Hit a Pothole, Received Alignment, Car Still Pulls Right

[StoicKiwi]

TL;DR: Hit a pothole, got car aligned, car is still pulling to the right. What should I check?

While travelling to the east coast from Texas, I hit a gnarly pothole which knocked my car out of alignment and slightly bent one of my turbine wheels (thankfully the tires were okay). To go straight, I had to hold the steering wheel so the angle sensor was reading ~7° but the car was not pulling any direction. I could release the steering wheel and the car would drive straight despite the crooked wheel.

I received a wildly expensive alignment at a VA Service Center (attached) and shortly after leaving, I noticed the car was now pulling to the right but much less dramatically than 7° thankfully. I was on vacation and wanted to get back to it so I scheduled an appointment back in Texas for when we returned to address this and several other issues. Upon returning home, I got the bent turbines swapped for my all-season 19" Tempest wheels and the issue persisted. I had the Service Center visit 2 days ago and the car was returned to me with no change in the steering at all despite being charged another $274 for an alignment and the tech saying that it wasn't pulling...

I poked around the suspension components several times since the pothole and just today noticed one of my sway bar link bushings is in need of replacing (attached as well) but I seriously doubt that's the culprit (I'll schedule some mobile service for that).
Is there anything else that I should check? I scoured the forums looking for potential issues/fixes and have found a few, but my car doesn't seem to have any of them.

One of the most frustrating parts was I had finally resolved a long-standing steering issue and had the car aligned 2 days before this happened. It felt brand new for those 2 days and I miss it lol

 

[Rambino]

Its most likely the alignment shop. You have more camber, more caster all on the left side which would cause the car to pull slightly right.. I would go back or find an alignment specialty shop and say you want both sides set to Equal values (dont listen to the BS about setting it off for road crown... the road crown changes left to right all the time)..

That will probably dial out your slight pull even though your in the green.. also ask if you can set the steering wheel but to get this right you have to wiggle your steering wheel left to right in big swings gradually to smaller so that you neutralize any force on the steering wheel to either side..

 

[StoicKiwi]

Its most likely the alignment shop. You have more camber, more caster all on the left side which would cause the car to pull slightly right.. I would go back or find an alignment specialty shop and say you want both sides set to Equal values (dont listen to the BS about setting it off for road crown... the road crown changes left to right all the time)..

That will probably dial out your slight pull even though your in the green.. also ask if you can set the steering wheel but to get this right you have to wiggle your steering wheel left to right in big swings gradually to smaller so that you neutralize any force on the steering wheel to either side..

Thanks for the suggestion and input!
I did an extensive inspection yesterday, took the wheels off, checked all the bushings, checked for play, and nothing was abnormal so I was thinking it was probably just the alignment.
I would just go back to Tesla but I'm approaching $700 worth of alignments from them and have yet to go straight so I'll check out a 3rd party where I can actually explain things and be heard.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

Thanks for the suggestion and input!
I did an extensive inspection yesterday, took the wheels off, checked all the bushings, checked for play, and nothing was abnormal so I was thinking it was probably just the alignment.
I would just go back to Tesla but I'm approaching $700 worth of alignments from them and have yet to go straight so I'll check out a 3rd party where I can actually explain things and be heard.

Tesla is notoriously crappy at doing alignments. They aren't given enough shop time to be perfectionists. I'd suggest finding a racing alignment shop - the type that is comfortable setting up coilovers and whatnot. They will have the expertise to be able to adjust out any pulls.

 

[ATPMSD]

I would just go back to Tesla

Never take your car to a Tesla SC unless you have no other options!

 

[StoicKiwi]

Tesla is notoriously crappy at doing alignments. They aren't given enough shop time to be perfectionists. I'd suggest finding a racing alignment shop - the type that is comfortable setting up coilovers and whatnot. They will have the expertise to be able to adjust out any pulls.

I was going to just take it to Firestone or something but found a shop relatively close by that specializes in suspension mods and race tuning. I hadn't thought of taking it to a race shop, thanks for the advice!

Never take your car to a Tesla SC unless you have no other options!

I'm very quickly learning this... The SC experience used to be so nice and now I dread it

 

[Rambino]

Yes definitley research into a custom or race alignment shop.. The generic company shops and Tesla are not going to dial you in as accuratley.

 

[sorka]

One of the most frustrating parts was I had finally resolved a long-standing steering issue and had the car aligned 2 days before this happened. It felt brand new for those 2 days and I miss it lol

What was the long stranding steering issue?

Any any rate, your caster is not symmetrical yet the the toe is so the thrust angle is not straight. The alignment machine should tell the tech how to set the toe to adjust for castor. In this case, the toe is symmetrical which it should not be. For some reason, the alignment claims the thrust angle is 0 degrees but it's impossible given the current toe and caster.

 

[VT_EE]

TL;DR: Hit a pothole, got car aligned, car is still pulling to the right. What should I check?

