I have a 2005 Honda Accord that pulls to the side when driving over bumps or hitting pot holes. Most of the time, it pulls to the left but occasionally to the right as well.
This is most pronounced when driving on a bumpy road and braking, especially if the left wheel hits a pothole just before stopping. If, at that moment I let go of the steering wheel, it will turn left by up to 35 degrees. After I re-center the steering wheel while stopped it will then pull to the opposite side as I take off.
While driving slowly on a bumpy road, the steering wheel feels twitchy and jerks left and right and requires a firm hand on the wheel. The slower the car is going the more pronounced the bump steer feels.
I've had this problem ever since I bought the car a year ago. The car has been on three different sets of tires/wheels in that time and the problem was always there, so I don't believe that it has anything to do with tires.
When I first bought the car I took it to my mechanic, and he replaced lower control arms with aftermarket ones because of bad bushings, lower left ball joint with OEM and front sway bar links (aftermarket). After that, the alignment was done. The car tracks straight on the highway and doesn't pull when braking on an even surface so I don't think it has anything to do with the brakes either.
One thing that seems to be consistent is that it seems to pull to the side when suspension is depressed (braking and hitting potholes) and to the opposite side when the suspension is released (taking off).
Can anyone shed some light on this?