Rear end alignment problem??
Thread Starter
Juice!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia
Rear end alignment problem??
Sorry for the long post, but I really could use your advise and help about this issue.
So about August I took my TSX in due to slow leak in the front tire. They called me into the shop and while the car was up on the lift, they showed me that the inside of my right rear tire was worn indicating that the rear was out of alignment. To top it off, the slow leak in the front turned out to be a screw in the sidewall. So after two new stock tires
and rear end alignment I was on my way.
6 months and 5000 miles pass. One day I was inspecting my tires and I notice that the inside of my left rear is now worn. I look around on the board here and I find Service Bulletin 06-007 (Right Rear Camber Out of Spec), but my VIN does not fall in the range for the 05s. Anyway, the bulletin is for the right rear and not the left, so it doesn’t matter.
I take it in after 2.5 hours, they tell me that they tried and they could not completely align my left rear. The best they could do with the left rear camber was 15 degrees out of spec. I must have a bent suspension part such as control arm or a trailing arm, or a bent chassis. WTF! Now mind you, the car only has about 19000 miles on it. So I tell the Service Manager that if I have a bent suspension piece or a chassis, it is from the factory and Acura needs to address this. He asks me if I have any pot holes. I tell him no, and not only that, if I had hit a pothole big enough to bend my chassis or suspension, it would have certainly bent the wheel and damaged my tire. In addition, unless I was driving in reverse, if I had hit pot hole big enough to do damage, it would have damaged my left front in addition to my left rear. How come my left front is not out of spec? I also told him not only my card has never been in any kind of an accident, my wheels don’t even have curb scrapings on them since I’ve not so much hit a curb during parallel parking let alone a pothole. It is ridicules to think that I’ve done something. I also told him about the service bulletin 06-007 and that it’s proof that if the problem is with my suspension, it is due to a defective part and not anything that I’ve done.
They offered to apply the service bulletin to my car even though my car is not in the VIN range. Keeping in mind that the service bulletin applies to the right rear and not the left, but also that all this started with the right rear being out of alignment, out of desperation, I agreed.
They did the work and they told me that the good news is that left rear is now only 2 degrees out of spec instead of 15. I told them unacceptable, if the service bulletin had an affect, then it is proof that there is something wrong with the car from the factory. They said that since the suspension is independent, the right and the left do not have an affect on each other. I in turn said, oh yeah, then how come now we are down to 2 degrees being out of spec instead of 15 on the left rear by replacing the right rear suspension upper arm.
Long story short, they contacted Acura engineering and Acura told them that they do not know of any problems with the left rear suspension. So now they would like to send my car to their body shop to put on a frame machine in order to determine exactly what is bent, is it the chassis, or a specific suspension part.
Guys, what is going on here??
Does anyone know of any issues with the left rear camber or suspension? Is it simply a case of them being unqualified morons who cannot do a proper rear alignment? Does anybody else have this problem, or has anybody else had this problem? If so what did you do?
So about August I took my TSX in due to slow leak in the front tire. They called me into the shop and while the car was up on the lift, they showed me that the inside of my right rear tire was worn indicating that the rear was out of alignment. To top it off, the slow leak in the front turned out to be a screw in the sidewall. So after two new stock tires
and rear end alignment I was on my way.6 months and 5000 miles pass. One day I was inspecting my tires and I notice that the inside of my left rear is now worn. I look around on the board here and I find Service Bulletin 06-007 (Right Rear Camber Out of Spec), but my VIN does not fall in the range for the 05s. Anyway, the bulletin is for the right rear and not the left, so it doesn’t matter.
