I gave up driving a few years ago due to obsessing over...
Discussion
Hey,
A few years back I gave up driving due to obsessing over an issue I felt with every car I've ever drove.
The issue didn't really affect my driving but because I could feel it... I spent most of my time driving... wishing I could resolve it and way too many visits to garages trying to see if there was anything they could find.. I would say i'm very much a perfectionist and if something is wrong/off I wont rest until I get to the bottom of it.
I miss driving and would love to enjoy it again but would only ever return If I could once and for all get to the bottom of it because I know I would end up obsessing over it again.
I have seen many posts with similar descriptions over the years that either didnt get a reply or nobody had an idea what the issue could be.
The post would usually start with " My car feels like I have a flat tyre but I dont "...... then would go onto explain how their front left or right tyre feels like its flat but when they check the pressure they are all equal...
This is basically the issue in a nutshell... I would constantly feel like either the front right or left tyre was flat/ not contacting the road like the other tyres and would give the feeling of the car sitting lower which wasn't the case as springs/shocks/height would all get checked and be fine.
I always felt it was alignment related and would be getting this checked constantly as with there being a feeling of having a flat tyre on whichever side the car would also then want to pull very slightly to this side.... but again alignment would check out or not be out by anything massive... and the tyre pressure would be even.
The only time I would feel any relief would be when I would drop the opposite side rear tyre pressure down a little... for example if the feeling was in the front left side when driving I slightly deflated the rear right side and this would temporarily get rid of this feeling.
I realise how crazy this sounds but I never felt this issue with a new car... this would begin when the alignment got knocked out or after a nasty pothole/speed bump. etc
I always wondered if it was due to the tyre being out of round ? or wearing strangely due to one part of the alignment being ever so slightly out of spec... but again I never ever got to the bottom of it... and in the end gave up driving due to the obsession.
I hope someone might have a slight idea as I miss having my car and would like to get back to driving again to save my partner having to drive me about all the time lol.
A few years back I gave up driving due to obsessing over an issue I felt with every car I've ever drove.
The issue didn't really affect my driving but because I could feel it... I spent most of my time driving... wishing I could resolve it and way too many visits to garages trying to see if there was anything they could find.. I would say i'm very much a perfectionist and if something is wrong/off I wont rest until I get to the bottom of it.
I miss driving and would love to enjoy it again but would only ever return If I could once and for all get to the bottom of it because I know I would end up obsessing over it again.
I have seen many posts with similar descriptions over the years that either didnt get a reply or nobody had an idea what the issue could be.
The post would usually start with " My car feels like I have a flat tyre but I dont "...... then would go onto explain how their front left or right tyre feels like its flat but when they check the pressure they are all equal...
This is basically the issue in a nutshell... I would constantly feel like either the front right or left tyre was flat/ not contacting the road like the other tyres and would give the feeling of the car sitting lower which wasn't the case as springs/shocks/height would all get checked and be fine.
I always felt it was alignment related and would be getting this checked constantly as with there being a feeling of having a flat tyre on whichever side the car would also then want to pull very slightly to this side.... but again alignment would check out or not be out by anything massive... and the tyre pressure would be even.
The only time I would feel any relief would be when I would drop the opposite side rear tyre pressure down a little... for example if the feeling was in the front left side when driving I slightly deflated the rear right side and this would temporarily get rid of this feeling.
I realise how crazy this sounds but I never felt this issue with a new car... this would begin when the alignment got knocked out or after a nasty pothole/speed bump. etc
I always wondered if it was due to the tyre being out of round ? or wearing strangely due to one part of the alignment being ever so slightly out of spec... but again I never ever got to the bottom of it... and in the end gave up driving due to the obsession.
I hope someone might have a slight idea as I miss having my car and would like to get back to driving again to save my partner having to drive me about all the time lol.
I dont have any other obsessive rituals etc but I know I can obsess over something that doesnt feel right If I believe it can be resolved and I can easily spend a day on my PC trying to problem solve issues... not leaving it until it's resolved.
I think because I know there is something causing it... I cant let it go.. If it was there from brand new and how the car is I wouldn't obsess as much.
I have always had a few suspicions but never been able to pinpoint the issue.
Tyre wear - rotating tyres helps temporarily as did lifting the car off the ground on all four corners when I took it to a garage etc again temporarily.
I then considered it might be fluctuating tyre pressure if the alignment is out and im having to hold the steering slightly to one side maybe this was causing one tyre to heat up more than the other...causing this lean/dip feeling to one side...
I honestly tried everything and any checks came back good maybe slightly out of spec alignment but nothing major.
So my final thoughts before giving up is it must then tyre related but I just ended up packing it in at this point. :/
Anyways any advice or even guesses are much appreciated.
I think because I know there is something causing it... I cant let it go.. If it was there from brand new and how the car is I wouldn't obsess as much.
