I have recently bought a Ford Focus 1 year old and drifts very bad Wheel

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Paul Michael

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alignment checked back front/ Front? I have recently bought a year old ford focus in very good condition from a reputable ford garage! When driving with the hands on the steering wheel very lightly the car drifts very badly to the left and occassionally to the right (This doesnt alway happen but quite a lot) The steering seems very sensitive on bumps and the steering wheel move alot (Mind of its own) guessing this is normal - The garage have taken it in three times taking the from suspention (So they say) a full health check and checked the wheel alignement now three times back and front with no change to the driving - Has any one got simaler effort or advice on this? Several friends have driven and all said there is something wrong? - I dont know very much about cars as you can guess

Thanks

Paul Michael
 
have someone follow you, it could be whats called "dog tracking" which means the cars frame was tweaked and pulled back into shape and the car travels very slightly sideways even though the wheels are all in line causing the car to steer strange and the suspension not to function exactly right. This condition is noticable to someone following directly behind you. The person or company that sold you the car may not even know that the car had an accident or ran over something if the previous owner paid to repair the vehicle. I had a car like that and the symptoms were much the same.
 
If the alignment is good, it HAS to be the tires.
Try rotating them and see if anything changes. Make sure the tire pressure is up to spec.
 
On UK roads all cars will pull to the left!
Thats because the road cambers to the left for water drainage!
I would drive down a road where it pulls bad then swap the front tyres over and see if it pulls the other way!
Was the alignment checked on a 4 wheel system or a 2 wheel one?
Did it check castor and camber alignment?
Has the car got traction control?
 
Tyres ... have they any tread, are they all compatible
Ball joints
Play in the steering rack
Wheel nuts loose (and fitted the right way round)
Are the holes in the wheels oval through wheel nuts being fited wrong in the past and not centred
Track rod ends worn.
Broken spring

That's it, can't think of anything else ... like you say the garage should have picked up on any of that but you never know.
 
Take it back to the dealer and go with them on the test drive and show them what it's doing! Then leave it there, take one of there loaner cars and tell them to call you when they have it fixed! Your getting JERKED around and you need to be safe! AND THIS CAR IS NOT SAFE AND THEY KNOW IT!
 
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