Dealer says subframe needs replaced - is it really that bad?
 

Long story short, I was caught not paying attention and smacked a curb in my '10 TSX. A new tire and a couple of zip ties later to the splash shielf and I was back in business.

At my last oil change, I asked the dealer to see if they could straighten out my steering wheel which had been cocked slightly to the right. The car tracks perfectly driving, accelerating and braking.

After their "alignment" (which didn't fix an out of spec issue on the rear), they decided that my curb check damaged the subframe, and that it needed to be replaced to the tune of $2,500.

My alignment specs are as follows:

Front Left
Camber: -0.1
Caster: 2.0
Toe: -0.06in
SAI: 8.9
Included Angle: 8.8

All else is in line. This also looks to throw out the Cross Caster (-1.5) and Total Tow (-0.09).

Given that the only symptom present is a slightly out of center steering wheel, am I crazy for thinking about leaving it as is? Or, will neglecting this leave the door wide open to other problems down the road?

Thanks for the help!

pics?

the 3G TL has a alum. subframe.

i wrecked into a curb. my axles were unscathed but my subframe was bent.
dont know if the subframe can cause alignment problems, but I'm getting a new subframe put in.

hope this helps.

If you want a 2nd opinion, check with a body shop. They use gigantic calipers to measure critical points on the body and subframes, suspension components, etc. & will be able to tell you 100% which component is bent or compromised.

Correct, but if your subframe is tweaked then it will need to be replaced.

A cockeyed steering wheel combined with alignment specs that cannot be brought to specs then the cause needs to be resolved. You will go through tires and wear other suspension bits much faster until you fix it.

You will need to fix it anyway before you sell the car.

I don't know how fast you were going when you hit the curb, but if the tire popped, I'm guessing pretty fast. I'm surprised you didn't bend a rim.

The thing about a suspensions is that they usually can take sudden drops better than sudden rises like a curb.

Nevertheless, the tubular construction of a subframe is very strong. I'd have them put it on a lift to see the damage myself.

Your camber number is o.k. The wheel is basically running even. The caster number is a little off, and it can not be adjusted. It would say something is bent, but it shouldn't impact your tire-wear. The toe is such a small number that my cat could piss on your tire and bring it to 0.

http://www.familycar.com/Alignment.htm

Oopps... with that being written, I would say that I like going down the road with the steering wheel straight up and down with no shimmies in it or pulling to one side or the other.

Get it on a lift, and look at the damage from a non-invested party (i.e., not Acura).

go to somewhere else it most likely a bent inner tierod subframes are pretty sturdy unless u smacked the curb at like 50+

I bent my aluminum subframe going about 35mph. I hit a curb.

I'm just saying, its easier than you guys think to bend the subframe.
if the OP's is bent, I would get that corrected. a new one needs to be put in.

Was it when you were doing donuts around a lamppost? :tomato:

Just wondering, how much did it cost to fix your sub frame? What does it entail also...?