I have always had a few suspicions but never been able to pinpoint the issue.
Tyre wear - rotating tyres helps temporarily as did lifting the car off the ground on all four corners when I took it to a garage etc again temporarily.
I then considered it might be fluctuating tyre pressure if the alignment is out and im having to hold the steering slightly to one side maybe this was causing one tyre to heat up more than the other...causing this lean/dip feeling to one side...
I honestly tried everything and any checks came back good maybe slightly out of spec alignment but nothing major.
So my final thoughts before giving up is it must then tyre related but I just ended up packing it in at this point. :/
Anyways any advice or even guesses are much appreciated.
I'd say this issue is entirely in your head.
The reason you don't feel it in a new car is because in your mind it will perfect as the car is factory fresh.
There are millions are perfectly good 'used' cars on the road that drive perfectly.
If their wheels/tyres had flat spots or balance issues they wouldn't drive perfectly.
If their suspension was damaged. misaligned etc. then the tyres would wear unevenly.
I drive 3 vehicles - 6 years old 76k miles, 16 years old 160k miles and 17 years old 84k miles.
They all drive spot on, no uneven tyre wear and no weird feelings from them.
Seriously, its all in your head.
Hope you can work through it.
The reason you don't feel it in a new car is because in your mind it will perfect as the car is factory fresh.
There are millions are perfectly good 'used' cars on the road that drive perfectly.
If their wheels/tyres had flat spots or balance issues they wouldn't drive perfectly.
If their suspension was damaged. misaligned etc. then the tyres would wear unevenly.
I drive 3 vehicles - 6 years old 76k miles, 16 years old 160k miles and 17 years old 84k miles.
They all drive spot on, no uneven tyre wear and no weird feelings from them.
Seriously, its all in your head.
Hope you can work through it.
End said:
What does "lifting off the ground " mean ?
I can't work out what benefit or fix that gives ....
My mechanic would lift the car from under the car sill leaving all four wheels to hang freely... and when I drove the car after this it would temporarily feel much better to drive.. this is why I always thought it might be down to tyre shape or wear.I can't work out what benefit or fix that gives ....
Lincsls1 said:
I drive 3 vehicles - 6 years old 76k miles, 16 years old 160k miles and 17 years old 84k miles.
They all drive spot on, no uneven tyre wear and no weird feelings from them.
All of mine are carrying various issues! My 17yr old Merc terrifies me. They all drive spot on, no uneven tyre wear and no weird feelings from them.
I took my daughter's 3yr old / 30K mile car for service and its first MOT the other day - we're about 30 miles from the dealer so a decent run - and was really impressed with how it drove. Dealer gave it an MOT advisory for worn suspension!
To the OP, I'd say lease a new one on 2yr deal. Then don't worry about it, it'll be going back soon.
Lincsls1 said:
I'd say this issue is entirely in your head.
The reason you don't feel it in a new car is because in your mind it will perfect as the car is factory fresh.
There are millions are perfectly good 'used' cars on the road that drive perfectly.
If their wheels/tyres had flat spots or balance issues they wouldn't drive perfectly.
If their suspension was damaged. misaligned etc. then the tyres would wear unevenly.
I drive 3 vehicles - 6 years old 76k miles, 16 years old 160k miles and 17 years old 84k miles.
They all drive spot on, no uneven tyre wear and no weird feelings from them.
Seriously, its all in your head.
Hope you can work through it.
It always occurred right after a pothole/knock which made me think possibly anything other than the toe being out might be causing unusual wear or changing the how tyre makes contact with the road... I have been tested for any balance issues or vertigo etc .. I dont suffer this when cycling or walking/running this is something that is only felt when driving a car that has/is out of alignment.The reason you don't feel it in a new car is because in your mind it will perfect as the car is factory fresh.
There are millions are perfectly good 'used' cars on the road that drive perfectly.
If their wheels/tyres had flat spots or balance issues they wouldn't drive perfectly.
If their suspension was damaged. misaligned etc. then the tyres would wear unevenly.
I drive 3 vehicles - 6 years old 76k miles, 16 years old 160k miles and 17 years old 84k miles.
They all drive spot on, no uneven tyre wear and no weird feelings from them.
Seriously, its all in your head.
Hope you can work through it.
Sheepshanks said:
All of mine are carrying various issues! My 17yr old Merc terrifies me.
I took my daughter's 3yr old / 30K mile car for service and its first MOT the other day - we're about 30 miles from the dealer so a decent run - and was really impressed with how it drove. Dealer gave it an MOT advisory for worn suspension!
To the OP, I'd say lease a new one on 2yr deal. Then don't worry about it, it'll be going back soon.
I think the reason I was so obsessed is I drove for a living so was spending 10 hours a day driving.. I wouldnt have cared as much had it just been for running around in.I took my daughter's 3yr old / 30K mile car for service and its first MOT the other day - we're about 30 miles from the dealer so a decent run - and was really impressed with how it drove. Dealer gave it an MOT advisory for worn suspension!
