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How does an independent shop reset steering angle after alignment?

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So I'd like to get an alignment at an independent shop. Part of modern cars alignment is to reset the steering angle sensor to 0* to mark the new straight ahead position and center the wheel, and with Tesla, reset the autopilot recalibration.

How does an independent shop do this when the model 3 doesn't have an OBD2 port?
 
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So I'd like to get an alignment at an independent shop. Part of modern cars alignment is to reset the steering angle sensor to 0* to mark the new straight ahead position and center the wheel, and with Tesla, reset the autopilot recalibration.

How does an independent shop do this when the model 3 doesn't have an OBD2 port?

Take it to a Tesla certified body shop OR a Tesla Service Center.....and you won't have to worry about anything.

AND your warranty will stay intact.
 
So I'd like to get an alignment at an independent shop. Part of modern cars alignment is to reset the steering angle sensor to 0* to mark the new straight ahead position and center the wheel, and with Tesla, reset the autopilot recalibration.

You are confused about how alignment works.

Alignment process starts with the steering wheel perfectly straightened, then measurements are taken to validate that the wheels are, in fact, angled correctly on all 3 axis: toe, camber, caster.

If something is off, toe is easily adjustable. Camber and caster are harder, and adjustment options vary by model.
Steering angle sensor is not touched, nor does it need to be re-calibrated.

You don't just randomly point the steering wheel at some direction, re-align the wheels to that steering input (usually not possible, anyway), then reset the steering sensor, and then drive around with the steering wheel off-center.
:rolleyes:

How does an independent shop do this when the model 3 doesn't have an OBD2 port?

You don't need to do that.

Take it to a Tesla certified body shop OR a Tesla Service Center.....and you won't have to worry about anything.
AND your warranty will stay intact.

Bad advise, with a dose of FUD.
Warranty is not effected by taking your Tesla to an independent tire or alignment shop.

The ONLY place I would allow to touch my car's alignment are local independent shops that do it for a living. Any dealer's service center (SC), including Tesla's, does this once every blue moon, and is highly likely to do so half-assly. And over-charge you on top.

Tesla SC's are to be avoided for many reasons (search this forum), unless you know your service will be covered under warranty. Alignment will not be.


easy - don't use an independent shop that doesn't know what they're doing with EV's or Tesla.

There is nothing magical about Tesla's suspension, especially on Model 3's.
Model 3's have plain vanilla independent suspension on all four corners, same as any modern car.
EV drive-train does not factor into suspension work considerations.

HTH
 
Thanks. It is my understanding that the shop would set the steering wheel straight, lock it in place (the steering angle sensor might be reading something different than 0* at this point if the wheel was originally off center), then do the alignment and then reset the steering angle sensor to 0*.



You are confused about how alignment works.

Alignment process starts with the steering wheel perfectly straightened, then measurements are taken to validate that the wheels are, in fact, angled correctly on all 3 axis: toe, camber, caster.

If something is off, toe is easily adjustable. Camber and caster are harder, and adjustment options vary by model.
Steering angle sensor is not touched, nor does it need to be re-calibrated.

You don't just randomly point the steering wheel at some direction, re-align the wheels to that steering input (usually not possible, anyway), then reset the steering sensor, and then drive around with the steering wheel off-center.
:rolleyes:



You don't need to do that.



Bad advise, with a dose of FUD.
Warranty is not effected by taking your Tesla to an independent tire or alignment shop.

The ONLY place I would allow to touch my car's alignment are local independent shops that do it for a living. Any dealer's service center (SC), including Tesla's, does this once every blue moon, and is highly likely to do so half-assly. And over-charge you on top.

Tesla SC's are to be avoided for many reasons (search this forum), unless you know your service will be covered under warranty. Alignment will not be.




There is nothing magical about Tesla's suspension, especially on Model 3's.
Model 3's have plain vanilla independent suspension on all four corners, same as any modern car.
EV drive-train does not factor into suspension work considerations.

HTH
 
So is an independent shop able to align these cars with the software re calibration that needs to take place or not?

The model 3 has an adaptive steering rack. I had an issue after the Tesla service center did an alignment on my car.

you need to drive the car WITHOUT autopilot on the freeway for 30+ miles. then let the car go in to deep sleep and it will re-calibrate the adaptive steering racks 0 center.
 
They should be able to, but it will be a bit strange. Once the tires are newly aligned, the adaptive steering rack will still be applying the prior steering compensation. so you need to complete drive cycle/deep sleep cycle for it to re-calibrate.

in my specific circumstances, the car was pulling hard to the right one day. I took it to tesla and they did an alignment... but the car was still pulling to the right. They did a second alignment and was still pulling to the right. then the lead service tech brought his laptop in to the waiting room and let me read the service procedure to re-calibrating the adaptive steering rack by driving without autopilot engaged.

So it probably depends on the exact reason you needed the alignment for... but if you car was pulling to one direction or another, try the procedure above.
 
