What Is An Alignment and When Does My Car Need One?

An alignment is a frequent maintenance service completed on vehicles. While you may not need this as often as an oil change, an alignment is a service that allows you to ensure comfort and safety, as well as extending the life of your tires and suspension system components.

What Is An Alignment?

While many people may believe an alignment service is focused on getting all four wheels in line on your vehicle, an alignment actually has more to do with aligning the suspension system of your vehicle than the wheels specifically. The final component of your suspension system is the wheels, which mount to the suspension parts. The wheels allow your ride on the road to be smooth and comfortable because they help absorb impacts from the road.

When your vehicle finds a pot hole in the road or hits a curb that just jumped out in front of it or maybe has a minor fender bender with another car or road debris, sometimes those impacts can cause suspension system parts to adjust, bend, or shift. These parts can be shocks, struts, control arms, sway bars, tie rods, ball joints, axles, knuckles, etc. When these movements happen, they cause the wheels to then become out of line with each other. An alignment is completed when a technician brings your vehicle onto a specialized rack in our facility and electronically measures the angles of the wheels. Once the technician determines if any of the angles are mismatched, they can adjust certain suspension components to move them back into the proper position and, subsequently, the wheels move back into line with each other.

How Do I Know When I Need An Alignment?

The most common symptom of your alignment being off is when inconsistent wear patterns are on your tires. This is typically noticed during tire rotations, but you can also look at your tires regularly and see if any abnormalities exist, especially on the inner or outer edge of your tires.

The next most common symptom is if you feel your vehicle “pulling” more to one side or the other when you are driving. If you can find a straight section of road, try briefly releasing the wheel and see if your vehicle stays straight in the lane or seems to drift left or right. If it seems to go in a direction besides straight, otherwise known as pulling, then you should bring your vehicle in for an alignment check.

Another common symptom of an alignment issue is if you notice that your steering wheel does not line up straight. If you notice that your steering seems to be off-center, then your alignment is definitely off!

How Often Should I Have My Alignment Checked?

The certified technicians at Christian Brothers Automotive Weatherford recommend having your alignment checked twice per year or right when you notice any abnormal symptoms like those described above. Because we are seeing so many alignment problems due to declining road conditions and more collisions, we have put together a Lifetime Alignment package for our guests. This package includes 6 alignment checks and 2 alignment services every year for as long as you own the vehicle. Also, if you have repairs completed and an alignment must be performed (such as strut, control arm, or rack and pinion replacements), the alignment performed is at no additional cost to you. This service has quickly become a favorite among our guests to ensure that you are not prematurely wearing tires or suspension parts and saving you money if alignments are needed at any point of your vehicle ownership.

*The Lifetime Alignment service is not transferable to other vehicles in your household or to a new purchaser of the vehicle.