mooseheads36

Ok i got my winter tires (goodyear ultragrip...a directional tread) put on last month and a 4 wheel alignment done

the car wasn't pulling at all before i took it in (all done at the dealer). now since i've had all this done the car pull left, bad enough that some turns on the highway i can just let the wheel go and it'll steer around it for me.

i've contacted my dealer and the service managers response was "honda vehicles only have a heel, toe adjustment just to keep your tires from wearing funny, it won't allow them to go out of alingment in the way that it would cause the car to pull, we could do a cross rotation and maybe fix that up for you"

first off, these are directional tires so to do a cross rotation they have to actually break down the tires and flip the tires on the rims to do a cross rotation or the tread would be running the wrong way.

now my question is, is this true or am i getting fed a line of bs?

also when i took it in to get some warrenty work done, i told them about this and they didn't really have time to check into it properly but i guess the guy checked the tires and said they all had different psi in them...i was like "well you guys installed them"...when i told that to the service manager he said "well it's a machine that puts the air in them, the tech dosn't even do that".

so i don't know what the hell to do, sounds to me like i'm getting the run around but i don't know much about it so i'm hoping someone can shed some light on my situation.

thanks in advance for any help

The Answer

Take it back to the f-ing dealership. Tell them to stop being d-bags.

Nohawk

I had the same issue. Honda blamed it on who installed and balanced the tires after I replaced 2. I didn't go back to the original shop because I had conflicting answers regarding what could cause the alignment issue. So, when I was getting an oil change at the dealer, I asked them to check the alignment. They "fixed" it under warranty, but it still pulls right. I am going to take it back in to have them look at it again.

Type X

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mooseheads36 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
also when i took it in to get some warrenty work done, i told them about this and they didn't really have time to check into it properly but i guess the guy checked the tires and said they all had different psi in them...i was like "well you guys installed them"...when i told that to the service manager he said "well it's a machine that puts the air in them, the tech dosn't even do that".
</TD></TR></TABLE>


Call the Honda corp number and repeat that paragraph..........
and tell them they should fire all the guys that do the work, since the machine does all the work
and they could set an answering machine to "we are too busy"

blue2ksi

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Type X &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


Call the Honda corp number and repeat that paragraph..........
and tell them they should fire all the guys that do the work, since the machine does all the work
and they could set an answering machine to "we are too busy"</TD></TR></TABLE>

the solution ^

mooseheads36

so the general concensus (&lt;--sp) is that i am getting the run around, it sure seems to me that this was caused by the alignment not the tires, i mean i ran these tires for about 2 months last winter (5,000 - 10,000km) and they were fine, the car wasn't pulling, i changed to my summers, didn't get an alignement, no pull, now all of a sudden they do an alignment and put on these practically new tires and it pulls left...

really pissin' me off

The Answer

Whoa, whoa.... no need to be upset big guy.... Just uhhh.... talk to the service manager or something... if he doesn't help out call American Honda. Just be cool... it happens to the best of us.

PnX-R

Well, just like the other Si guys that come, you guys sure seem to think you know it all.. I always wonder why the don't just work on their own damn cars instead of trying to tell me what's wrong with their car after reading forums and pretending to know what they're talking about..

So to smack you back for bashing guys like me who come in here to learn of new problems and help solve petty problems, up yours... You should bash the hack that worked on your car, not the good, hard working techs like me.

As for your stupid alignment issue. If the car still pulls after replacing four tires and an alignment, the problem is in the tires. The usual tire rotation from side to side or front to back will help determine the problem tire(s).. I can't tell you how many times customers come in and complain of the pull. I waste my time and test drive the damn thing only to find that they are complaining about a drift. An alignment isn't even needed..

And if you didn't buy the tires through the dealer and instead, brought your own tires to be mounted, you're out of luck..

If I was working our your car, I rotate the tires front to rear. If that doesn't fix it, I'd blame it on the tires and find out who's paying me to figure out which tire(s) is causing the issue..

Oh, one more thing.. Just noticed that you have Goodyear snow tires.. Should've just lit your money on fire. From experience, Goodyear tires are just as bad as Firestones..

mooseheads36

thanks for the info, i was under the impression that goodyear ultragrips were a really good tire, that's good to know.

i'm sorry if you got the impression that i was "bashing" all techs, i wasn't doing that at all, i know nothing about this stuff and that's why i'm here, i'm looking for opinions of people just like you which is what makes the forum great. and i had no intention what so ever in calling honda head office, i don't believe there is a need for that with an issue like this lol...

what is the difference between "pull" and "drift"?

as for the alignment, i wasn't even going to get it done however the service advisor told me that it should be done so i did it, the front alignment was fine and the rear tires were out.

anyway thanks for the input guys, this really helps.

Nohawk

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PnX-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So to smack you back for bashing guys like me who come in here to learn of new problems and help solve petty problems, up yours... You should bash the hack that worked on your car, not the good, hard working techs like me.

