Out Of Alignment From Factory?

[The Critic]

I was shopping at Sears tonight and noticed they had a new Hunter Hawkeye alignment system installed. So, I had them do an alignment check for me as I had suspected that my Prius had been out-of-alignment from the beginning due to its handling.

Sure enough....

The LF toe is at -0.12 and the RF toe is at -0.08, iirc. I'm guessing that the preferred setting for front toe is about 0.10, which is a slight amount of toe-in.

Though the alignment is not terribly off, it's definitely off enough to explain why my steering wheel is just a hair off to the right and the car has never felt completely stable on the highway. Perhaps this may also explain why my fuel economy is a bit below average-- though it has improved a little lately to 46-47 ever since I reached 8,000 miles.

I had bought a Firestone lifetime alignment a while ago when it was on sale, so I'll probably just take the car there to have it aligned. However, does anyone know if Toyota offers a 1/12k adjustment period? If they'll cover the alignment under that policy, that'd save me a trip to Firestone since I'll be at the dealer for a 10k service this Sat.

 

[zyxelenator]

How many potholes you caught in 10K miles?

 

[Shannow]

I'll bet that your Dad is miffed that his near new Toyota could be so badly manufactured and boring.

 

[hypervish]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
I'll bet that your Dad is miffed that his near new Toyota could be so badly manufactured and boring.


How is that badly manufactured?

It could have been off to due numerous potholes, or one really big one. Or, it could have been damaged at the port when they unloaded the cars.

 

[Shannow]

They have potholes at the factory ?

That's Quality Control to the highest degree.

 

[pbm]

What did Sears charge for an alignment check?
I wish places would check alignment and give a printout but it seems that if they check it you pay whether it needs an alignment or not..

 

[Hermann]

The Critic.

I had my TAco aligned during warranty. I believe that it is covered for 1 year/20K miles. I was not charged for mine.

 

[jim302]

Originally Posted By: pbm
What did Sears charge for an alignment check?
I wish places would check alignment and give a printout but it seems that if they check it you pay whether it needs an alignment or not..


I found a dealer that doesn't charge if no alignment is needed... and before someone says it is a stealership and that they will lie, I have had them tell me that no alignment was needed.

To the other posters bashing Toyota, the car has almost 10,000 miles on it, so there's no telling what kind of pot holes and other things it may have been subjected to. That is low mileage, but it only takes one big pothole to screw things up... possibly even one during a test drive before the car was purchased.

 

[JHZR2]

Id take it to the dealer as evidence, mention the feeling in handling and see if they will at least check it out.

Have you verified that Sears had the right info for the settings?

If that is Toyota QC, Im really disappointed.

 

[whitson01]

i have heard of this before. it is very possible that a car can be out of alignment from the factory. i would imagine if you have a half aced dealership that they would be willing to check it for you and may even cover the cost within the first year or so. i always tell me friends and family its a good idea to get an alignment about once a year wether you think it needs it or not. check around, you can get an alignment for around $40-$60. and ALWAYS get a "4wheel" alignment. IMO a "front" or "rear" wheel only alignment is a gimmick. it is possbile for it to be "out of alignment" even if "it goes straight when i let go of the steerting wheel.". a proper alignment affects a lof of factors: gas mileage, tire wear, performance/handling, quality of ride, suspension wear/tear etc.. just my $.02

 

[Hokiefyd]

I've bought two new vehicles in my life, and both were out of alignment from the factory. Our '07 Chrysler T&C's front tires were out of line (too much toe-in), but the dealer wouldn't fix it. They claimed that they only had the specifications up to 2006 in their alignment machine. So I paid for an alignment to be done elsewhere.

I complained of a steering wheel not quite straight on my '11 Toyota Camry, and they found the left rear toe to be slightly out. They fixed that without feeding me a line about it like the Chrysler dealer did.

So I'm 0 for 2 on new cars and alignment perfection.

 

[eljefino]

I bet it was aligned from the factory but got tweaked in shipping.

This used to happen to saturn s-series (aaah-- you can't shake the thought of one

) when they'd throw one chain over one lower control arm for shipping.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I always check and "tweak" my new car's alignment settings.

Many cars are delivered close to right, but a little tweaking can really help the driving feel. In this case it may help the mileage too.

And a pothole does not automatically guarantee you need an alignment. I hit a HUGE one picking up relatives at the airport.
Didn't change a thing.

 

[brandini]

My dad bought a used 04 murano in 06 with 6k miles. The alignment was out and they only do a 'visual inspection' before selling anything on their lot.

What a crock, needless to say they split the cost of a full alignment with him because both he and they knew he got one helluva deal on the car.

 

[cchase]

Don't many FWD vehicles use toe out in the first place?

 

[pottymouth]

I've had more than one new car arrive with improperly balanced tires, so why wouldn't alignment be suspect as well?

That being said, I'm not sure most Sear Auto employees are qualified to fill the washer fluid tank. A second opinion would have been a good idea. There may actually be something bent or damaged in the front end.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

OP: That cross Camber doesnt look too good - that the biggest problem I see on your chart. Toe out is a tad excessive but better than excessive toe IN on this car IMO. Almost every new or used car Ive driven has had an imperfect alignment - ones with good ones are the rarity. Also have had hard a hard to impossible time getting a good alignment correction.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: cchase
Don't many FWD vehicles use toe out in the first place?


Almost all vehicles will allow some toe-out in their specifications. Most vehicles have 0 toe as the dead middle of the tolerance, with +/- equal amounts on either side of 0. I prefer mine to have as close to 0 static toe as possible, erring on the side of slight toe-in if it can't be dead on 0.

 

[millerbl00]

Back in the 90's I saw many come from the factory with bent frames! Worst dealer would not fix.

I would get a second shop to look at this first.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
OP: That cross Camber doesnt look too good - that the biggest problem I see on your chart. Toe out is a tad excessive but better than excessive toe IN on this car IMO. Almost every new or used car Ive driven has had an imperfect alignment - ones with good ones are the rarity. Also have had hard a hard to impossible time getting a good alignment correction.


+1 ~ +0.2 LF and ~ -0.8 camber doesn't seem like it would lend itself to good handling. I'm not sure what the front strut setup is, but I'd look into some replacement camber bolts to even that out.