Front End Alignment At 15,000 Miles ?

Hi,

Would like to get your opinions on this:

Brought my 2004 Accord LX, 6 cyl in for the first 15,000 mile checkup.

The Service Mgr. at the dealership said that "they automatically do a front
end alignment on these
cars Every 15,000, as the "slightest mis-alignment causes uneven wear on the
tires, which are so expensive"

The Honda site has nothing about front end alignments at 15K
in their Service Intervals writeups for the car.

Can't hurt, I guess, but it sure sounds like a very low mileage to have
done. Also, not cheap.

Is the dealership milking me, or is it a "pretty good" idea to have done at
15K intervals ?

Any thoughts would be most appreciated.

Thanks,

 

Are there any symptoms of the car's not steering properly?

Have you driven over any potholes or hit any curbs?

How do the tires look? Any abnormal wear (e.g. more on one side than the other)?

I would be very suspicious. I have a 1991 Civic (bought new, 159k miles) and it
has never had an alignment. No steering problems or abnormal tire wear, either.

 

Whole, pasturized, no-hormones-added, milk.

If your tires are wearing properly (run your hand across them in
addition to a visual inspection) there is NO reason to get an
alignment.

Front drive cars have TOUGH suspensions. You generally have to whack a
curb really hard, or wreck your car, or go into a hellacious pothole to
cause any shift.

I wouldn't just laugh in their faces, I'd take my car to another dealer
that doesn't try to get away with this b.s.

JM

 

StealerShips love to add all kinds of services to the factory schedule. An
annual alignment check isn't a bad idea, and should be cheap. Normally one
year old vehicles should not need the front end aligned.

John

 

id say youre being milked. if you *want* to do this, ask to watch while
they take the reading and compare it to what its supposed to be.

 

Generally there is no prescribed mileage for front end alignments because it
depends almost totally on when you hit that next big pothole or scrape the
curb. If the tires are wearing evenly and the car steers straight ahead on
a flat & level roadway, you don't need one. If there are signs of abnormal
wear on the front tires or the handling is off, then you do need one.

If the dealer is saying this sight-unseen, then he is just trying to milk
you. Probably most cars do need an alignment by 15,000 miles, but it should
be prescribed after first looking at the front wheels and suspension.

 

Moooooooooooo, Mooooooooooo

Call the BBB in your area and see if they have a long 'rap sheet'

'Curly'

 

There is no limit nor guideline for mileage for front end alignment. Bad
alignment can happen at any time. Most of them come from hitting a parking
stopper or curb hard with 1 wheel, or hitting a pot hole. Mines happens when I
corner hard and hit a ridge in mid corner, due to lowered car.

If you're the only driver, and that you can account for your mistakes, and that
the tech can't find any fault with tire wear in the front tires, you shouldn't
have to deal with front end alignment. As for 'slightest mis-alignment causes
uneven wear", that is BS. I do my front end alignment with a tape measure, quite
sloppily. I don't have any problem with uneven tire wear.

 

I will agree with everyone else. But one other thing that I try to follow
is that the tires should be rotated every 7500 miles. on this schedule even
a slight out of alignment will hardly be noticeable.

Scott

 

Doing an alignment without any indication of one being needed is totally
wrong.



Scott mentions a good point about having routine tire rotation. I am quite
sure most Honda dealers do it at every 7,500 mile interval. The technician
should be examining the tires during this process. As many folks have
pointed out, poor alignment is indicated by uneven tire wear or feathering
of the tread. The latter can be easily felt by running your fingers over
the tread. Minor tire wear can be missed until the tire is off the car as
in the case of rotation.



It may be that the technician doing the 15,000 mile service noted something.
If the dealer really tried to have you get an alignment without looking at
the tires then they were absolutely wrong. If this was the case then they
should be reported both to the better business and the regional Honda
office.

 

Mooooo

 

Seems like I plagiarized Meyer...

 

He's probably milking you. That being said, I'll add two things:

1) Some cars come straight from the factory out of alignment, and/or
arrive that way when finally delivered. My last car is not built
by Honda, but I brought it in for an alignment check with under
900 miles. It was already out of spec. Cars are not typically
factory checked for alignment.

2) I would suggest getting a "lifetime" four-wheel alignment. The
one I got was $160. I had the same deal for my '95 Integra GS-R.
They never asked to perform any additional services that weren't
needed. They did tell me my tires were bald (I figured that one
out myself) and gave me a quote, but didn't pressure me. This
was at a Firestone service center, and their lifetime alignment
is good at any of their shops around the US. I must have gotten
at least 5 alignments which would have normally cost me about
$300.

 

Sounds like BS, but I have owned 3 Accords (80, 85, 91) and I have never
had an alignment last for more than about 6 months on any of my Accords.
I have been told by more than one mechanic that this is what Accords are
known for. Still, if the car drives fine and you are showing no signs of
uneven tire wear, skip the alignment. You'll know when it's time for one.

 

probably a good idea to check the aligment.

if it checks OK, no need to align it.

 

my '86 Accord had the rear misaligned from the factory.

I attribute it to overloading the suspension by excssively tying the car down
while the car was shipped. In fact, the rear could never be toally aligned
wihin spec.

Honda dealer didnt a 4 wheel alingment rack then and sent it to a body shop.

Although it was aligned for free, I had to buy 2 tires out of pocket.

Letter to Honda were not answered.

 

I have had two Hondas come from the factory that needed alignment, and
know of one other. Once aligned, I never had to do it again.


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