As for your stupid alignment issue. If the car still pulls after replacing four tires and an alignment, the problem is in the tires. The usual tire rotation from side to side or front to back will help determine the problem tire(s).. I can't tell you how many times customers come in and complain of the pull. I waste my time and test drive the damn thing only to find that they are complaining about a drift. An alignment isn't even needed..

And if you didn't buy the tires through the dealer and instead, brought your own tires to be mounted, you're out of luck.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I do not think the intention is to bash every tach. However, there are people that have had some real bad experiences with Hodna tech and service advisors.

Maybe if the dealer didn't markup the prices so much, more people would. Many places offer the same tires for better deals. In addition, you would probably charge the person "an optional insurance charge" to guarantee the tires are not defective. Am I right? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Also, when I had my alignment done at the dealer, they told me the balancing was off
on 2 tires. I let them correct it, now my alignment is worse. Go figure.

mooseheads36

looks like we have the same issue, i do have an appt. on tuesday of next week to get mine looked at so if i find anything out i will update.

PnX-R

Here's my problem with alignments.. If you're getting four tires for a vehicle w/ more than 30K miles, I'll quote the alignment. Or, if you come in and your steering wheel is off center, I'm quoting the alignment. As for the tires, if you buy them brand new from the dealer, it comes with a parts warranty of some sort. Sure, there's such a thing as a bunk tire..

The difference between a drift and a pull are simple to me.. As I'm driving the vehicle, if it slowly drifts over to one side while driving, it's a drift. Now a pull is different. If I'm driving and the I let go of the steering wheel and the car yanks over to a side, that's considered a pull. Honda's rule of thumb is, if the car doesn't completely switch lanes in 6 seconds, it's not considered a pull..

mooseheads36

oh this is definatly a pull then because it'll make a lane change in like 3 seconds or less on the highway, and the wheel isn't quite centered either, i've gotta turn it a little bit right to keep the car straight. I'm taking it in tomorrow, hopefully it'll get fixed.

The tires have less than 20,000 KM on them so i'm really hoping it's not the tire...

Nohawk

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PnX-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Here's my problem with alignments.. If you're getting four tires for a vehicle w/ more than 30K miles, I'll quote the alignment. Or, if you come in and your steering wheel is off center, I'm quoting the alignment. As for the tires, if you buy them brand new from the dealer, it comes with a parts warranty of some sort. Sure, there's such a thing as a bunk tire..

The difference between a drift and a pull are simple to me.. As I'm driving the vehicle, if it slowly drifts over to one side while driving, it's a drift. Now a pull is different. If I'm driving and the I let go of the steering wheel and the car yanks over to a side, that's considered a pull. Honda's rule of thumb is, if the car doesn't completely switch lanes in 6 seconds, it's not considered a pull..</TD></TR></TABLE>

Good information. I will determine which it is I have, but think it is leaning toward a pull.

mooseheads36

They of course told me it was my tires, they re-aligned the car (it was out again, 2 weeks after they aligned it), and they lined the streering wheel back up since last time they did it it was not quite straight.

he test drove it, seen exactly what i was talking about and said it was my tires not the alignment because it's now perfectly aligned (same thing they told me the first time) and it's still doing it.

they told me that they can match mount and balance the tires to where they should be on the car to avoid the "drift" (i tried the lane change thing and it took just over 3 seconds to switch lanes, apparently that's a "radial drift"). but it would take 2-3 hrs and would cost about $100CAD

i'm thinking i should now get a copy of the alignments and take them to someone for a second opinion i don't know what to do, i feel like i'm getting screwed around but don't know enough about this **** to fight back and even remotely sound like i know what i'm talking about.

any suggestions??
PnX-R, if you have any views on this i would appreciate the input...

Type X

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PnX-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, just like the other Si guys that come, you guys sure seem to think you know it all.. I always wonder why the don't just work on their own damn cars instead of trying to tell me what's wrong with their car after reading forums and pretending to know what they're talking about..

So to smack you back for bashing guys like me who come in here to learn of new problems and help solve petty problems, up yours... You should bash the hack that worked on your car, not the good, hard working techs like me.

As for your stupid alignment issue. If the car still pulls after replacing four tires and an alignment, the problem is in the tires. The usual tire rotation from side to side or front to back will help determine the problem tire(s).. I can't tell you how many times customers come in and complain of the pull. I waste my time and test drive the damn thing only to find that they are complaining about a drift. An alignment isn't even needed..

And if you didn't buy the tires through the dealer and instead, brought your own tires to be mounted, you're out of luck..

If I was working our your car, I rotate the tires front to rear. If that doesn't fix it, I'd blame it on the tires and find out who's paying me to figure out which tire(s) is causing the issue..

Oh, one more thing.. Just noticed that you have Goodyear snow tires.. Should've just lit your money on fire. From experience, Goodyear tires are just as bad as Firestones..</TD></TR></TABLE>


Glad you could diagnose the problem while sitting on your PC.
He stated above he didnt have the pull previously.
Now it pulls after the alignment.

Its one sided banter like that , that makes me hate the dealerships
I have alot of friends that are techs and EVERY problem doesn't have the same answer.

mooseheads36

bump for input from PnX-R