Check tyre pressures first — it is free and it is the cause surprisingly often. After that, the likely candidates are wheel alignment, a sticking brake, or uneven tyre wear.
A car that wanders towards the kerb is wearing your tyres out faster than you think, and the cheapest cause takes two minutes to rule out.
Check the tyres before anything else
A difference of just 6 to 8 psi between the two front tyres will make a car drift noticeably. Check all four cold against the sticker in the driver''s door jamb, not the maximum figure printed on the tyre wall. While you are there, look at the wear: a tyre worn more on one shoulder than the other, or feathered so the tread blocks feel like a saw edge in one direction, will pull on its own even at correct pressure. Mismatched tyres across an axle — different brands, tread patterns or ages — do the same thing. Swapping the two front tyres side to side is a free diagnostic: if the pull swaps direction with them, the tyre is the cause.
Pulling all the time versus pulling under braking
This distinction narrows it right down. A constant pull at steady speed points at tyres, alignment, or a suspension component. A pull that only appears when you brake points at the braking system: a seized caliper slide pin, a collapsed flexible brake hose acting as a one-way valve, or contaminated pads on one side. A pull that only happens under acceleration on a powerful front-wheel-drive car is torque steer, which is largely normal but gets worse with worn engine or gearbox mounts and uneven driveshaft angles.
Wheel alignment — the most common paid-for fix
Hit one decent Scottish pothole and the tracking goes out. Incorrect toe makes the car wander and scrubs the tyres flat in a few thousand miles; incorrect camber pulls towards the side with the most positive camber and wears one shoulder away. A four-wheel laser alignment measures toe, camber and caster against the manufacturer''s figures and resets what is adjustable. It is worth doing after any suspension work, any pothole impact that made you wince, and every couple of years as routine. Cost is £45 to £90 for front toe only, £70 to £140 for a full four-wheel alignment.
Brake faults that cause a pull
A sticking caliper drags one side constantly, which pulls the car and makes that wheel noticeably hotter than the others after a drive — carefully held hand near the wheel, you can feel the difference. A perished flexible hose can let pressure through but not release it, giving the same result. Both also eat that side''s pads and disc and can produce a burning smell. If one front wheel is hot and the other is barely warm after a ten-mile run, that is your answer. Do not leave it: a permanently dragging brake overheats the fluid and can boil it.
Suspension and steering wear
Worn track rod ends, ball joints, control arm bushes and, on a car that has had a knock, a bent arm or subframe will all give a pull that no alignment can properly correct — the alignment machine will simply show a reading outside adjustment range. The give-aways are knocking over bumps, vague steering, and an alignment printout with a figure in red that cannot be brought into spec. On older cars a collapsed rear trailing arm bush can make the car crab and steer from the back, which feels oddly like a front-end fault.
Real UK costs
Tyre pressure check: free at most forecourts. Front tracking adjustment: £45 to £90. Four-wheel alignment: £70 to £140. Two matched front tyres: £110 to £280. Brake caliper refurbishment or replacement: £140 to £320 per corner. Flexible brake hose: £70 to £140. Track rod end: £90 to £170. Front lower arm with bushes and ball joint: £150 to £300. If a garage recommends alignment, insist on a printed before-and-after readout — it is your proof the work was actually needed and actually done.
Why it matters beyond the annoyance
A car that pulls is scrubbing rubber off at a rate you would not believe. Toe out by a couple of millimetres can halve the life of a front tyre, which is £150 or more thrown away over a year on a set of decent tyres — far more than the alignment would have cost. It also means the car will not track straight in an emergency stop, and on a wet road that matters. And a consistent pull is one of the things an MOT tester notes when checking steering and brake balance on the rollers.
Is a car pulling to one side an MOT failure? — Not directly, but the causes often are — brake imbalance on the roller test, excessive play in steering joints, or tyres worn below 1.6mm from the misalignment.
How much does wheel alignment cost in the UK? — £45 to £90 for front tracking and £70 to £140 for a full four-wheel laser alignment. Always ask for the printout.
Can uneven tyre pressure cause pulling? — Yes, and it is the single most common cause. A 6 to 8 psi difference across the front axle is enough to feel clearly.
Why does my car only pull when I brake? — That points at a sticking caliper, a collapsed brake hose or contaminated pads on one side. Feel for one front wheel being much hotter than the other after a drive.