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I've has alignments on my Model S twice at two different Tesla SCs. Once in Rocklin (free with new set of tires) and once in Palo Alto. Both times was given the alignment sheet from the machine which showed the alignment was corrected to be spot on.
Before taking it in, I called my trusted mechanic friend (works on Audis only) to as for a recommendation and he said he wouldn't trust any of the local shops. You really just need a good mechanic.
The alignment machines are very good and really do all of the hard part. You just need to have a good mechanic who will take the time to fiddle with the adjustments until it is right.
 
I've has alignments on my Model S twice at two different Tesla SCs. Once in Rocklin (free with new set of tires) and once in Palo Alto. Both times was given the alignment sheet from the machine which showed the alignment was corrected to be spot on.
Before taking it in, I called my trusted mechanic friend (works on Audis only) to as for a recommendation and he said he wouldn't trust any of the local shops. You really just need a good mechanic.
The alignment machines are very good and really do all of the hard part. You just need to have a good mechanic who will take the time to fiddle with the adjustments until it is right.

My main concern is not with the physical aspect of aligning the car, I have some shops down here that are supposed to be excellent, my concern is if they are able to reset the necessary angle sensors and autopilot.
 
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You are confused about how alignment works.

Alignment process starts with the steering wheel perfectly straightened, then measurements are taken to validate that the wheels are, in fact, angled correctly on all 3 axis: toe, camber, caster.

If something is off, toe is easily adjustable. Camber and caster are harder, and adjustment options vary by model.
Steering angle sensor is not touched, nor does it need to be re-calibrated.

You don't just randomly point the steering wheel at some direction, re-align the wheels to that steering input (usually not possible, anyway), then reset the steering sensor, and then drive around with the steering wheel off-center.
:rolleyes:



You don't need to do that.



Bad advise, with a dose of FUD.
Warranty is not effected by taking your Tesla to an independent tire or alignment shop.

The ONLY place I would allow to touch my car's alignment are local independent shops that do it for a living. Any dealer's service center (SC), including Tesla's, does this once every blue moon, and is highly likely to do so half-assly. And over-charge you on top.

Tesla SC's are to be avoided for many reasons (search this forum), unless you know your service will be covered under warranty. Alignment will not be.




There is nothing magical about Tesla's suspension, especially on Model 3's.
Model 3's have plain vanilla independent suspension on all four corners, same as any modern car.
EV drive-train does not factor into suspension work considerations.

HTH

You aren't hearing me.

Take your car to wherever you want, however I assure you that IF a non-certified place damages your car - you will have to pay Tesla to fix it if your non-certified shop cant.

It happened to me....so.....I'm speaking from personal experience. For example... take the front bumper off to get it re-painted....and then have the wonderful non-certified paint shop bump the "Forward Facing Radar Sensor" right behind the bumper....and NONE of the FSD or Cruise Control or anything will work. Tesla had to re-align the radar... which the paint shop knew NOTHING about how to do.
Tesla said that the problem could have been a "camera, radar, or a dirty camera or whatever". The problem was the forward facing radar sensor. The alignment wasn't cheap and I am still in the process of trying to get my money back from the non-certified shop that insists they didn't touch the radar at all.

Thats NOT FUD......

Also - I wanted an alignment done of the steering wheel ( because I purchased a custom wheel from RPM Tesla and it was a little off some reason from the OEM steering wheel ) , so I took it to a non-certified shop who stated that they didn't know how to adjust the wheel due to the fact that the steering shaft was connected to all kinds of motors and sensors that they called Tesla about and Tesla responded to them that all of the sensors and things had to be re-aligned because the steering wheel is "keyed" and can't be adjusted by itself ( the shaft would have to be aligned). They didn't touch it and I'm glad.

Thats NOT FUD.....

A successful wheel alignment means.....nothing needs to be said about any of this, however - if a non-certified shop bangs into a sensor ( as it happened in my case ) and you get a generic sensor alert on the screen - and the non-certified shop does not know how to fix it - you pay.

NOW - if a certified body shop does the work and an alert comes on the screen - then they can reach out to their Tesla Rep and get it fixed with NO COST to you.

An alignment may seem like a simple thing - and I agree that it is - however with a sensor/radar/technologically sensitive car like a Tesla.....

That's not FUD.

And for a simple thing like an alignment.....why the heck not take it to a certified place....its not that much more expensive...or maybe not at all.
 
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My main concern is not with the physical aspect of aligning the car, I have some shops down here that are supposed to be excellent, my concern is if they are able to reset the necessary angle sensors and autopilot.

That's exactly my point.

ALL Tesla sensors need to be in perfect alignment to have all of the others work properly. What non-certified shop knows how to do that?

I'm told that Tesla certification is intense and expensive and guaranteed by TESLA.
 
A proper alignment will result in both the rack and the steering wheel being centered. The steering angle sensor merely sends a signal - the recalibration procedure described by driving with the autopilot off will make the system recognize that signal as the one generated when the car is traveling straight ahead on a straight and level road.
 
