I had my tires rotated and they checked the alignment for free, how bad are these numbers? I had a alignment done about a year ago.
I don’t have the factory specs in front of me but just offhand I don’t see anything there too major. After six years things will shuffle around a bit on any car.
It doesn’t look too bad to me either. The left rear toe reading is a bit more out than the other three out-of-spec readings, but not so bad that it suggests anything other than normal wear and perhaps a few potholes. I should add that tire stores do these “free alignments” to generate repair work. And the truth is that they’re not free, just included in the quoted tire price. Realize too that you’ll always get some variation in readings between alignment events.
A good checkup and a good alignment after is prudent. A visit to an independent shop is a good idea. Keep the paperwork incase the tire store tries to claim that your tire warranty is invalid due to the out-of-spec readings.
I would have the alignment done with how far off the rear end is, the left rear alone will prematurely wear the tire. The only reason the front total toe is within spec is the left front alignment is countering how far out the right front is. You might not notice much of a difference driving but with make the tires last much longer.
And the thrust angle is at .17 degrees. That should be 0 degrees.
Does the car veer to the left if the steering wheel is let go?
Tester
That’s a good chart they gave you, very clearly diagrammed. The best thing about it, you only have a few toe problems, and fixing toe problems is a simple thing for a shop. Suggest to have it done. I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it, it’s only slightly off, but the car will track better. I expect you’d notice a better driving experience straight away. And you might get a little better tire wear too. Good for you for keeping on top of things.
The alignment didn’t seem that off, before they checked it, but now it is drifting off to the left if I let the steering wheel go. Is it possible they messed with it?
Unlikely. Overthinking.
They didn’t mess with the alignment.
All they did was pull the vehicle onto the alignment rack, placed the sensors on each wheel, entered the vehicle information into the computer for the alignment rack, and those are the results.
Tester
No more than this guy drives the tires will need replacing because of age rather than wear. Relax and drive on and maybe find a hobby to concentrate on.
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What about if they over tightened the lug nuts? They re-tightened them since it was over 50 miles since they rotated the tires and your supposed to re check them in my state. I had to come back for the alignment check since they didn’t have time that day. When they checked the lug nuts they were gone such a short period of time it seems doubtful they did it with a torque wrench and probably just hit it with an air gun. Can that cause it to veer to the left? The car defiantly drives different since they had it I could feel it as I was driving away from there.
Hammering the lugs nut down with an air wrench will not cause the car to pull.
You state the tires were rotated. That is the likely cause of the pull due to tire bias as the rears are now on the front whereas before it was not noticeable due to the tires being on the rear.
The local Toyota dealership installs 4 rings in the wheels of every car that enters the service department and somehow a report as technically impressive as that one is produced. I am quite skeptical of such a printout.
Is the machine a money maker like transmission flushers or does it really provide accurate information? Measurment of alignment to .00* is not possible to measure on a shop floor.
What is " tire bias" and how does that make it pull to the left if I rotated my tires?
I am going to thoroughly disagree that the alignment is OK. Look at the thrust angle. It ought to be within a half a tenth of a degree of Zero. Plus, the red highlights indicate something out of spec - and I think those specs are too wide. This vehicle needs to get the toe adjusted.
The bottom line is that it needs to go to a reputable independent shop (NOT the tire guys) for a thorough checkup and alignment. One thing you can do immediately that might help the “pull” issue is to check the tire pressures. I always do when leaving tire places with new rubber, and they’re more often than not too high, usually by a significant amount. And often not consistent.
All we’re doing from here is positing possibilities and guesses.
I am getting premature tire wear. I got my tires a year ago and the front 2 were down to 7 and 8/32 before I rotated them at 5000 miles.
If someone did a “free” alignment check and gave me a paper like that, I’d ignore it. I have a general distrust of alignment machines as they have to be calibrated periodically and they should have a calibration check routine that the alignment tech can do. I’d first want to see when the last cal check was done and the last full calibration done.
But you mention premature tire wear and you have my attention. Tires aren’t cheap so a good alignment by a qualified shop is an investment.