I take it in after 2.5 hours, they tell me that they tried and they could not completely align my left rear. The best they could do with the left rear camber was 15 degrees out of spec. I must have a bent suspension part such as control arm or a trailing arm, or a bent chassis. WTF! Now mind you, the car only has about 19000 miles on it. So I tell the Service Manager that if I have a bent suspension piece or a chassis, it is from the factory and Acura needs to address this. He asks me if I have any pot holes. I tell him no, and not only that, if I had hit a pothole big enough to bend my chassis or suspension, it would have certainly bent the wheel and damaged my tire. In addition, unless I was driving in reverse, if I had hit pot hole big enough to do damage, it would have damaged my left front in addition to my left rear. How come my left front is not out of spec? I also told him not only my card has never been in any kind of an accident, my wheels don’t even have curb scrapings on them since I’ve not so much hit a curb during parallel parking let alone a pothole. It is ridicules to think that I’ve done something. I also told him about the service bulletin 06-007 and that it’s proof that if the problem is with my suspension, it is due to a defective part and not anything that I’ve done.
They offered to apply the service bulletin to my car even though my car is not in the VIN range. Keeping in mind that the service bulletin applies to the right rear and not the left, but also that all this started with the right rear being out of alignment, out of desperation, I agreed.
They did the work and they told me that the good news is that left rear is now only 2 degrees out of spec instead of 15. I told them unacceptable, if the service bulletin had an affect, then it is proof that there is something wrong with the car from the factory. They said that since the suspension is independent, the right and the left do not have an affect on each other. I in turn said, oh yeah, then how come now we are down to 2 degrees being out of spec instead of 15 on the left rear by replacing the right rear suspension upper arm.
Long story short, they contacted Acura engineering and Acura told them that they do not know of any problems with the left rear suspension. So now they would like to send my car to their body shop to put on a frame machine in order to determine exactly what is bent, is it the chassis, or a specific suspension part.
Guys, what is going on here??
Does anyone know of any issues with the left rear camber or suspension? Is it simply a case of them being unqualified morons who cannot do a proper rear alignment? Does anybody else have this problem, or has anybody else had this problem? If so what did you do?
4th Gear
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by OhNoItsMe
Sorry for the long post, but I really could use your advise and help about this issue.
So about August I took my TSX in due to slow leak in the front tire. They called me into the shop and while the car was up on the lift, they showed me that the inside of my right rear tire was worn indicating that the rear was out of alignment. To top it off, the slow leak in the front turned out to be a screw in the sidewall. So after two new stock tires and rear end alignment I was on my way.
6 months and 5000 miles pass. One day I was inspecting my tires and I notice that the inside of my left rear is now worn. I look around on the board here and I find Service Bulletin 06-007 (Right Rear Camber Out of Spec), but my VIN does not fall in the range for the 05s. Anyway, the bulletin is for the right rear and not the left, so it doesn’t matter.
I take it in after 2.5 hours, they tell me that they tried and they could not completely align my left rear. The best they could do with the left rear camber was 15 degrees out of spec. I must have a bent suspension part such as control arm or a trailing arm, or a bent chassis. WTF! Now mind you, the car only has about 19000 miles on it. So I tell the Service Manager that if I have a bent suspension piece or a chassis, it is from the factory and Acura needs to address this. He asks me if I have any pot holes. I tell him no, and not only that, if I had hit a pothole big enough to bend my chassis or suspension, it would have certainly bent the wheel and damaged my tire. In addition, unless I was driving in reverse, if I had hit pot hole big enough to do damage, it would have damaged my left front in addition to my left rear. How come my left front is not out of spec? I also told him not only my card has never been in any kind of an accident, my wheels don’t even have curb scrapings on them since I’ve not so much hit a curb during parallel parking let alone a pothole. It is ridicules to think that I’ve done something. I also told him about the service bulletin 06-007 and that it’s proof that if the problem is with my suspension, it is due to a defective part and not anything that I’ve done.
They offered to apply the service bulletin to my car even though my car is not in the VIN range. Keeping in mind that the service bulletin applies to the right rear and not the left, but also that all this started with the right rear being out of alignment, out of desperation, I agreed.
They did the work and they told me that the good news is that left rear is now only 2 degrees out of spec instead of 15. I told them unacceptable, if the service bulletin had an affect, then it is proof that there is something wrong with the car from the factory. They said that since the suspension is independent, the right and the left do not have an affect on each other. I in turn said, oh yeah, then how come now we are down to 2 degrees being out of spec instead of 15 on the left rear by replacing the right rear suspension upper arm.
