Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Alignment / service issue

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
So I took my S P85D into service for both screens being yellow they did it as complimentary since it's the first time I brought it in. Warranty expired almost 2 years go. And since it was in there I said do an alignment because I got bad uneven wear on my front tires and it's only like $160.

They tell me at like 1630 that day the car is ready for pick-up, so I say I'll grab it tomorrow (Sunday) if that's possible. Nobody's around then so he locks my key in the car and says it's there to come grab.
I get he car and driving home I notice the damn screens look the freaking exact same as it did when I dropped it off the exact same amount of yellow is still there on both screens.
It was free so kinda hard to be real mad though. I ask for an alignment sheet to be sent to me to see how bad my car was and what it was fixed to for my records. Finally this afternoon I get that and as you can see it's still messed up. like ok they adjusted it but damn the front right by 0.1 degrees adjusted and still yellow? that's some freaking bullcrap. And the toe on the front left while in spec is pretty damn easy to adjust and should be closer to even on both sides. And look at the rear camber also, again moved by 0.1 degrees that's not even an adjustment that's bumping the tire with your elbow. And it's bordering out of spec also.

Anyone had similar issues?
I replied to the person that sent me the alignment paper stating all this, obviously no reply yet, if I ever will get a response.

And before you say "it's tires take it anywhere" I'm the first one to tell people to do just that, and have called 10 different shops in the extended area and nobody can do tesla alignment. Either they don't have the specs for it or they are scared of them, I got both answers.

And sure I'm gonna throw them under the bus, this was done at he Rancho Cucamonga service center. If they rectify it I'll of course say so, but as it stands they done messed up A-A-ron.
 

Attachments

  • AlignmentKristopher.pdf
    297.9 KB · Views: 93
Hi All, I'm new here but am picking up my MY in a day or two and have a Long Range S coming in a week or so.

I have a very competent alignment person in the Hollywood area if that's helpful. He's old school, no computerized alignment. But I can guarantee you it will be the best alignment you can get. I've seen him do Tesla's too...there's no magic to them in that regard. I'll have him install the camber arm when my S shows up.

I've had him work on my cars for 10+ years and it's always, always perfect. Simpson Frame - (323) 464-0572. Leave a message, he will absolutely call back.
 
No camber adjustment is possible in the rear without aftermarket adjustable camber arms, so getting an "alignment" involving a camber problem isn't going to fix your issue unless you get new arms and get them installed first...
 
No camber adjustment is possible in the rear without aftermarket adjustable camber arms, so getting an "alignment" involving a camber problem isn't going to fix your issue unless you get new arms and get them installed first...

I haven't looked at the rear but in the front at least there should be an eccentric bolt to adjust it yet they seem to have just gone with eh **** it. shouldn't the rear be similar with a spot for an eccentric bolt to adjust it?
 
There weren't any eccentric bolts in my rear setup and my camber was about -2.2 degrees before the new arms were installed. My last pair of tires in the rear had 7,000 miles and needed to be replaced, so that did it for me and I bought the aftermarket adjustable camber arms.

The aftermarket arms were installed and adjusted to be about 0.25-0.30" longer to be able to dial in the camber for better tire wear...So far, so good...
 
Seems like the tech that worked on your car just didn't do a good job; either that or some of your suspension components are not within spec (but I doubt it). My guess is that they got distracted while the tie-rod ends were lose and they tightened them back up before making any meaningful adjustment.

As for placed refusing to work on Teslas, I think they don't want to deal breaking anything (I'm sure they share horror stories about broken control arms, links, etc and don't want to be blamed). If I were a shop owner, I would decline to work on Teslas too.
 
There weren't any eccentric bolts in my rear setup and my camber was about -2.2 degrees before the new arms were installed. My last pair of tires in the rear had 7,000 miles and needed to be replaced, so that did it for me and I bought the aftermarket adjustable camber arms.

The aftermarket arms were installed and adjusted to be about 0.25-0.30" longer to be able to dial in the camber for better tire wear...So far, so good...
what brand and where did you get the adjustable camber arms
 
Here we go, this is what I got from the SC about my concerns. It sounds like he is saying that for better handling they tune the alignment to wear the tires like crap? Also the current set of tires has 19,230 miles Michelin super sports.

Screenshot_20201208-195350429~2.jpg


Front left.jpg


Rear left.jpg
 
It sounds like he is saying that for better handling they tune the alignment to wear the tires like crap?
Yes, this is true. Factory spec calls for significant negative camber, and as others have pointed out, it isn’t even adjustable in the rear.

Also the current set of tires has 19,230 miles Michelin super sports.
21s? That’s about what you should expect from a set of low profile summer tires on giant wheels. Better than many get.

I also concur with his point about the priority of any alignment being to make the car track straight, which they accomplished by zeroing out your thrust angle. That can make fine adjustments at each corner more difficult, particularly in older cars that have been banged around a bit.

In short, your tire wear is normal - and I don’t think they’re being lazy or blowing smoke as to bringing the car into a reasonable alignment.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: vapor trail
You've definitely got some inner tire wear, but that's very, very common not only on Teslas but on most European sports cars (BMW, Mercedes, Audi, etc). Tesla's suspension setup is basically a copy/paste from Mercedes, so no surprise there.

The main reason most shops don't want to do Tesla alignments is because to do it properly, you need to remove some panels...it's a bit more labor intensive than a standard alignment, and all that "omg teslas run on unicorn blood" nonsense that fanboys spread scares auto shops.

TBH, except for that front right camber, your new alignment looks spot-on. Looking at your prior specs and the pictures you postd, some of that tire wear is likely coming from your god-awful thrust angle and rear toe moreso than the camber. That's just grinding the hell out of the inner edge of your tire. But remember, suspension flexes constantly. So, your contact patch changes constantly. So you're always going to have a little bit of uneven wear, in almost every vehicle.

You should expect to get 12-15k miles out of a set of 21" tires. You're at almost 20k, that's exceptionally good. If you want 30k+ miles on a set of tires, get 19's.
 
Last edited: