[DLSimm]

My wife mentioned her car was acting squirrelly the other day. Kinda like it was floating when hitting bumps or driving over manhole covers. Then it snowed and it really got weird. I drove it last night and it scared the hell out of me. Feels like it has a mind of its own and you feel like it wants to take you toward the ditch on the side of the road. This is at low speeds. I usually use second gear on ice and it still was being crazy. I've never experienced anything like it. I drive an Outback AWD and no problem. My mo-in-law's Toyota Celica no problem. This car was scary (not quite Stephen King scary, but...). So, I'm hoping someone might have an idea as to what might be going on. Possible computer issue? Wheel sensors misreading the road? The shocks seem to be good. Tires have pretty good tread. I think 7/32 about 100 miles ago. They're balanced and aligned. No weird noises or strange vibrations coming from anywhere. Any thoughts?

 

[Miker]

Tire pressure? Too high can cause loss of grip. Did you recently bring the car to the dealer or have something done with the tires?
Tire type? All season? Winter tires? Size?
Manufacturer?
How old are tires? May have good tread but rubber may be useless
What temperature are we talking about? -20F or 32F
Any codes relating to tire pressure or ABS?
This is the first time this has ever happened to either of you with this car?

Yeah sorry for all the questions but all these can/may contribute to what you are experiencing.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[DARKART]

What about alignment?

 

[Ang]

My wife mentioned her car was acting squirrelly the other day. Kinda like it was floating when hitting bumps or driving over manhole covers. Then it snowed and it really got weird. I drove it last night and it scared the hell out of me. Feels like it has a mind of its own and you feel like it wants to take you toward the ditch on the side of the road. This is at low speeds. I usually use second gear on ice and it still was being crazy. I've never experienced anything like it. I drive an Outback AWD and no problem. My mo-in-law's Toyota Celica no problem. This car was scary (not quite Stephen King scary, but...). So, I'm hoping someone might have an idea as to what might be going on. Possible computer issue? Wheel sensors misreading the road? The shocks seem to be good. Tires have pretty good tread. I think 7/32 about 100 miles ago. They're balanced and aligned. No weird noises or strange vibrations coming from anywhere. Any thoughts?

you should reply instead of editing your message so everyone is notified of your response and can move onto other options to help

 

[DLSimm]

Tire pressure? Too high can cause loss of grip. Did you recently bring the car to the dealer or have something done with the tires?
Tire type? All season? Winter tires? Size?
Manufacturer?
How old are tires? May have good tread but rubber may be useless
What temperature are we talking about? -20F or 32F
Any codes relating to tire pressure or ABS?
This is the first time this has ever happened to either of you with this car?

Yeah sorry for all the questions but all these can/may contribute to what you are experiencing.

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the response. Tires are 225/60/R18 with 7/16 tread. Michelins Premium All-Season. Have no idea how old the tires are. Only owned the car for about 20 months. It has been happening in warm weather (60-degrees) and low-temps (10-degrees). I don't drive this vehicle much, but my wife was describing "floating" after hitting small potholes or manhole covers. Then with the snow, when I drove it, it was super freaky in the floating department. Kind of pulling, but not like an alignment pull. Hard to explain. As far as codes, it says it has none. Of course, I don't have the ultra, super-duper code reader, but it generally tells me when I have an issue. Hope that helps.

 

[Ang]

Thanks for the response. Tires are 225/60/R18 with 7/16 tread. Michelins Premium All-Season. Have no idea how old the tires are. Only owned the car for about 20 months. It has been happening in warm weather (60-degrees) and low-temps (10-degrees). I don't drive this vehicle much, but my wife was describing "floating" after hitting small potholes or manhole covers. Then with the snow, when I drove it, it was super freaky in the floating department. Kind of pulling, but not like an alignment pull. Hard to explain. As far as codes, it says it has none. Of course, I don't have the ultra, super-duper code reader, but it generally tells me when I have an issue. Hope that helps.

You can check the date code on the side of the tire but this really doesn't sound like something we can give an answer for without being able to drive the vehicle

 

[DLSimm]

Thanks for the help folks. Bad alignment was the winner. I'm guessing my son hit quite a few Indianapolis potholes last year. Since it didn't feel like it was pulling one way or the other, I assumed it wasn't the alignment. Guess we all know what happens when we assume, right?