Leaning tire - is it the lugs, axle, bearing, hub..?

A relatively common question involves tires that "lean" or "stick out" - meaning they're off-track and no longer straight with the car or even with the other wheels on the vehicle. An "off" tire could lean in (pigeon-toed), stick out, or wobble while being driven. The problem can be caused by many things.

Recently, someone asked about this in our forums.

Before doing anything, check all of the lug nuts on your car to be sure they're tightened to recommended torque levels. A wobbling or leaning tire could be from lug nuts that have worked their way loose or that were not tightened as recommended. This is a serious safety issue and should be checked immediately.

The question is: have you hit anything that could have bent or broken something? Which means you had to hit an object fairly hard with the car, such as a deep pothole, a curb at speed, etc.

If so, that is likely the cause of your problem and will help narrow down the issue - it's likely a tire, wheel, or axle problem. If not, then there are ways to find out what the problem is regardless.

The first test is simple: swap wheels on the car. If the off-wheel is the left-rear (driver's side is left), then remove it and swap it with the tire on the right-front (passenger is right). If the new tire is straight and the suspect tire in its new location is still bent, then the problem is your tire or wheel (likely a bent wheel). Likewise if the wobble "moves" with the moved tire.

The fix in that case is obviously to have a tire shop run a "balance" check on the wheel to see if it's bent or if the tire is "bruised". These are usually very inexpensive and will likely be free if you buy a replacement there.

If the first test did not change anything, then it's got to be where the wheel attaches, not the wheel itself.

The next test is to look at the lug bolts and be sure they're straight. With the tire off, simply put a "straight edge" (ruler or other item known to be straight) and make sure that the lug nuts are straight. It's unusual for them to bend, but not impossible and the check is easy to do.

If they check out OK, then you'll need to check the ball joints and bearings. Start by reading this for more information.