Non-Tesla Service Center wheel alignment questions

[Subhuman]

I have about 25,000 miles on my Model 3 and have been keeping an eye on treadwear and all was looking good. However lately I started noticing an increasing amount of wheel noise so I decided to take a closer look. I have found that the front two tires are nearly bold on the inside of the car. 90% of the tire still has excellent tread left except for the inside. driver side is a little worse than the passenger side. So obviously the car needs an alignment. I live over two-hours from the closest service center so having a Tesla service center replace the tires and do the alignment is not all that feasible.

A couple of questions:

Is there any reason to take the car to a Tesla Service center from a warranty perspective (Free alignment, prorated tires due to poor factory alignment, etc.) or will Tesla basically say not my problem?

I have found a local shop that will replace the tires and complete a full 4 wheel alignment. However, they said that Autopilot may have to be recalibrated after the alignment. Does anyone have experience with this? Does Autopilot self-recalibrate after driving a number of miles or does Tesla have force it to recalibrate and if so can this be done over the air?

Final, has anyone had experience with an alignment at a non-Tesla facility? I assume it is all pretty standard.

 

[patrick40363]

Find a good local shop for the alignment. Tesla doesn't have a warranty on the tires. Tires have an even wear tread warranty. It sounds like your tires would not qualify. Local shop will be cheaper for the tires. I believe that Teslas re-calibrate themselves.

 

[Subhuman]

@patrick40363 Thanks for the info. Yeah, i’m not too concerned about a local shop doing the alignment. It’s more about autopilot recalibration. From what I have been able to find it sounds like it is self-recalibrating but could not confirm it.

 

[tyseft163]

@patrick40363 Thanks for the info. Yeah, i’m not too concerned about a local shop doing the alignment. It’s more about autopilot recalibration. From what I have been able to find it sounds like it is self-recalibrating but could not confirm it.

How did it go for you, nearly a year ago, if you recall? I have similar issue. All 4 tires show this inside tread band wear @ 24k mi (LR3D).

 

[TexanEV]

How did it go for you, nearly a year ago, if you recall? I have similar issue. All 4 tires show this inside tread band wear @ 24k mi (LR3D).

when did you do a tire rotation?

 

[KenC]

I realized mine were feathered on the front insides when I rotated my tires at 6k. Took it to my local tire shop, and had them align the tires, about one degree off. Cost me $90. I live 3+hrs away from a SC, so never considered scheduling an appt and having Tesla do it, or complain that the car must have been misaligned from the get-go. After 9k miles, I've already replaced those tires.

 

[Blucenturion]

I have 16K on SR+ 2019 model. Two local (biggest) places say they can't align, so I scheduled for next week at a SC five hours away. Not looking forward to driving ten hours just to do an alignment, but I'm not waiting till they get bald on the insides. I have a camber problem. i've rotated at 6,500 and 13,00 miles, just like a good boy should.

 

[Mrcarcrazy]

Just go to a small alignment shop. Don’t waste your money at the big shops. A monkey can align a Tesla and virtually any other car. (Speaking as a guy who used to align cars). I love love love Hunter alignment machines. So I recommend a monkey who has one of those. Cheers

 

[tyseft163]

when did you do a tire rotation?

I didn't capture or lost the mileage point for first one. It was 3 months after delivery of car. I just missed 24k mi when I did the second one. No question that I should have done it more frequently. A Mobile Service tech told me to do them at 12k miles (right as they received Owners Manual statement from s lower number to that 10k-12k). But, I should have done better for tire longevity. I'm just wondering (on this thread) how the alignment and auto pilot recalibrate went for @Subhuman

 

[TLLMRRJ]

I had the SC re-align my car because the steering wasn’t centered and it felt like the rear wheels were fighting the front wheels.

Steering wheel was crooked the other way when done, still felt like the front was fighting the rear, and they forgot to put 10 screws and 6 fasteners back in the rear under panel so it flipped down on the freeway on the way back. Pretty alarming when that happens!