Long story short, they contacted Acura engineering and Acura told them that they do not know of any problems with the left rear suspension. So now they would like to send my car to their body shop to put on a frame machine in order to determine exactly what is bent, is it the chassis, or a specific suspension part.
Guys, what is going on here?? Does anyone know of any issues with the left rear camber or suspension? Is it simply a case of them being unqualified morons who cannot do a proper rear alignment? Does anybody else have this problem, or has anybody else had this problem? If so what did you do?
So about August I took my TSX in due to slow leak in the front tire. They called me into the shop and while the car was up on the lift, they showed me that the inside of my right rear tire was worn indicating that the rear was out of alignment. To top it off, the slow leak in the front turned out to be a screw in the sidewall. So after two new stock tires
and rear end alignment I was on my way.6 months and 5000 miles pass. One day I was inspecting my tires and I notice that the inside of my left rear is now worn. I look around on the board here and I find Service Bulletin 06-007 (Right Rear Camber Out of Spec), but my VIN does not fall in the range for the 05s. Anyway, the bulletin is for the right rear and not the left, so it doesn’t matter.
I take it in after 2.5 hours, they tell me that they tried and they could not completely align my left rear. The best they could do with the left rear camber was 15 degrees out of spec. I must have a bent suspension part such as control arm or a trailing arm, or a bent chassis. WTF! Now mind you, the car only has about 19000 miles on it. So I tell the Service Manager that if I have a bent suspension piece or a chassis, it is from the factory and Acura needs to address this. He asks me if I have any pot holes. I tell him no, and not only that, if I had hit a pothole big enough to bend my chassis or suspension, it would have certainly bent the wheel and damaged my tire. In addition, unless I was driving in reverse, if I had hit pot hole big enough to do damage, it would have damaged my left front in addition to my left rear. How come my left front is not out of spec? I also told him not only my card has never been in any kind of an accident, my wheels don’t even have curb scrapings on them since I’ve not so much hit a curb during parallel parking let alone a pothole. It is ridicules to think that I’ve done something. I also told him about the service bulletin 06-007 and that it’s proof that if the problem is with my suspension, it is due to a defective part and not anything that I’ve done.
They offered to apply the service bulletin to my car even though my car is not in the VIN range. Keeping in mind that the service bulletin applies to the right rear and not the left, but also that all this started with the right rear being out of alignment, out of desperation, I agreed.
They did the work and they told me that the good news is that left rear is now only 2 degrees out of spec instead of 15. I told them unacceptable, if the service bulletin had an affect, then it is proof that there is something wrong with the car from the factory. They said that since the suspension is independent, the right and the left do not have an affect on each other. I in turn said, oh yeah, then how come now we are down to 2 degrees being out of spec instead of 15 on the left rear by replacing the right rear suspension upper arm.
Long story short, they contacted Acura engineering and Acura told them that they do not know of any problems with the left rear suspension. So now they would like to send my car to their body shop to put on a frame machine in order to determine exactly what is bent, is it the chassis, or a specific suspension part.
Guys, what is going on here??
Does anyone know of any issues with the left rear camber or suspension? Is it simply a case of them being unqualified morons who cannot do a proper rear alignment? Does anybody else have this problem, or has anybody else had this problem? If so what did you do?
Are you sure the specs are correct? Is it 1.5 degrees off and not 15? Because 15 degrees out of spec is almost impossible. If it's .2 degree off after the service, then it's acceptable but not 2 degrees.
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 81
Likes: 0
lol yeah i am having the same problem too and acura would not cover it they say its my fault....because there a buble in my tire but i told them i had this problem since day one when i bought the car all they said was oh well "there a buble in your tire its your failt that the car is out of whack and causing the steering to be miss aligned.....they wanted to charge me 119 for alignment and 280 for a new tire plus labor i was like no ....
