Kia Cerato

CROUWKAMP

MEMBER
2009 KIA CERATO
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
37,000 MILES

Kia cerato pulling left? Is there any one out there that has some advice or maybe a solution to the problem

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 AT 6:38 PM

4 Replies

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

First switch the two front tires side to side. If it pulls to the right, it's a tire pull. Rotate them front to back and leave them there until a pair wears out. You can often also identify a tire pull by braking rather hard. If it pulls to the right during braking, it's a tire pull.

If it still pulls left after switching the tires, have the steering and suspension systems inspected, then have an alignment performed. In particular, camber for the two front tires are the numbers of interest. They should be very nearly the same with the left side just a little higher to make up for road crown, (leaning to the right so rain runs off).

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Tuesday, April 5th, 2011 AT 7:15 PM

CROUWKAMP

MEMBER
3 POSTS

19 May 2010

To whom it may concern

Kia Cerato 1.6 2009

Here with a full description of the problems with my Kia Cerato 1.6, bought on the 17th of December 2009, at Kia Rusplaas in Lydenburg.
I bought the Kia Cerato at Kia Rusplaas in Lydenburg on the 17th of December 2009.
Early in January after returning from Chrismas break I took the car to Duratred in Lydenburg to do the car’s wheel alignment because the car was pulling left.
Duratred could not find the problem and after doing the wheel alignment the car was still pulling left on the road. So I took the car to Kia Rusplaas and they sent the car to Continental in Lydneburg. There they did the wheel alignment after telling me that Duratred used the wrong Specs on the car.
The car was still pulling left after they also did the Wheel alignment.
They then tried switching the tyres from left to right and from front to back and the problem was still there.
Trevor at Kia Rusplaas told me they will contact Head Office and ask if they know what the problem could be and let me know as soon as possible.
They never came back to me and 2 weeks later I went back to them myself. They inspected the cars under carriage and could not find anything wrong. They again told me they will come back to me after consulting with Head Office.
Two weeks later again I went in because again I did not get any feedback from them. I was very upset and told them that this was unacceptable. 2 Of the men working there got very rude and shouted at my brother instructing him that they are not going to help us and that we should call Head Office ourselves if we wanted service.
I then phoned Head Office and explained my problem to the service consultant. She then told me she will sort the problem out and have someone contact me as soon as possible. After about 5 minutes Kia Rusplaas phoned me back and, again after me going there who knows how many times, asked what the problem was. I explained to the guy my problem and he then again very rudely told me that I told Head Office that it was a Sorento and not a Cerato and I must phone them myself again to correct my mistake.
I called Head office emediately and talked to the same lady. She told me that she did say it was a Cerato and that it was logged like that on the computer as well. She phoned Kia Rusplaas again and told the guy that I did not make a mistake and that the mistake was his.
Kia Rusplaas phoned me back 5 minutes later and told me that they will come back to me to let me know when I must bring in the car.
Again no one phoned me back and did I have to go in myself. They told me that Head Office says it could be the wheel bearing and they ordered one. They will let me know as soon as it has arrived.
After 2 weeks again I went in because again no one let me know what is happening. Trevor told me that they are still waiting for the part.
Almost 2 weeks later he phoned me to let me know that the part has arrived and we made an appointment to bring the car in.
I took the car in on the 7th of May 2010 for the bearing to be changed.
Quarter to 5 they phoned me and told me they did the service but not the wheel bearing and that the car will have to stay there until Monday. I told them I am not able to be without the car for the whole weekend and that they must either give me a courtesy car or I must have the car back until they are able to work on it again. I went to fetch the car and made another appointment for the 11 May 2011.
I took the car in on the Tuesday and at quarter to 5 they let me know the car is ready and I can come and fetch it. Trevor told me that 3 people tested the car and that it is fixed. I left Kia and was not even a block away when I knew the problem was not sorted out. I phoned Trevor and he then told me that 5 people tested the car and they cannot see that there’s any problem with the car anymore.
I took the car back the next morning and they send it to Continental. There they did the wheel alignment again and changed the tyres from front to back and left to right. The manager of Kia Rusplaas told me that he drove a Sorento and he had the same problem. The problem is because of the steering wheel not being straigt and that because of the airbags they are not able to adjust the steering wheel. He also told me that I have a 5year / 100 000km warranty and that I should just leave the car like that they will replace anything that breakes.
I took the car to Kia Welkom in. They told me the car’s front wheels should be sloted.
We took the car to Continental in Klerksdorp where they contacted Kia Rusplaas after assessing the problem to tell them what they think will solve the problem. They told me to bring the car in the next morning and that Kia told them what to do. The next day I took the car in and they bent the lower control arm to try and solve the problem. After the work was done the car’s brakes made a very bad noise. And the car was still pulling left.
In we moved to Rustenburg and took the car to Kia in Brits for its 30 000km service. There they also looked at the problem and at the brakes. They informed us that the lower control arm was bent and it will have to be replaced. They phoned Bronwin at Head Office and she said that we must have hit a pot hole with the car and that the lower control arm will have to be replaced by us. She also said that if that was fixed she was sure the problem will be sorted out. And if there are any other problems Kia will sort them out. The car should have been slotted and Kia Rusplaas must have known that the Cerato’s lower control arm cannot be bent. But Kia Rusplaas still gave Continental permission to bend the lower control arm. After this I was very upset because now this part had to be replaced because of Kia’s incompetent personnel and incompetent branches.
On the ________________________we paid ____________________ for a new Lower control arm and at _________km we had to change the tyres as well. After that the car still pulled Left and the brakes still made a noise.
We took the car to Kia Rustenburg and they told us that a shock adjustment must be done on the car. We took the car in the next day and they did the shock adjustment but still the car was pulling left.
We took the car back to Kia Rustenburg and they went through the car from front to back. They informed us that almost everything on the front suspension was bent and that it will have to be replaced. They called Head Office and put in the claim.
A week later I took the car in and the work was done. The brakes were not making a noise anymore but the car is still pulling left. We took the car back the next day and they send in for wheel alignment yet again and still the car was pulling left. The guy at Rustenburg KIA service centre told us that any car pulls a bit and that we should just drive the car like that.
I contacted AA Dekra and made an appointment for the 1st of April 2011. They will test the car and see if they can find any problem.
Dedre � 012 335 7332
C/O Hendrik Verwoerd en Michael Brink across from CTM
Shock test � R114

