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Checked Alignment: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
- Thread starter Dreamin
- Start date
I would absolutely get this one escalated to a regional manager. Assuming this is your first set of tires that need to be replaced and that you did nothing to cause the car to lose alignment, I would make a big deal. There are a lot of issues over which Tesla can be forgiven and where we can give them a lot of wiggle room, but this is important and should be addressed quickly. This issue has been going on for far too long. Even Edmunds is now publishing videos showing the poor tire wear and rear alignment issues.
We don't need media attention, we want a solution.
We don't need media attention, we want a solution.
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lolachampcar
Well-Known Member
Slow down there Amp'd......... I'm beginning to see the humor in your handle.
I heard back from the guys at the factory and they are aware of the issue and working hard on it. Track, please give ownership a call and explain that both wheels have toe out. If one were toe'd out, one could say you may have knocked it out on a curb or something. Both being out is not normally user induced. In addition, Edmonds and three other owners have publicly posted tow out in the rear. Give Tesla a chance to get their act together here and make this right.
I heard back from the guys at the factory and they are aware of the issue and working hard on it. Track, please give ownership a call and explain that both wheels have toe out. If one were toe'd out, one could say you may have knocked it out on a curb or something. Both being out is not normally user induced. In addition, Edmonds and three other owners have publicly posted tow out in the rear. Give Tesla a chance to get their act together here and make this right.
I hope that when lolachampcar speaks, Tesla listens!
I'm glad they are working on this, but I'm curious... are we talking about cars not being aligned property at the factory, factory aligned cars losing alignment during transport, or a deeper issue that allows a good alignment to go bad over the course of normal driving? Have you received any hints from Tesla where the issue might be in this spectrum?
I mentioned the alignment drifting during transport to the local service manager. He has over 10 years of experience as a Mercedes Benz service manager. He told me that he had never heard of that particular issue. He said their #1 complaint at MB regarding alignment was that most, if not all cars, would drift to the right due to road crowning with a proper "factory spec" alignment. He said that due to those complaints, at Mercedes they gave their customers a choice whether they want to compensate for the road crowning in the alignment. The drawback to that, of course, is that the car will drift to the left when on a perfectly flat surface.
One interesting note from my recent alignment. I asked them to check the torque on the toe link bolts and they told me that they were torqued to specification and that they did not see anything unusual in that regard. However, toe and caster adjustments were required. My car was previously aligned by an outsourced 3rd party who didn't do a very good job. The alignment from the factory felt great, and now my car feels as good as it did when it was factory new.
It may be all three--some affecting some cars, some affecting others, or a combination. The Edmunds post on this raised the possibility that the toe was drifting out of spec during ownership because of the torque from the motor. I didn't get the sense that they had anything to back that up beyond it being a SWAG, but that's why they marked the toe adjustment bolts.
EDIT: Here's the link to the specific Edmunds post, which I suspect everyone has already seen.
http://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-...2013-tesla-model-s-tire-wear-post-mortem.html
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lolachampcar
Well-Known Member
Amp'd,
All I did was try to raise the "s*** storm is coming" flag for the factory to let them know they were running out of time to address this before it blossoms into a full blown storm. I'm sure the message could have come from any owner and had the same effect (if there is any effect).
I've not experienced it myself but I have heard stories about new cars being yanked out of alignment during transport. Perhaps this is just one of those old wife's tales. I hope not as it would be an easy fix.
All I did was try to raise the "s*** storm is coming" flag for the factory to let them know they were running out of time to address this before it blossoms into a full blown storm. I'm sure the message could have come from any owner and had the same effect (if there is any effect).
I've not experienced it myself but I have heard stories about new cars being yanked out of alignment during transport. Perhaps this is just one of those old wife's tales. I hope not as it would be an easy fix.
It doesn't hurt to send Elon a message on Twitter, in the past he has responded to these types of things. I tweeted him about the poor detailing when I picked up my car and the scratch and he replied very quickly he'd look into the process.
In my case the service center reportedly found my car within alignment specs in early August before putting a new set of tires, and yet - still we have shred shred shred. A friend is putting my car on the alignment rack tomorrow to see what they find for the rear toe before it goes to the service center on Wednesday. I'll post the report.
WOW. Glad this was fixed before an unsafe incident occurred. In a panic stop or emergency maneuver, the car would have been a handful to say the least.
You know, I have had a number of complaints about little problems with Tesla (I now have the "spontaneous charge port door opening" problem), but I seem to have gotten one of the cars which has the alignment correct. Feels the same both ways -- rear end steady as a rock under high acceleration -- tires don't seem to be showing undue wear -- etc. Of couse I haven't had it checked.
So it seems that if the car is aligned correctly it is fine. Owners who are losing tires due to bad alignments from the factory should have them replaced, at least if they have service contracts -- because it is the result of bad alignment.
Mayhemm
Model S P85+ "Lola"
If the cars are misaligned straight from the factory, it should be covered under the standard vehicle warranty; you shouldn't need a service contract. If this doesn't qualify as "defects in workmanship", I don't know what would.
bareyb
Active Member
I just got mine last Thursday at the Factory and of course had to "punch it" a few times to see what she can do. I had to back off the pedal because the back end felt squirrely and like it could lose traction. Floaty fits the description too. Could I possibly have the alignment issue?
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lolachampcar
Well-Known Member
Some (I for one) found the P to be too floaty even with perfect rear toe which drove me to the P+. Have you tried a P+ to see if this is your issue?
bareyb
Active Member
I have not. Maybe I'll get a P+ loaner? I'm more concerned with the premature tire wear. If it's just Torque making the rear end feel loose I can live with that. I have only noticed the problem when I'm doing 0 to 60 Speed Runs. I even got the rear tires to "chirp" a bit as it they were shifting gears. Driving it normally I don't notice anything and it seem to go pretty straight and doesn't drift etc. I'll try calling the local service center and see what they say.
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lolachampcar
Well-Known Member
bareyb
Active Member
I just called the Palo Alto service center and they're going to take a look at it on the 8th. Better safe than sorry.
Gizmotoy
Active Member
I kind of figured it wasn't. It's just that the wear on the 21"s makes it so much more obvious there is a problem. I hate to think that the first thing I need to do after I take delivery is get the thing up on a rack for an alignment, but it's looking like that'll be required.
DIL
Member
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