Thread Starter
Juice!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia
Thanks JTSO,
I'll double check with them. Now that I think about it, I think he said that it was 15% off before and no it’s like 2%. So I guess that would translate to what you are telling me which is 1.5 degrees and 0.2 degrees.
1slicktL,
I guess there is one major difference between the issue that you are having and the one that I’m having. In your case they believe that they can align your car. They just want to charge you for it.
In my case, they’ve aligned the car and they say that this is the best they can do. They are saying that something is bent and they cannot align it any better
I'll double check with them. Now that I think about it, I think he said that it was 15% off before and no it’s like 2%. So I guess that would translate to what you are telling me which is 1.5 degrees and 0.2 degrees.
1slicktL,
I guess there is one major difference between the issue that you are having and the one that I’m having. In your case they believe that they can align your car. They just want to charge you for it.
In my case, they’ve aligned the car and they say that this is the best they can do. They are saying that something is bent and they cannot align it any better
Thread Starter
Juice!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia
So I just talked to the service manager and asked him did he mean 1.5 degrees or 15.
He said that yes it was actually 15 degrees out of alignment before and now it is greater than 2 degrees which still puts it in the red and needs to be addressed. He stated that their alignment equipment looks in the -2 to +2 but it can read all the way up to 30 degrees.
For the record JTso I'm with you on this. It's probably a typo. They probably meant 1.5 degrees and now it is still greater than 0.2 degrees.
At any rate, next week, at no charge to me, it is going to go to the body shop and get put on the frame machine for them to determine exactly what is bent.
From there on, based on what they find, meaning that if it not my fault, they will involve Acura in order to cover it under warranty or a good will gesture.
So far they have been good to me. We'll see what the body shop says and if their tune will change.
He said that yes it was actually 15 degrees out of alignment before and now it is greater than 2 degrees which still puts it in the red and needs to be addressed. He stated that their alignment equipment looks in the -2 to +2 but it can read all the way up to 30 degrees.
For the record JTso I'm with you on this. It's probably a typo. They probably meant 1.5 degrees and now it is still greater than 0.2 degrees.
At any rate, next week, at no charge to me, it is going to go to the body shop and get put on the frame machine for them to determine exactly what is bent.
From there on, based on what they find, meaning that if it not my fault, they will involve Acura in order to cover it under warranty or a good will gesture.
So far they have been good to me. We'll see what the body shop says and if their tune will change.
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Thread Starter
Juice!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia
Originally Posted by jlukja
It CAN'T be 15 degrees. If so it would look like your axle was broken. 15-degrees is 1/3rd of a 45% angle. :shakehead
I didn't really want to argue with him, but I have a feeling what he really means is it was greater than 1.5 before and now, even though it is much better, it is still greater than 0.2 and therefore still out of spec.
Both you an JTso are correct. The service manager is working with me on this issue so I didn't want to piss him off by correcting him.
Let's hope they keep on working on this issue with me and fix it free of charge.
Thread Starter
Juice!
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
From: Philadelphia
Well, I'm happy to say that this saga had a happy ending. They sent my car to their body shop and the report back was that the frame was not bent and nor were the suspension parts.
From there, they sent my TSX to an independent shop that easily aligned the left rear. I picked up my car at no charge to me with a print out of the alignment report. The dealership suspects their alignment equipment is in need of recalibration and are having someone come and take a look at it.
I have to say that through out all of this, the service managers and personnel of Piazza Acura of Ardmore were quite polite and willing to work with me. And the fact that they were willing admit to fault with their equipment rather than make something up was quite refreshing.
I have not had a sales experience there, but so far I have been very satisfied with the service.
From there, they sent my TSX to an independent shop that easily aligned the left rear. I picked up my car at no charge to me with a print out of the alignment report. The dealership suspects their alignment equipment is in need of recalibration and are having someone come and take a look at it.
I have to say that through out all of this, the service managers and personnel of Piazza Acura of Ardmore were quite polite and willing to work with me. And the fact that they were willing admit to fault with their equipment rather than make something up was quite refreshing.
I have not had a sales experience there, but so far I have been very satisfied with the service.
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