Your vehicle's tires are the workhorse of your vehicle, channeling the energy from your engine and transmission and the directions from your steering system into motion. However, wear and age can cause your tires to become misaligned, which can spell serious problems for how your vehicle handles itself on the road. Knowing the top three symptoms of vehicle tires that have fallen into misalignment can make diagnosing the problem much simpler so that you can head to an auto repair specialist to realign your tires straight away.

1. Irregularly-worn Tires

The first indication of tire misalignment that you may experience, though it is fairly hard to notice unless you know what to look for, is uneven tread wear across your tires. Tires that are pulling against each other, or which are both pulling in the same direction but are still out of alignment, can place increased amounts of friction on a specific side of their tread. Inspect the tires visually to see where the tread is localized. You can measure the depth of a tire's tread using a coin for easy reference if the difference is not easily visible by eye.

2. Shaking While Driving

Another extremely common symptom of misaligned tires that is fortunately much easier to notice is if your vehicle begins to shake while you are driving, no matter the speed that you are travelling at. These vibrations will get worse, naturally, at higher speeds, and can affect how well your vehicle handles on the road and how well you can control the steering wheel. Further, these vibrations can place a great deal of physical stress on your axles, suspension, and other associated systems within your car, and should be treated and fixed at once to prevent additional mechanical problems from developing.

3. Pulling

Finally, the last and most serious problem associated with misaligned tires is if your vehicle pulls to the side of the road gradually while you are driving in a straight line. At first, this may not be even noticeable, and you may only find that one of your arms is suspiciously more tired than the other after driving for long periods. However, this pulling will gradually progress to the point where you have to fight to keep your vehicle within the lane boundaries on the road, which can greatly increase the risk of you experiencing a collision while behind the wheel. Tire realignment can prevent this pulling from occurring and can help keep you safe on the road.

Contact your local tire shop for an appointment today to learn more.