I recently had to replace my tires on my 2003 Honda because I had a blow out on my left rear tire. I had been having problems with the rear tire making a noise and although I had rotated them faithfully, they wore uneven.
When I had the tires replaced, I requested an alignment. I was told that they could not align the left rear tire because the bolt was rusted and frozen in place. I took the car back to Honda. They told me not to worry about aligning the left rear wheel becuase it was out only 1/100th. They said that tire rod would need to be replaced because it was frozen in place and rusted. Should a car that is only 4 years old rust in this manner? It is kept in a garage. They told me at the dealership that this is not unusual given the amount of mileage - 85,000 miles. I drive a lot for work.
My question also is does this mean that the tire rod could break or rust througH? Will I damage my new tires by riding with this alingmnet out. Could the alignment have caused the blow out on tirest that still had a least another 20,000 miles left on them?
First it’s called tie-rod.
Second…I seriously doubt that it could rust through even after 20 years. It’s pretty damn thick.
Third…I’d get it replaced. It may only be out a little now…but it could get much worse. And I seriously doubt it being out had anything to do with the noise or the blow-out.
Should the tie rod become frozen in 4 years? Is this reasonable? Seems line none of these cars are reliable any more.
I encourage you to go to a second shop for another opinion. Do not reveal what the first mechanic said. Just mention the situation: uneven tire wear, blowout. See what someone else has to say.
What does a frozen part have to do with reliability overall of a product or cars in general “these days”?
There are a couple of products that usually can free up a rusted bold. PB Blaster or Seafoam Deep Creep should do the trick.
This has to be fixed if you want your tires to last.