While travelling to the east coast from Texas, I hit a gnarly pothole which knocked my car out of alignment and slightly bent one of my turbine wheels (thankfully the tires were okay). To go straight, I had to hold the steering wheel so the angle sensor was reading ~7° but the car was not pulling any direction. I could release the steering wheel and the car would drive straight despite the crooked wheel.

I received a wildly expensive alignment at a VA Service Center (attached) and shortly after leaving, I noticed the car was now pulling to the right but much less dramatically than 7° thankfully. I was on vacation and wanted to get back to it so I scheduled an appointment back in Texas for when we returned to address this and several other issues. Upon returning home, I got the bent turbines swapped for my all-season 19" Tempest wheels and the issue persisted. I had the Service Center visit 2 days ago and the car was returned to me with no change in the steering at all despite being charged another $274 for an alignment and the tech saying that it wasn't pulling...

I poked around the suspension components several times since the pothole and just today noticed one of my sway bar link bushings is in need of replacing (attached as well) but I seriously doubt that's the culprit (I'll schedule some mobile service for that).
Is there anything else that I should check? I scoured the forums looking for potential issues/fixes and have found a few, but my car doesn't seem to have any of them.

One of the most frustrating parts was I had finally resolved a long-standing steering issue and had the car aligned 2 days before this happened. It felt brand new for those 2 days and I miss it lol

Take it back for another alignment. My last two alignments on my 3 required three visits each for them to get it right.

 

[StoicKiwi]

What was the long stranding steering issue?

After doing some spirited driving on a mountain road, there was a spot that offered little resistance, most noticeable in AP.

I made another post about it with more detail but it took about a half dozen trips to A) get them to actually acknowledge that it isn't "Standard Behavior" and B) actually fix it.
In the end, they never really told me what needed replaced but the invoice said:

LEFT HAND DRIVE STEERING GEAR - STEEL
BOLTS+WAX(1453628-00-B)

So it looks like the steering rack.
Good thought on the Thrust Angle, I didn't even think about why it was 0'd out with the lopsided alignment

Take it back for another alignment. My last two alignments on my 3 required three visits each for them to get it right.

I would take it back to Tesla, but I may just contact customer service and see if I can get a refund for the last one. The SC is around 1 hour round trip away + traffic and appointments are like 2+ weeks out. I'm hoping a local race shop that I found is willing to do the alignment and eventually I want adjustable rear camber arms to help with some of that tire wear.

 

[Aggmeister2010]

After doing some spirited driving on a mountain road, there was a spot that offered little resistance, most noticeable in AP.

I made another post about it with more detail but it took about a half dozen trips to A) get them to actually acknowledge that it isn't "Standard Behavior" and B) actually fix it.
In the end, they never really told me what needed replaced but the invoice said:

LEFT HAND DRIVE STEERING GEAR - STEEL
BOLTS+WAX(1453628-00-B)

So it looks like the steering rack.
Good thought on the Thrust Angle, I didn't even think about why it was 0'd out with the lopsided alignment

I would take it back to Tesla, but I may just contact customer service and see if I can get a refund for the last one. The SC is around 1 hour round trip away + traffic and appointments are like 2+ weeks out. I'm hoping a local race shop that I found is willing to do the alignment and eventually I want adjustable rear camber arms to help with some of that tire wear.

IIRC, Bolts + Wax means they adjusted the belt tension and installed shims. There was a tech bulletin on it a few years back.

 

[Russell]

In the end, they never really told me what needed replaced but the invoice said:

LEFT HAND DRIVE STEERING GEAR - STEEL
BOLTS+WAX(1453628-00-B)

So it looks like the steering rack.
Good thought on the Thrust Angle, I didn't even think about why it was 0'd out with the lopsided alignment

I would take it back to Tesla, but I may just contact customer service and see if I can get a refund for the last one. The SC is around 1 hour round trip away + traffic and appointments are like 2+ weeks out. I'm hoping a local race shop that I found is willing to do the alignment and eventually I want adjustable rear camber arms to help with some of that tire wear.

How much did they charge you for LEFT HAND DRIVE STEERING GEAR - STEEL BOLTS+WAX(1453628-00-B) ?
Tesla wants me to pay $2,750 plus $574 labor.

 

[StoicKiwi]

How much did they charge you for LEFT HAND DRIVE STEERING GEAR - STEEL BOLTS+WAX(1453628-00-B) ?
Tesla wants me to pay $2,750 plus $574 labor.

I was still in the used vehicle warranty period at the time so it ultimately didn't cost me anything. I can't remember for sure, but I recall the "estimate" invoice being at least $2,500 before they determined if it would be covered under the warranty or not.

 

[Russell]

I was still in the used vehicle warranty period at the time so it ultimately didn't cost me anything. I can't remember for sure, but I recall the "estimate" invoice being at least $2,500 before they determined if it would be covered under the warranty or not.

At least the price they're quoting me is similar to yours.

I'm finding out the steering gear is actually a Land Rover part, EJ32-3200-DB