Listen folks....

As we all know....Tesla's are much more technical then they are mechanical - compared to an ICE car.

Teslas are laptops on wheels.

A standard mechanic is eventually going to be a thing of the past as will Gasoline.

Tesla "technicians" primarily read CAN bus data for diagnostics.

My first visit to the Service Center a year ago was funny. I told the Tesla tech about a problem with my car and he immediately started walking away from my car and got onto his computer ( without hooking anything up to my car ) and diagnosed the problem and remedied it remotely. ( The charge cable at a SC wouldn't physically stay connected. My car would be charging and the cable would just fall out ).
 
You are confused about how alignment works.

Alignment process starts with the steering wheel perfectly straightened, then measurements are taken to validate that the wheels are, in fact, angled correctly on all 3 axis: toe, camber, caster.

If something is off, toe is easily adjustable. Camber and caster are harder, and adjustment options vary by model.
Steering angle sensor is not touched, nor does it need to be re-calibrated.

You don't just randomly point the steering wheel at some direction, re-align the wheels to that steering input (usually not possible, anyway), then reset the steering sensor, and then drive around with the steering wheel off-center.
:rolleyes:



You don't need to do that.



Bad advise, with a dose of FUD.
Warranty is not effected by taking your Tesla to an independent tire or alignment shop.

The ONLY place I would allow to touch my car's alignment are local independent shops that do it for a living. Any dealer's service center (SC), including Tesla's, does this once every blue moon, and is highly likely to do so half-assly. And over-charge you on top.

Tesla SC's are to be avoided for many reasons (search this forum), unless you know your service will be covered under warranty. Alignment will not be.




There is nothing magical about Tesla's suspension, especially on Model 3's.
Model 3's have plain vanilla independent suspension on all four corners, same as any modern car.
EV drive-train does not factor into suspension work considerations.

HTH

Yes! I agree with you. I took my model 3 to a performance shop that works with porches, BMW and Audi and they totally nailed it while I spent 5 visits to Tesla SC and they never got it to drive straight... Just one question I have for you though: So, there is no need to reset any electronic alignment compensation after a third party shop does the alignment? thanks for your help
 
Yes! I agree with you. I took my model 3 to a performance shop that works with porches, BMW and Audi and they totally nailed it while I spent 5 visits to Tesla SC and they never got it to drive straight... Just one question I have for you though: So, there is no need to reset any electronic alignment compensation after a third party shop does the alignment? thanks for your help
After I hit a deep drain grate and knocked things out of alignment I asked my local independent Audi/BMW repair shop for an alignment recommendation and they said they wouldn't trust anyone in the area. I happened to be in Palo Alto for a family visit so I took it to the Palo Alto Tesla service center. They have a dedicated alignment expert who did an excellent job of putting things right.
 
The model 3 has an adaptive steering rack. I had an issue after the Tesla service center did an alignment on my car.

you need to drive the car WITHOUT autopilot on the freeway for 30+ miles. then let the car go in to deep sleep and it will re-calibrate the adaptive steering racks 0 center.

Hey Ybbor, so you have to drive the 30+ miles FIRST and then let the car got in to a deep sleep? or let it go to a deep sleep FIRST to reset and then drive the 30+ miles... I'm a bit confused...
please let me know
thanks!
p
 
After I hit a deep drain grate and knocked things out of alignment I asked my local independent Audi/BMW repair shop for an alignment recommendation and they said they wouldn't trust anyone in the area. I happened to be in Palo Alto for a family visit so I took it to the Palo Alto Tesla service center. They have a dedicated alignment expert who did an excellent job of putting things right.

it seems that you were lucky over there. not here in the New York area.
 
So I'd like to get an alignment at an independent shop. Part of modern cars alignment is to reset the steering angle sensor to 0* to mark the new straight ahead position and center the wheel, and with Tesla, reset the autopilot recalibration.

How does an independent shop do this when the model 3 doesn't have an OBD2 port?

We have not run into any issues here at our shop. Although we have seen steering wheel angle sensor and stability system faults in BMWs that have alignment specs drastically off of factory specs after bending a tie rod, control arm or after installation of aftermarket adjustable control arms. The faults will usually reset after a short road test.
 
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The model 3 has an adaptive steering rack. I had an issue after the Tesla service center did an alignment on my car.

you need to drive the car WITHOUT autopilot on the freeway for 30+ miles. then let the car go in to deep sleep and it will re-calibrate the adaptive steering racks 0 center.


Hi Ybbor, I just got my Model Y alignment done yesterday. Instead of veering to the right now it is to tilted to the left. The tech said the same thing except I need to drive 100 miles. Just wondering, did your problem fix it self after driven over 100 miles? Like it auto calibrate itself?

I tried to find more info on this adaptive steering rack but I couldn't find anything. I have driven about 50 miles and the Steering wheel is still tilted to the left.... Just never heard of driving to be calibrated for alignment before...