I have been told that the rear alignment on my 2005 Toyota Matrix is off (sorry I don’t know by how much). Apparently, the rear alignment is non-adjustable. I don’t want to wear out my tires earlier than I should.
How can I adjust a seemingly non-adjustable alignment?
Aftermarket suspension components are available, which are adjustable. You can find them if you do a google search. The total price may be more than you are willing to pay.
Did they think that the rear alignment is off just based on tire wear? Had you been rotating them regularly?
I believe the rear suspension can be aligned with a shim. So the garage performing the alignment will need the Shim kit when performing the alignment. The shim kit, and labor to install it will be a additional cost to the alignment. So make sure the alignment shop has the shim kit for the rear prier to taking it in, and also find out the additional cost.
There are rotatable tapered shims for this purpose and many cars have non-adjustable components and the mechanic has to disassemble things and elongate bolt holes to get things within spec. The labor for this is not covered by the regular alignment fee and your mechanic should discuss this with you before proceeding.I once had a car that needed frame straightening to align.
Even “Non-adjustable” suspensions can be adjusted - it just takes some shims, an eccentric bolt, cutting slots, or bending the frame - but they ALL can be adjusted.
So if the alignment shop didn’t tell you what was needed to adjust the rear alignment - then you need to find one that will give you options.
Alignment shims for the Matrix http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1432900,parttype,10657
Who told you it was off? What evidence did they present? Why do you believe them? Are your tires wearing out earlier than you think? And lastly, did you have the tires rotated just before this diagnosis?
you can get a rear alignment shim for it…the shim shouldnt cost that much…the labor is what will get you.