rolyexpres

Hi guys,

I bought a new-to-me 2015 Lexus IS350 about two months ago from a private seller in Naples, FL. It's got 84,000 miles and was previously crashed inside of a parking lot (pic of damage attached). When I test drove it for the first time I felt a slight pull to the right. I'm not that mechanic-savvy and probably shouldn't have risked it buying it. I've done some research and don't know what to do next. Having to constantly hold the steering wheel to make sure car is going straight is getting annoying and I'd like to fix this before it gets worse. Your help would be much appreciated.

Problem:
Car pulls to the right

Troubleshooting:
- Get an alignment: I took it to a reputable alignment guy, this is all he does, and told me it was pretty much within spec.
- Put car in lift and check suspension wear: looks good, had a friend look at it too. Also tugged on rims and suspension seemed solid.
- Check if steering wheel is centered: yes, it seems centered. The steering wheel veers to the right of center by a lot all when driving on any road.
- Check for unusual tire wear: tires are very much new and don't seem to show any weird issues.
- Switch two front tires: I did this and even flipped the tires on the rims since they were directional tires. The problem persists, it shouldn't be the tires?
- Check power steering: I switched the car off on a slippery painted surface, the steering wheel is a lot harder to turn to the left than it is to the right. Same behavior as when the car is running, it is harder to turn left.

With the last troubleshoot item, I believe the problem to be mechanical (as another poster explained) and not on the rack. I'm not exactly sure what that means. Where should I move to next? Lexus dealership?

Thanks for reading this far!

daddystop

High five bro, beer me.

Wrong forum. This is for first gen.

Sounds like a tweaked steering rack to me. I could be wrong. I find it hard to believe your car is pulling and the alignment is straight and NOTHING looks bent/out of place.

rolyexpres

Hey man, sorry for wrong forum, I just noticed that now. I went to a different alignment guy who switched my front wheels and told me to ride these tires off, I think one of them has defect/is pulling and now that it's pulling against the curvature of the road it's fine.

2001SolarY

That is called radial pull. Basically a tire is coming apart. If that was it. You could change sides and it should puul the other way.