I bought new screws and fasteners, put the car back together myself, took it to my favorite alignment-only shop to redo it. Owner said they get a lot of Tesla’s because Tesla can’t get them right. He showed me the before and it was way off and that explained the feeling I was getting.

All fixed now, and I learned my lesson the hard way on SC alignments.

 

[TexanEV]

I didn't capture or lost the mileage point for first one. It was 3 months after delivery of car. I just missed 24k mi when I did the second one. No question that I should have done it more frequently. A Mobile Service tech told me to do them at 12k miles (right as they received Owners Manual statement from s lower number to that 10k-12k). But, I should have done better for tire longevity. I'm just wondering (on this thread) how the alignment and auto pilot recalibrate went for @Subhuman

So u got 25k out of ur tires? How much were you hoping for?

 

[tyseft163]

So u got 25k out of ur tires? How much were you hoping for?

45k or close to that, per the Michelin rating and warranty for that model tire. Or at least a year. Tires should last more than a year if you're not drag racing every weekend.

 

[Blucenturion]

I've decided to just have the tires crossed and moved to the other axle. If I get another 16K mi in that configuration as I have in this one, I'll be content. My tire center, who has been in operation in the same family since 1927 said Tesla doesn't release information necessary to do an alignment. Jives with what the big western chain operator told me.

 

[KenC]

I've decided to just have the tires crossed and moved to the other axle. If I get another 16K mi in that configuration as I have in this one, I'll be content. My tire center, who has been in operation in the same family since 1927 said Tesla doesn't release information necessary to do an alignment. Jives with what the big western chain operator told me.

Several people have posted the alignment data, and the shop can enter it in manually.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

My independent alignment shop had the specs and knew how to make the adjustments.

 

[Matsayz]

The Firestone and Discount Tire stores in Las Vegas know how to “work on a Tesla”. If some companies don’t want to make money then take it elsewhere. A lot of these places it’s the management that hasn’t put any effort into looking towards “tomorrow” and I get it, oil changes are cheap to do and have a decent margin when you charge $50 for windshield wipers as an add-on.

10hr round trip...I’d rather buy a new car!

 

[shiv.nandak]

I have 16K on SR+ 2019 model. Two local (biggest) places say they can't align, so I scheduled for next week at a SC five hours away. Not looking forward to driving ten hours just to do an alignment, but I'm not waiting till they get bald on the insides. I have a camber problem. i've rotated at 6,500 and 13,00 miles, just like a good boy should.

Thats ridiculous, I recently lowered my model 3 myself and literally everything is the same as any other car. Only difference is that you need to take the aero cover off the rear control arm (one 10mm nut) and might need to take the plastic under panel behind the rear wheels. Camber and caster are not adjustable from what I understand. I think you mean a "toe out" problem. Toe determines the rate of wear, camber determines where that wear occurs. My advice Is to keep looking around until you find a competent shop. There is absolutely nothing special about the car that warrants any special training/tools to do an alignment.

 

[dhrivnak]

Find a good local shop for the alignment. Tesla doesn't have a warranty on the tires. Tires have an even wear tread warranty. It sounds like your tires would not qualify. Local shop will be cheaper for the tires. I believe that Teslas re-calibrate themselves.

Unfortunately the Model 3 does not have an adjustable camber according to my local tire shop and what I could find on the forums. This stinks as my front tires had bad wear on the inside as well. While good for aggressive handling too much camber is bad for tire wear.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Unfortunately the Model 3 does not have an adjustable camber according to my local tire shop and what I could find on the forums. This stinks as my front tires had bad wear on the inside as well. While good for aggressive handling too much camber is bad for tire wear.

Go to a different shop. It does have adjustment by moving the front cradle. Outlined in the shop manual.

 

[TexanEV]

a lot of you say “find a good shop to do the alignment”. How do you find those who know (reallly know and not just say they do) handle teslas.