I had my right front tire replaced due to a road nail. Now when I went for my 10,000 mile service they told me that I need a wheel alignment. My friend told me that whenever you replace a tire you always have to do a wheel alignment. Is t true?
View 11 RepliesSo I feel like this is more of vent than anything but anyways, it all started yesterday when I noticed one of my tires had the TPMS light pop up. I went to the gas station on my way home and put some air in it and everything was good. This morning I get in my car and its the same tire but now at 7 psi so I have a leaking tire. I bring it to costco to see if they can do a quick tire repair instead I find out my alignments been screwed up and it has worn down all 4 of my tires on the inside. I saw it for myself and its been worn down on them pretty bad. I'm in the process of getting the Michelin Pilot Sports by tomorrow and will need to get an alignment.
Lexus dealership didn't catch this when I brought it in last month for an oil change and they did their so called "inspection." Maybe they don't check for alignment issues but wouldn't they have noticed the uneven wear on my tires??? Also my IS350 is all stock and isn't dropped or anything. Why my alignment would've been messed up?
So I had a flat a couple weeks ago, finally got around to patching it (professionally) and decided to get a wheel alignment and tire rotation at the same time. No prior problems whatsoever (drove straight as an arrow) but roads in Hawaii suck so I decided to have it done while my car was in. Got my Camry back and it pulled to the right, with the steering wheel a little crooked to the right too. Talk about leaving something well enough alone, which is what I should have done!
Tried to take it back the next day, but they were super busy so I went to another location (same chain) and they said they suspect it could be my tires, but if not, they'll realign. They ended up doing the alignment again. My car pulls less but the steering wheel is crooked to the LEFT instead of right now when driving straight.
Question: Do you think it could be the patched tire? The nail was 1-.1.5" from the sidewall. This tire is on the right rear. Looks fine, and was fine up until I got a nail in it. Right front tire looks fine too.
I asked my mechanic, along with my cousin who worked with cars and did alignments himself in a past life, and they both told me they don't think it's my tire(s). They both told me to take it back and have the alignment redone.
Is it possible to just have two bad alignments at two different locations with two different techs?? The chain I'm going to is locally owned and has been around forever, and my last alignment was from them so I don't know what's going on this time.
* I have Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S tires all around, with about 20K miles on them.
I had my tires rotated about 2,500 miles ago with tire balancing and wheel alignment done. After this the car developed strong vibrations at between 55 and 65 mph. When the speed goes up or down from that range the shaking stops. If I am going at a speed higher than 65 mph and brake the car shudders until the speed is below the 55 to 65 range.
I had the VW dealer do another tire balance, but the problem persisted. I then went to a Goodyear tire outlet and had them do a tire balance and then another one about two weeks later. The problem is still there. The Goodyear people suggested running the car for a while and see if it improves. It has not about 2,000 miles later
The VW tech rode with me and said that it was warped rotors that caused the vibration, but if the rotors are warped, should this vibration also be felt for other speeds?
Premature tire wear and faulty wheel alignment issues on 2004 Touareg V8 with 10,000 miles. My dealer informed me that my original tires, Continental 4X4 Contact 255/55R18s were about to need replacement and that there were known issues with the tire compound and alignment specifications. I have had the vehicle about 14 months. He said it was over twelve months but he would bring it up with the district representative. I told him that I thought this came under concealed defects and I expected VW to replace the tires and align all four wheels to whatever the current spec. Are there VW bulletins covering this I can obtain copies of?
View 1 RepliesSo due to a puncture I got earlier this week, I had to buy a new front passenger side right tire. Now the car pulls very slightly to the right. Is this due to having about 6k miles on the left tire and a brand new right tire or do I need an alignment again?
View 2 RepliesI have a 2004 Toyota Camry that the steering wheel veers to the left while driving (not all the time) I have triedan alignment and a tire rotation and still have the problem.
