Car swerves when changing gears

[Kurtatron]

Coworker was describing a problem with a car. I offered to help identify the problem.

2016 GMC Terrain with 116k miles.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary from a cursory glance at the suspension.

When accelerating, the car pulls to the left when upshifting.

When decelerating, it pulls to the right when downshifting.

It’s very distinct, the car swerves on the gear shifts.

What could be causing this?

 

[dishdude]

Did you check the motor mounts?

 

[circuitsmith]

I had a 1988 Accord with a dry ball joint that had the same symptom.
Of course, that was FWD.

 

[eljefino]

Could be bad bushings in lower control arms or even a subframe.

 

[xmanjeff]

i had a car that did that , in the end ,what we found was the frame was rusted and a big crack on one side , just before the rear wheel well

 

[D60]

i had a car that did that , in the end ,what we found was the frame was rusted and a big crack on one side , just before the rear wheel well

Way to be Debbie Downer, geez!

I'd at least power brake the vehicle in question and watch the motor. If you don't see anything, this is not conclusive but it's certainly indicative of bad drive train mounts if you do....