I've noticed a rather strong 'pull' to the left OR right while I am breaking from a slow speed to stop.

The first time it happened i thought i snagged the steering wheel on something or there was a power steering problem of some kind. If I am going over twenty and come to a stop(this is not hard breaking in either case) then it seems to be fine.. but if I'm breaking from a slower speed the car tends to pull to one side or the other(seemingly at random).

Any thoughts? I would expect a car to pull a little, but this almost feels like only one break or the other is engaging. I had about the same feeling when one of my break pads on an old car was MIA.

 

it's pulling towards the slope of the road.

It's normal. You'll notice the same pull when you take your hands off the wheel on an uneven road. Braking seems to make it happen to a larger degree, maybe someone else has a technical explanation for it.

 

It will happen whenever you are on well-travelled roads, where grooves or slight valleys have developed or worn into the road surface where the tires ride. The car will tend to pull when in these grooves - left or right depending upon where your tires are sitting the grooves. As previously stated, it will also occur (but to a lesser degree) when simply driving on such roads. Its a combination of the low-profile tires causing tramlining, and the suspension geometry. It is normal. However, if it happens to you EVERY time you stop, regardless of road surface and speed, then you might have a problem worth checking out.

 

That explains it, i didnt think of the possibility of the low profiles enhancing the 'groove following'. That and this car's powered steering is just a bit different from the previous cars i've had.

Thanks for the replies, i'll keep an eye on it.

 

Its called tramlining.

The wider and lower profile the tyre , the more the car will do it.

If in any doubt go find somewhere flat and try stopping. The car should stop (from over 100mph, tested...) in a dead straight line with max braking and no hands on the wheel.

 

How many miles do you have and does it happen every time your brake?

When I first got my car, I had some really bad pulls occasionally when I braked .......... almost like the brakes were not working evenly as you've described ........ it stopped happening after a few thousand miles.

In my case, I think it was the brakes vs tramlining.

rx8cited

 

yeah i also just realized cars do this i never noticed this because im used to driveing "sport taurus's"

 

If it continues all the time, it might mean you have to get the brakes checked out immediately.

Could just be a simple bleeding of the brakes or a disc rotor machining.

 

It's a tramlining (aka railroading) effect. You'll notice that it happens at the same places every time, typically if the road is worn out. The effect is not limited to braking at slow speeds though, so keep your hands on the wheel whenever you hit the brake. The first time it happened to me was on the autobahn at 130 mph and I was quite surprised. You'll get used to it though.