View 12 RepliesQuestion: after replacing rear shocks on 2009 Altima, does in need a rear wheel alignment? After shocks were replaced on my Altima (without wheel alignment), I drove about 4500 miles. After that the tires were rotated and the back tires installed in front. I immediately noticed loud road noise, mechanic says it is uneven tread wear and I think - this is too much of a coincidence. So should they have done the alignment when they replaced the rear shock absorbers or not?
View 6 RepliesLexus: GX 470 2003
I went to go get a wheel alignment (when driving my car starts drifting to the left hard/ also when my hands aren't on wheel) and they discovered that my front left tie rod is wobbly (also said lower ball joint is suspect). I was told they couldn't perform a complete wheel alignment until fixing the front left tie rod first.
Overall to fix/part/wheel alignment, the quote is
Labor: 223.97
Parts: 71.13 (I seen online for about 50 dollars cheaper??)
ENVIRO/DISPO: 23.61
Sales Tax: 5.68
Total: 324.39 (After 40.00 coupon)
Problems getting an alignment AFTER lowering. seems no one in my area has the old fashioned machine where it clamps on the wheel edge,they have the ones that clamp on the outside of the tire,which limits the rotation of the wheel if the body is too close. I am on rsr downs with Vossens,which wont work at all, so hoping the stock wheels will.
View 6 RepliesI just bought a 2006 LS460. It's pulling strongly to the left (this is a UK RHD car). I'm assuming this is just a wheel alignment/tracking thing, but just in case it's not, are there any other potential causes that I should be aware of ?
View 9 RepliesI got my alignment done at a very reputable tire shop today. But now after the alignment my ABS and Traction control light are on and it says check ABS on the lcd cluster. I was told i need to drive around and it should go away. Driven about 10 miles so far and its still there. How many miles until the light goes away...
View 2 RepliesI started noticing about a year ago that when I drive my car, it pull to the right. This occurs at any speed. Every time I've gone in for service, I've asked them about this and multiple customer service reps have basically said "that's how this type of car drives". I've had them actually check the alignment as well, and only a couple of times have they had to adjust it, but it still seems to pull towards the right.
Driving a 2014 Lexus IS F Sport.
I have a 2006 SC 430 with 20,000 miles on it The (run flat) tires are wearing on the inside and the dealer says that they need replacing The local tire shop agrees, and will sell the tires to me for less, and also throw in an alignment He says that alignment is the reason for the uneven wear But the dealer says that the wheel on my 2006 SC 430 cannot be aligned, and that the new ones will probably wear the same way
View 12 RepliesI have a 2014 RX350 with 20K miles.
Recently noticed the steering wheel pulling a bit to the right. I took the car to a local Conrad's Auto service place which I believe is very reputable.
They told me the vehicle is out of alignment and to contact my Lexus dealer because they would likely fix for no charge given the low miles.
I brought the car to Lexus dealer and they said nothing is wrong. Not sure if they did anything but I did not notice the pulling to the right at that time.
However, I am noticing the wheel pull to the right again. Not sure what to do here. I also had a 2011 RX and never noticed an issue.
What can I do here to determine if there's a problem or not?
My Lexus dealer is over 30 miles away so it's not a convenient drive. Also, I have no proof of anything just the wheel pulling a bit to the right.
Immediately after I had four new tires installed on a 2000 Blazer 4wd, the front wheel bearings started making noise. At the time I thought the noise was from the new tires. A few thousand miles later my mechanic told me I needed two reman hub assemblies (sealed bearings) for ~$350 apiece plus labor.
Is there anything that the tire shop (independent not chain) could have done (accidentally or otherwise) to damage the bearings during the tire installation? I have to get 4 tires for my 93 Chevrolet Caprice and don't wish to repeat the experience.
Whoops, forgot to mention this happened at 56k miles when the truck was five years old. Is it possible that the bearings were borderline and the process of mounting the wheels put them over the edge? For instance, someone being a little over enthusiastic with an impact wrench.