Technical � R1200

This is totaly unacceptable, because at the moment I still have the warranty but what if the warranty expires. And in the mean while who is going to change my tyres every 23 000km?

Hopefully you can be of help to me,

Thank you,

Anton Crouwkamp
072 041 4341 / 079 079 5902

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Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 AT 10:29 AM

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

As commonly happens with cars, there has been some miscommunication. Most notably, it's not the TIRES that have to be slotted. I suspect they meant to say the STRUTS needed to be slotted. That is a common procedure to make the alignment adjustable. At the factory, the alignment is built in so precisely that adjustments aren't necessary but as the car ages and the suspension settles, every car will need to have the alignment reset. That's why some cars come from the factory with adjustments and some cars have to be made adjustable. Nothing unusual there. GM is real famous for their cars having to be made adjustable and it's very time-consuming. Ford is famous for building cars that simply can't be aligned and can't be made adjustable. What you got is what you get. Most import cars are also not adjustable although some can be made adjustable.

The place to start is by looking at the alignment printouts they should have given you. If you have one handy, post the camber, caster, and toe values. Even if one of the alignment mechanics used the specs for a different model car, that is irrelevant. Camber has to remain within a small window to prevent tire wear. What is important is it must be the same on both sides. Caster is not important except it must be the same on both sides. Even if it is not, most front-wheel-drive cars do not pull in response to a difference in caster. It's just the nature of the design, however, every once in a while there is a car model that IS affected by caster so we still have to look at it.

