My 08 Type S has about 5000 miles on it. Had 5 great months with it. Recently, however, I have noticed that something seems to be off with the front end. The handling is jittery. Every bump in the road seems to take control of the steering wheel. At highway speed there seems to be contant vibration in the steering wheel ranging from noticeable to annoying and worrisome. Even freshly paved pavement does not feel smooth. Had it back to the dealership a week ago for oil change and to check the handling issue. Was told if it's not pulling, it does not need aligned. They checked the entire front end and found everything to be in spec.

Has anyone had similar issues?

 

you have bent rims probably

 

Most likely your shocks, as odd as that would be on a car with 5K on it. My car started handling the way your describing just before installing new springs, wheels and tires. Car handled the same post instal, so it's definitely not a bent wheel. My shocks were skeptical when doing the springs and I should've replaced them but didn't quite have the flow.

I get a slight vibration at 55 plus, but it's not violent or scary. Everything else you describe is identical.

 

check the air pressure in your tires. Also make sure your lug nuts are tight.

Where do you feel the vibration, in your seat or in the steering wheel? Go to a tire shop and have them check the balancing your your rims, a wheel weight might have fallen off. As well when they balance them, tell the place to see if the rim is bent.

 

Your dealership is full of crap. It doesn't have to pull to be out of alignment.

Too much toe-out usually causes dartiness and an unstable feeling. It will make the car want to follow ruts in the road and even gusts of wind will make it want to change direction. This will not cause a pull.

As for the vibration, it could be tons of things.

 

When thier are bumps or the road is kinda going sideways the wheel goes by it's self. I told the dealer and of course nothing happend.

 

Guess I need to take mine back to those bastards up the street and have them check the toe. Here comes the run around and I know those cock rings are going to scratch my new wheels....

 

I hate cars, does it matter what wheels I have on for the alignment shop? Got it aligned after I lowered it but it still had the stockers on it. They showed me a sheet and fed me the "it's within spec" b/s. I didn't think the wheel/tire combo made a difference when they aligned, but I have the same problem as OP.

I'd just really like to avoid them destroying my new wheels.

 

I got the run around 3 times trying to get mine aligned. I knew there was a problem, my tires kept cupping and the car was all over the road. 2 shops said it was within spec. I put the car on a rack and checked all the bushings and anything for signs of wear or damage and found nothing. Finally I made an appointemnt at a local race shop that has a 2 month backlog. Sure enough it was out by a lot. It felt like a new car when I got it back. I really have to wonder if the first two shops actually checked it.

As for the wheels, I feel your pain. Mine get scratched every time they remove the old weights for balancing. It shouldn't matter what wheels you have on but it's good practice to get it aligned with the ones you're going to run.

 

Why do I feel like this is on a placard behind the desk and it's part of their check list when a customer isn't happy.

I'll just stick with the local shop that's been fixing Tire Kingdom's mistakes for me.

Thanks

 

The TL is very sensitive to alignment and not all places are equally competent to do it correctly - especially dealers. My advice is to go to a specialty wheel/tire place that cares about performance. Plus they will probably make sure not to scratch your wheels.

If you have to go to the dealer or whoever, try promising the tech a $20 if he doesn't harm the wheels.

Good luck.

 

Great post here...I have experienced the same. Most of the traditional tire/wheel/alignment shops can only go by a computer. The computer says it's within spec, and that's what they go with.

I had a nagging alignment issue and 3 different shops said, "It's within spec...here's the computer printout." Finally took it to an out-of-town race shop with the same type of backlog mentioned in the above post...they don't need a computer, per se. Completely fixed the issue. The alignment was way out of spec.

 

What do you guys mean by "back log". Like, calibration of the machine itself, or the last few alignments they did on TL's?

 

Thanks to everyone for the input. I guess I need to go somewhere other than the dealership for the alignment. Up til now I've been mostly pleased with my dealership through two TL's. But front end feel and handling has never been fully corrected on either of my vehicles.

Does anyone have a suggestion on a good place to take the car?

 

Backlog as in the fact that people are lined up to get work done by the shop. These type of shops do a lot of work by eye and feel, and some of their specialty work is with racecars.

Not sure if you're a Nascar fan or any kind of race fan, but they don't use a computer during the race to affect a car's handling and overall driveability..they use input from the driver and their own knowhow to make adjustments. The same idea applies to the aforementioned local race shops, to a certain degree, of course.

So, if you are in a situation like the OP, these kind of shops are where you need to go.

 

You can easily have a shop (or you) rotate your tires to eliminate the question if it is a bent rim. I know others stated it is not, however this will definitely eliminate the possibility. The proper rotation sequence will bring both front tires to the rear so you will definitely know if it is a rim issue. I just rotated mine... very easy to do.

 

Ahh, backlog.

Just got my alignment tweeked by the local shop I've been working with. They adjusted the front tow out about .5, but said to get the camber any closer to stock will call for camber kits. They showed me all this on the rack. It helped a little but it's still a little darty at 55+ and a very slight vibration. I knew the car would ride a little rougher with the larger wheel combo but I'm mostly worried about chewing up my 25K mile rated tires in no time.

I'm hesitant about camber kits after reeding Mr. Heeltoe's great write up on Honda/Acura's and alignments.