I just had the dealer replace the front springs on a recall because I live in Michigan and the salt caused potential damage that could break a spring. The dealer who did the work swore I did not need to recheck the alignment because of the simple type of suspension and the old alignment was not disturbed by the change. I swear the car is less stable on the road and I need a lot of steering adjustment to keep it straight. The front tires are 4 months old, and I had the alignment done then and had no issues with the cars tracking. The car is a 2010 and has 77 k miles but has always run well. Is the dealer correct and is it just me? Am I just imagining the problem or should I go get an alignment before I eat up my tires?
Try rotating the tires, front to back. If that solves it, likely just a small suspension angle difference was causing a tire wear pattern before which is now a little different.
Good idea to check that the wheel lugs are correctly torqued too.
Have it aligned. I was unable to find an exploded view drawing of the 2010 Versa, but every versa I was able to find of the same era had struts. Struts need realignment after changing. It isn’t just you. The vehicle needs to be realigned.
You should petition the manufacturer to include this in the recall compensation to the dealer using the complaints procedure that came with your owner’s manual, but if they decline it’ll be worth the cost anyway.
Campaign ID # PM565;
SERVICE PROCEDURE
Replace both front suspension coils springs.
Refer to the Electronic Service Manual (ESM), section FSU-Front Suspension, for
coil spring replacement information.
After replacement of the coil springs, make sure to perform wheel alignment per the
service manual.
The dealer is paid by Nissan to replace the coil springs and perform the wheel alignment;
Replace Both Front Coil Springs And
Perform Front Wheel Alignment PM5650 2.2 hrs.
Print this document, show it to the service manager and ask for your vehicle to be aligned or reimbursed for an alignment.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/UCM487334/RCRIT-15V573-4407.pdf
And maybe have a chat about this with the owner of the dealership too. If the service department is supposed to do an alignment per the recall instructions, and instead told you that’s not necessary, seems to me the dealership service dept isn’t treating you – the OP and customer – like you should be treated.
Now it is possible of course that there’s some particular reason why an alignment isn’t necessary in this particular situation, but it sure is sounding fishy at this point.
The dealer is wrong and my assumption is that you were told this by the service writer. Very few service writers have much in the way of mechanical knowledge.
If the mechanic who did the work feels the same way then he is also on shaky mechanical footing.
Per the bulletin cited by Nevada note that the entire job pays a measly 2.2 hours for the entire procedure. Short shrifting the mechanics is very common with warranty procedures and it could easily explain (possibly) why the springs were replaced and she was run out the door sans alignment.
It’s not morally right but if A screws over B then odds are B is going to pay it forward to C…
I just bought a used 2011 Nissan Versa and I am going to bring it in for the recall.
Also, I will print out and bring the pdf that Nevada listed.
How should I expect this will all go down???
Should I email the service department first, and included the link???
@mfa, you can print the document and take it with you, but don’t present it to the service writer immediately. Ask what exactly the dealer will do to meet the recall requirements. If the service writer tells you everything that is on the recall campaign bulletin, then do nothing else. When the car is returned, review the invoice. It should have the spring replacement and the alignment on it. If not, ask about the alignment. If they tell you it isn’t part of the recall, then present the bulletin to them and demand the alignment. Don’t assume they will do a slipshod job. Give the dealer an opportunity to do the job right first. Also, if you need the car for commuting, demand a courtesy car if the alignment wasn’t done at first. Their error, they pay for the courtesy car.
To grease the skids, be sure you have your car’s VIN when you go to the dealership shop to inquire about this. That’s the way they tell if your car is eligible for recall or not. The VIN is usually visible from the outside of the car, when looking through the windshield on the driver’s side. And it is usually on the registration.
The VIN might also be on your auto insurance card. It is on mine.
No need to write the vin number down. They are going to verify it before they do anything anyway.
Got recalled springs replaced and aligned. No questions asked. No problems. Al Piemonte Nissan in Melrose Park, IL.
Glad it worked out for you OP. Best of luck.
Has anyone looked into having their struts replaced by the dealer at the same time? Seems like a good time to get it done. Wonder if they would pass the savings along?