I tried looking your struts up online but couldn't even find a listing for your car model. I looked at a few others that could share the same parts but they didn't show the struts. Some of them DID show "alignment kits" that will provide some camber adjustment if needed. One involves replacing one of the two lower strut mounting bolts with an offset bolt that can be rotated to change camber. Other possible methods I would look for when doing an alignment included shifting the upper strut mount to one side of the car, grinding the mounting hole for the lower control arm to offset it a little, or on some cars, loosening the cross member and shifting it sideways to tip both front tires equally.

I've also run into two large pickup trucks that I solved a pull by shifting the REAR axle. That is something that is not adjustable and everything we are taught, and experience, tells us that should have no affect, ... But it did. After trying many different things during the customer's many visits to the shop, shifting the rear end solved the problem. Fortunately he was very patient, and ultimately satisfied with the results. The second truck went faster because I knew what to do, but I never ran into the same problem again.

Another problem involved a popular import that had no camber or caster adjustments on the front. About nine out of ten cars pulled to the right. It was enough of a problem that the manufacturer developed a right lower control arm with an offset mounting bracket. It solved the pull perfectly by, in effect, moving the tire forward about 1/4".

There is a wheel spacer kit available for some full size pickup trucks with non-adjustable alignment. They use such a strong axle that the tires won't tip out of alignment, but if there is a pull, a spacer is installed behind one wheel to move it out about 1/8" making it pull harder that way. They work real well too.

It is also possible to have what seems to be a pull caused by internal leakage in the rack and pinion steering assembly. If the steering gear is trying to turn left while you're driving, that can't be blamed on or corrected by the alignment. One possible way that might identify that problem is to push in the clutch while driving at highway speed, then turn the engine off and coast. If the pull goes away, the steering gear should be checked further.

Another point of confusion has to do with their comment about the crooked steering wheel and the air bag. There were some cars that were built so cheaply that they only had one "toe" adjustment instead of two. Volkswagen was the worst offender and we had a lot of jokes about their cars. After "total toe" was adjusted for proper tire wear, the steering wheel had to be removed and reinstalled straight. Because you had a choice of splines to line the wheel up with the shaft, you had to pick the closest one which usually wasn't perfectly straight. That meant the steering wheel was always off-center a little, but that won't make it pull.

By the way, a lot of people get confused between a pull and an off-center steering wheel. They are totally different. A pull is when you let go of the steering wheel while driving and the car drifts to the left or right rather than go straight. A crooked steering wheel is just that. The car can still go straight when you let go of the steering wheel. Where people get confused is they PUT the steering wheel straight by turning it, then the car goes in that direction. That isn't a pull if you're holding the steering wheel straight. Another way to visualize a pull is to pretend you can't even see the steering wheel's position. A pull occurs when the car goes to one side of the road when you let go of the steering wheel, regardless of the steering wheel's position.

Most cars today have two toe adjusters. First the steering wheel is locked perfectly straight ahead with a tool, then each front wheel is adjusted straight ahead. Those adjustments must be done very precisely for best tire wear. The alignment computer makes that possible.

I can make a couple of suggestions. The first is to go to an alignment specialty shop. They often have fixes that aren't known by the dealers. For my second suggestion, in my experience working for a very nice Chrysler dealership, they had a district representative who came to town once a month to see if there were any customers with problems the dealer couldn't handle. They are very good at interpreting the miscommunication between customers, service advisers, and mechanics. They will likely drive your car or let you show them the problem, and they have the authority to authorize repairs and services that the dealer can't. The dealer has to follow the rules set forth by the manufacturer. The district representative can handle each problem on an individual basis and doesn't necessarily have to follow those rules. In my experience, customers who are understanding and patient get the best results. We've had a few unreasonable people too over the years. No one was too interested in helping them.

If you have an alignment printout, post the final results for camber and toe for all four wheels, and caster for the two front wheels. The best mechanics have their alignment computers set up to read to two places after the decimal point, (such as 0.15 degrees camber, vs. 0.2 degree). That extra precision means it can take longer to set the alignment accurately, but it is necessary on most front-wheel-drive cars. Older, heavier rear-wheel-drive cars didn't require that precision to make them go straight.

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Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 AT 5:19 PM

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