushings worn or damaged | Replace lower control arms. | |
Front stabilizer shaft bushings worn or damaged | Replace worn or damaged bushings. |