The Importance of Wheel Alignment for Your Mazda

Wheel alignment is an often overlooked aspect of vehicle maintenance that’s nevertheless extremely important for any driver’s road safety, handling, and overall driving pleasure. Let’s examine exactly why you should periodically have your car’s suspension, wheels, and tires realigned at your local Mazda dealership. 

Optimize Your Vehicle Handling

Cars are designed to have all four wheels in perfect alignment with each other and also with the road’s surface. Over time, however, wheels become pushed and bumped slightly out of alignment by scrapes against curbs, potholes, parking stalls, and speed bumps.  

This can gradually affect the quality of a vehicle’s handling, reducing the driver’s precision of control. At its worst, wheel misalignment can even cause a car to pull to one side. Not only can this worsen your driving experience, but it also poses a safety hazard as your ability to corner carefully or drive in a straight line becomes inhibited. 

Reduce Road Noise and Vibrations

When the wheels of a car come out of alignment, greater friction is generated and unusual pressures are applied to the suspension. This often results in excessive road noise, which you might hear if you’re used to the usual sounds of your car. It also generates excessive vibrations, which you might feel through the steering wheel. 

Keep Your Tires Wearing Evenly

Wheel misalignment can also cause the tires to wear down unnaturally and unevenly. When this occurs, the most worn-out tires will become damaged or lose their tread depths more rapidly, at which point you’ll need to buy a whole new set of tires. 

This increased cost of tires can really add up over the lifespan of your car. Just as regular tire rotation saves on the cost of new tires, periodic wheel realignment also helps keep tires in good condition for longer. 

Reduce Your Maintenance Costs

As cars are designed to have perfectly aligned wheels, misalignment puts unexpected pressure on various car parts, not only the tires. It thereby forces the suspension and other connected components to work harder than normal, accelerating wear and tear. This can amount to an increase in various costly repair jobs. 

Visit Your Local Mazda Dealer Once a Year to Check the Alignment of Your Wheels

It’s generally recommended to have the alignment of a car’s wheels and suspension checked at least once a year. It’s advisable to also check your owner’s manual for the recommended interval for this service. The process of realigning wheels involves delicate adjustments and reconfiguration of various suspension components; a task best handled by a skilled and experienced technician. 

Visit Flood Mazda in Wakefield, RI, today to have qualified professionals realign your car’s wheels. We’re a local award-winning full-service dealership with a commitment to providing excellent customer service, whatever your vehicle-related needs may be. 

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