My front driver's side Bridgestone Turanza EL400 (225/40R18) has premature wear such that the steel belt is beginning to show through the center of the tread. The front passenger side tire has no such wear and the alignment is good.
View 14 RepliesI have a 2010 f150 supercrew 4x4 with 8.8 3:55 nls rear differential. my driver side tire has a wobble to it it is wearing the inside of the tire. i have replaced the driver axle shaft with new ford oem shaft put in new axle bearings and seals on both sides and have replaced the spyder gears and i still have the wobble I don't know what is going on. the wobble is more pronounced when the tire and rim are bolted to the shaft only without the drum and caliper attached. with caliper and rotor attached i still have the wobble just not as bad however the tire wobbles going down the road more noticeable between 20-45 mph.
View 13 RepliesI've been having a lot of noise coming from the front left tire, and I finally had it diagnosed as a bad wheel bearing today.
I noticed that the front wheel bearings are sold individually while the rear wheel bearings are sold as hub assemblies. Is there a certain way that the front wheel bearings have to be removed and pressed on? I'm trying to see if this is a DIY repair.
I had these things wrong in the first 12 months
Tire shake: took 4 trips to find one bad tire. Replaced 1 tire
Squeaky front end: 2 trips to find front coil rubbing on the frame due to bad mount or something. Fixed under recall
Squeaky front end part 2: bad upper strut mount bushing. I won't even count the dealership nicking my hood and it has to be repainted.
I have never had a perfectly smooth riding car. Frankly, the loaners drive better. I documented this with the dealer I bought the car from and then with VWoA a month ago. I told them the front tires are shaking again and need a balance. I even had the front tires balanced at an Indy shop. Before my 1100 vacation. Now it needs balancing again. The back has always had a slight bumping
Now at the 10k service, I get a free alignment check and find my car is moderately out if alignment.
I originally mentioned it to my purchase dealer asking if it needed the alignment after all suspension work. They said it was not needed. EVIDENTALLY IT WAS.
So now I have a tire with a flat spot which they should have replaced when I had one replaced. Evidently, this car says before I leased it. I used my free alignment I had with my extended warranty which I should have been able to save for down the road AND I still need a tire balance.
I told VWoA a month ago I shouldn't have to pay for a balance if it kept going out of balance. Obviously, something was causing the tires to be out if balance. It was pretty far out on the front left. Camber was out .58 and the toe .02.
I am highly annoyed. Norm reeves never put the effort in to make it smooth.
After purchasing 2 new tires I went to a shop to get alignment done. The steering on my high mileage V4 1993 Toyota Camry was perfect when I took it to the alignment place. An hour later, the alignment having been done, as I was pulling out of the shop onto the road the steering was very hard but I thought something was tightened and would loosen up although I had never experienced that problem any other time an alignment was done. After driving it for several days, the problem wasn't improving. I left on a trip for several weeks. While gone my daughter drove the care for a few days and asked me what was wrong with the steering. When I returned I took the car back to the alignment shop and told them the problem. The manager or head mechanic checked the alignment and said the numbers were fine.
However, he said the rack and pinion needed replacing. I asked him what might have happened to result in the bad steering in the course of one hour while the alignment was done. He said that he didn't know. I took it to my usual mechanic who said that someone might have over tightened something. He's an older guy and does not want to work on racks and pinions. He suggested that I take it to Les Schwab and have them inspect it to see what's wrong and maybe tell them the whole story. I haven't done that yet.
After researching a bit about alignments, racks and pinions etc. I think that it is highly likely that some inexperienced person at the alignment place screwed up something. It's too much of a coincidence that exactly the hour that the alignment was done, the steering went bad. I am thinking that I might go back to the alignment place and ask them to do whatever they need to do to return the steering of my car to the way it was functioning when I brought it to them. They will likely refuse, of course.