My Accord front alignment is outta whack AGAIN. Why does this keep happening. I’m in Atlanta and I would like to know if someone can recommend a trusted mechanic to fix this once and for all!!!
How are you convinced that the vehicles alignment is out of specs? Is there a symptom that bothers you?
Are u certain problem is alignment specs? Symptoms? If parts are bent distorted this can occur and until replaced cant be fixed.
The car is pulling to the right… Midas, Tires Plus,…Goodyear…all these shops have had cracks at fixing the issue. I bought new tires a while back from Discount Tire because they said it was the problem and got alignment that time as well. Seems like every 6-7 months I get it aligned, …last a while, then out again…starts pulling right if you take hands off steering while for a few seconds
The car is pulling to the right… Midas, Tires Plus,…Goodyear…all these shops have had cracks at fixing the issue. I bought new tires a while back from Discount Tire because they said it was the problem and got alignment that time as well.
You need a shop that specializes in alignment. Has this car been crashed? It sounds like the body is weak and bending. Ask some good body shops where they send crashed cars they are fixing out for alignments. It will be a locally owned non-chain shop, maybe not so neat and clean, and the people there will know what to look for and what to recommend. Good luck!
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yeah… my kid rear ended a jeep about five years ago in this car. The insurance totalled it, but never told me why. Visually all I saw was a crease bumper and hood, I had them replaced and The car was very drive-able afterward, and has been fine ever since, except for the constant alignment issues every six or so months.
Why was it totaled? Always for one reason: it couldn’t be professionally reliably repaired without spending more than its pre-crash market value.
Something dangerous, maybe catastrophic, is lurking in this car. Please have this looked at by some some real body shop and/or alignment pros. Stay well and good luck!
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It is best to avoid national chains, their busniness model depends on selling profitable products of dubious value, usuall a liquid in a bottle of something to put in you oil , gas tank or transmission for 1000%markup and theu are not interested in investing in equipment or hiring highly skilled mechanics to do serious work.
You car, like most cars these days is unibody constructionand does not have a real frame. If the folded and spot welded sheet metal near the door sills and shock towers is damaged in an accident, the metal may be forced into shape but will have lost much of its strength. Sometimes you can get enough strength back by installing a brace that goes across the engine bay thattiesthe shock towers together. I don’t know if this is possible on a Honda because they used to use a double wishbone front suspension instead of the cheaper strut design.
A good front end shop will know if your car can be properly fixed or if it is a lost cause.
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THANK YOU very much for your input sir, it is much appreciated.
Keep in mind that cars will pull to the right on the right half of crowned roads. So if you do most of your driving in the right hand lane, it’s not surprising that you’d get a pull to the right from time to time.
Would you happen to have a copy of the alignment report from the last time you had it aligned? That will tell us the status of alignment both before and after that service.
As others have posted… not the best source of a difficult repair.
Because EVERY problem is a tire problem to a shop that sells tires.
It was totaled because it could not be fixed for less than about 80% of the car’s total value. That tells me the body structure of the car was bent. It could be straightened but…
To make it pretty again doesn’t mean it is fixed. It just means it is pretty again. You are experiencing the problems associated with not being properly fixed. Alignment issues being the result.
A suspension and alignment specialty shop should be able to help this. They may have to grind a hole bigger or add an adjustment the factory did not but they should be able to improve the car as long as there are not broken body welds.
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Thank you for your help. Sounds like expsensive repair that I cannot afford. Debating if going into debt to continue to repair a 2001 or cut my losses and invest in a good used vehicle. Which also means going in to debt…
Did you get money from your insurer? If so, you probably have a salvage title. You might have one anyway now. That would make your Honda almost impossible to sell. Add that into your decision making points.
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More expensive than a normal alignment. A few hundred… But less expensive than a newer car… A few thousand.
Or just live with it if it isn’t too bad.
Maybe so, maybe not. It needs a professional inspection/measurements and estimated repair costs. Don’t decide anything until you get that, maybe more than one.
My 1999 Civic was totaled when someone crashed into its right front wheel area. I took a settlement from the insurance company and kept it and fixed it myself. It needed a new (used) knuckle and an alignment, as well as a fender, air intake box, front bumper cover, etc. The car is still in great working order with 195,000 miles in its 21 years.