To the OP, I'd say lease a new one on 2yr deal. Then don't worry about it, it'll be going back soon.
I think I'd agree with the consensus - you might get more benefit from a GP than a mechanic. The bit that struck me is that your solution of reducing the pressure in the diagonally opposite tire would make it worse, not better - think about a wonky table with one shorter leg, if you saw a bit off the diagonally opposite leg you make the instability worse not better.
The other thing maybe worth thinking about is that very few cars will be absolutely balanced across all four wheels at any time, and that's actually perfectly fine and cars are designed and built with very wide tolerances to make sure they are still safe, so you can load them really unevenly and they'll still be fine. So whether you have a 20 stone driver on one side, or four 8 stone people spread around evenly, or put 100kg of sand in the boot or 75kg of crap in a roofbox, the car will be just fine.
The other thing maybe worth thinking about is that very few cars will be absolutely balanced across all four wheels at any time, and that's actually perfectly fine and cars are designed and built with very wide tolerances to make sure they are still safe, so you can load them really unevenly and they'll still be fine. So whether you have a 20 stone driver on one side, or four 8 stone people spread around evenly, or put 100kg of sand in the boot or 75kg of crap in a roofbox, the car will be just fine.
Sheepshanks said:
All of mine are carrying various issues! My 17yr old Merc terrifies me.
I took my daughter's 3yr old / 30K mile car for service and its first MOT the other day - we're about 30 miles from the dealer so a decent run - and was really impressed with how it drove. Dealer gave it an MOT advisory for worn suspension!
To the OP, I'd say lease a new one on 2yr deal. Then don't worry about it, it'll be going back soon.
I took my daughter's 3yr old / 30K mile car for service and its first MOT the other day - we're about 30 miles from the dealer so a decent run - and was really impressed with how it drove. Dealer gave it an MOT advisory for worn suspension!
To the OP, I'd say lease a new one on 2yr deal. Then don't worry about it, it'll be going back soon.
Time for you to get rid?Mine on the other hand, are just fine. They certainly don't terrify me!
Well maybe the V8 does at full chat!
I agree with you though, in the sense the OP should just run new cars if this solves his problem.
Edited by Lincsls1 on Sunday 24th October 11:17
Backontheroad said:
It always occurred right after a pothole/knock which made me think possibly anything other than the toe being out might be causing unusual wear or changing the how tyre makes contact with the road... I have been tested for any balance issues or vertigo etc .. I dont suffer this when cycling or walking/running this is something that is only felt when driving a car that has/is out of alignment.
It might be worth you learning a bit about alignment, so you can see that there's no "perfect" alignment and the manufacturer specs give a range which itself is a compromise of lots of factors based on how they assume people use their cars. Most pothole impacts won't affect alignment at all - cars are pretty tough. The same car can feel very different in different situations and still be completely safe. Backontheroad said:
I think the reason I was so obsessed is I drove for a living so was spending 10 hours a day driving.. I wouldnt have cared as much had it just been for running around in.
So assuming you are no longer driving 10 hours a day for a living, driving a runaround should then be ok.This reminds me of another thread a few years ago. Maybe you're the same person.
That thread was about some long running problems a driver was experiencing. The description was always "it felt like the tyre pressure was too low" or "it felt like the car wasn't sitting flat" although these problems had been checked extensively and ruled out every time. The explanation was always in terms of an assumed diagnosis rather than the real symptoms despite numerous requests. That driver was taking the car in for regular geometry checks too.
If you want anyone to help you with this type of problem, describe the actual symptoms and don't try to interpret them at all. Limit yourself to what you can see and feel through the seat and steering wheel.
That thread was about some long running problems a driver was experiencing. The description was always "it felt like the tyre pressure was too low" or "it felt like the car wasn't sitting flat" although these problems had been checked extensively and ruled out every time. The explanation was always in terms of an assumed diagnosis rather than the real symptoms despite numerous requests. That driver was taking the car in for regular geometry checks too.
If you want anyone to help you with this type of problem, describe the actual symptoms and don't try to interpret them at all. Limit yourself to what you can see and feel through the seat and steering wheel.
Stuart70 said:
With the best will in the world, I think the issue may be in your head rather than on the car / road.
This. The Op has taken professional advice and been reassured there is nothing wrong - yet the concerns remain.I have been guilty of excessive fussing and fiddling and worrying in the past and have wasted way too much time and money on trying to achieve peace of mind with cars. I've eventually realised the solution isn't to keep pouring even more time and money at an impossible problem - it's actually to reduce involvement with cars and treat them as nothing more than utilitarian functional items and take the view that they make excellent servants but terrible masters.
I'm happiest with any car when it's not dominating my life and I don't have to give a f
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