Leaning to the Right - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited April 2016 in Jeep
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Leaning to the Right - 2015 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk Long-Term Road Test

Our 2015 Jeep Renegade seems to have developed a slight pull to the right on the highway. The tires were recently rotated, so there's a good chance that has something to do with it.

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Comments

  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,824
    Before you have it aligned, try crossing the front tires side to side.
  • longtimelurkerlongtimelurker Member Posts: 455

    Before you have it aligned, try crossing the front tires side to side.

    Exactly right. This comes up quite frequently and the solution I have found in many cases is to cross-rotate my tires when I rotate them.
  • daryleasondaryleason Member Posts: 501
    I think the Renegade already had a post where they had to swap the tires back to eliminate either the vehicle pulling or a vibration. Also, with Radials, I thought it wasn't recommended to swap left to right on the tires, that it would cause tread separation. With the old bias-ply tires, you could swap left-right, but I think the only way to move a tire from the driver's side to the passenger's side would be to dismount the tire from the rim, then turn it 180 degrees (left to right) and mount it back on the rim for the other side. So, if you were "whitewalls out" to begin with, you'd need to have them mounted "blackwalls out" in order to switch them.
  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863

    I think the Renegade already had a post where they had to swap the tires back to eliminate either the vehicle pulling or a vibration. Also, with Radials, I thought it wasn't recommended to swap left to right on the tires, that it would cause tread separation. With the old bias-ply tires, you could swap left-right, but I think the only way to move a tire from the driver's side to the passenger's side would be to dismount the tire from the rim, then turn it 180 degrees (left to right) and mount it back on the rim for the other side. So, if you were "whitewalls out" to begin with, you'd need to have them mounted "blackwalls out" in order to switch them.

    My understanding is (after spending a fair amount of time researching recently on it), that the whole tread separation fears aren't relevant for modern tires anymore. I believe all auto and tire manufacturers recommend doing cross rotating unless the tires explicitly say not too.
  • daryleasondaryleason Member Posts: 501
    @kirkhilles1 : Thanks for the post. So I did a quick five minute Google Search on it, found some information on the internet, and realize that if it's on the internet, then it must be true. Honestly, I saw a post on tirerack.com where they were talking about it. And I guess times have changed. Not only can you watch dirty videos on a cell phone that costs more than most people's first car, but you can also now swap a radial tire from the driver's side to the passengers side and likely not see any ill-effects. Provided, of course, that it's not a uni-direction or studded tire. Thank you for clarifying that for me, Bud.
  • misterfusionmisterfusion Member Posts: 471
    There was indeed already a post on this topic. I believe they took it to the dealer, and the dealer gave the car back to them stating "problem fixed by tire rotation".
  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    Before you check alignment, do this:

    With the weight off the tires, and with each of them properly inflated, check their circumference with a tape measure pulled tight around the center of the tire.
    You'll probably find that the left tires are bigger - sometimes up to 3/8" - which translates into about 1/8" in diameter. This means the car will tend to pull right. I've seen this many times, even on brand new tires, and some vehicles are particularly sensitive to it.
    In the US, you want the 'larger' tires to be on the right side, which helps correct for road crown.
  • henry4hirehenry4hire Member Posts: 106
    I learned from a alignment master that it is almost always the tires! Most places though will just take your money and do it anyways.
  • kokomojoekokomojoe Member Posts: 150
    When you buy a FIAT expect to have to get fixed often....Fix It Again Tony did not happen because they were/are reliable
  • kokomojoekokomojoe Member Posts: 150
    gslippy said:

    Before you check alignment, do this:

    With the weight off the tires, and with each of them properly inflated, check their circumference with a tape measure pulled tight around the center of the tire.
    You'll probably find that the left tires are bigger - sometimes up to 3/8" - which translates into about 1/8" in diameter. This means the car will tend to pull right. I've seen this many times, even on brand new tires, and some vehicles are particularly sensitive to it.
    In the US, you want the 'larger' tires to be on the right side, which helps correct for road crown.

    In my 50 years of owning cars I have never heard of larger tires on one side of the car that is the dumbest idea yet
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,824
    edited April 2016
    Most places though will just take your money and do it anyways.
    I often wonder how long it will take before everyone finally begins to realize what perspectives like this ultimately cost the consumer.

    They need to swap the tires side to side and see what happens. If the pull (lead) changes then swap the tires on one side of the car from front to back and then see how it handles again. What is usually happening is one of the tires is causing a dynamic pull/push because it is rolling more like a Styrofoam cup. This routine will identify first if a tire is causing the issue and if so which tire is it. Then a repair can be discussed.

    To get to this answer, the person investigating it deserves to be paid fairly for taking the time to do so. The same goes for measuring the alignment angles if need be. There are places that say that they do that for free, and yes it might not cost you money today if a given vehicle doesn't need correction. But it isn't really free and its costing you a lot more somewhere else. Come on already, figure it out!
  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    kokomojoe said:

    gslippy said:

    Before you check alignment, do this:

    With the weight off the tires, and with each of them properly inflated, check their circumference with a tape measure pulled tight around the center of the tire.
    You'll probably find that the left tires are bigger - sometimes up to 3/8" - which translates into about 1/8" in diameter. This means the car will tend to pull right. I've seen this many times, even on brand new tires, and some vehicles are particularly sensitive to it.
    In the US, you want the 'larger' tires to be on the right side, which helps correct for road crown.

    In my 50 years of owning cars I have never heard of larger tires on one side of the car that is the dumbest idea yet
    Brand new tires are rarely identical in size. Go check yours to see. Everything has tolerance and variation. The only way to get identical tires is to shave them, which is what is done on race cars.

    I think you misunderstood my post; I'm not recommending buying tires marked differently. I'm saying that identically-marked tires are NOT all precisely identical.

    The reason swapping the tires side to side works - recommended by many other posters here - is for this reason. The tires aren't bad, and the alignment can be just fine. I dealt this with this problem on several cars over the years until I figured out the issue.

    The math works this way: If you have a tire that is 1/8" larger in circumference (not diameter), and it is rotating 800 times per mile, that tire is trying to travel 100 feet less per mile than the opposite tire. Something has to make up the difference - that something is steering angle, which amounts to drag and wear.
  • thecardoc3thecardoc3 Member Posts: 5,824
    The math doesn't work that way. Since the tires are not mechanically linked they are free to rotate at different speeds. The pull or lead caused by tires is a phenomenon based on just one of the tires all by itself.
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