Rear camber issue caused Pilot Sports to fail at 24k miles (M3P+)

[Jeremy3292]

If you got your alignment checked every 5,000 miles it would be out every single time. Is it necessary? That's up for debate but cars get out of alignment very quickly unless you drive on a perfectly smooth brand new road every day.

 

[Alanant]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. And yes, I was suspicious that there was some sort of fault on Tesla's side. Like most of you on this forum, I've owned many vehicles before this one and not experienced anything similar. Hence my questions. The consensus though seems to be that this is normal and I should plan on getting the alignment checked more frequently.

 

[Motion122]

Do you have the before and after alignment settings? Dynamic camber changes have a lot to do with tire wear.

I just picked up the car from the Tesla Service Center (4 week wait for an appointment). My service advisor was not in so they wouldn't work with me on the cost of the allignment. I asked to speak with the tire tech to see if he could explain why it was out so much. They sent out another guy who couldn't explain it but kept saying that when he worked at Bridgestone they recommended allignment every 5-6k. See the attached before and after report, which I don't think they meant to leave in the car.

Way out of spec toe will do it!

 

[MountainPass]

Just to chime in with some dealership experience - It is very common to perform an alignment during a PDI (pre-delivery inspection).

 

[dfwatt]

If you got your alignment checked every 5,000 miles it would be out every single time. Is it necessary? That's up for debate but cars get out of alignment very quickly unless you drive on a perfectly smooth brand new road every day.

I think that fails to make a distinction between nominally or slightly out of alignment and out of alignment in a way that's going to chew up your tires. That's mostly a toe issue not a camber issue and it would be unusual for cars to be way out of alignment every 5000 miles unless they're suffering significant impacts. Car do not drift way out of alignment simply from normal driving. They are on the other hand often times delivered seriously out of alignment.

 

[Alanant]

Do you have the before and after alignment settings? Dynamic camber changes have a lot to do with tire wear.

Way out of spec toe will do it!

Yep, attached on post #16 (Rear camber issue caused Pilot Sports to fail at 24k miles (M3P+)). Total toe was -0.31.

 

[Motion122]

Yep, attached on post #16 (Rear camber issue caused Pilot Sports to fail at 24k miles (M3P+)). Total toe was -0.31.

Saw that!

 

[KenC]

Having a tire shop tell you you should check your alignment every 5 to 6k miles is akin to the fast-change oil shop telling you to come back every 3k miles for an oil change. They have skin in the game.

In the pre-EV days, I would check my tires, pressure and wear, every time I stopped to fill up for gas, usually once a week. Now, that I don't stop for gas, and my Tesla checks for pressure, I have to force myself to look at the tires for uneven wear. Of course, I'm lazy, so I didn't check my new Tesla's tires until I rotated them after 7k miles, when I found that they had worn down unevenly due to a bad front toe. That could only have happened straight from the factory. Live and learn.

 

[Motion122]

Just to chime in with some dealership experience - It is very common to perform an alignment during a PDI (pre-delivery inspection).

Well, Tesla doesn't run dealerships! No car wash or a full tank or electricity either! lol

 

[MountainPass]

Well, Tesla doesn't run dealerships! No car wash or a full tank or electricity either! lol

Haha, this may be why no one is doing an alignment before giving the car to the customer!!

 

[MasterC17]

I think I failed to answer this earlier, so to be clear I agree that 6k mile alignments are overkill. I do them myself, so it's just a time problem and not a cost problem. In reality, doing them every 12k-15k miles is good for 99% of people.

 

[gearchruncher]

That's up for debate but cars get out of alignment very quickly unless you drive on a perfectly smooth brand new road every day.

My Model X with 25K miles on it has not noticeably changed alignment (and I mean actually measuring it with strings). In order for alignment to change, something has to bend, slip, or bushings have to wear out. I would not say that on average that cars go out of alignment "very quickly" from driving on normal roads.

 

[Motion122]

My Model X with 25K miles on it has not noticeably changed alignment (and I mean actually measuring it with strings). In order for alignment to change, something has to bend, slip, or bushings have to wear out. I would not say that on average that cars go out of alignment "very quickly" from driving on normal roads.

No, not at all in most cases. My shop have seen many hard driven AMG and M cars very rarely the alignment is out in between tire changes. However, alignment always checked and performed after a new set of tires are mounted. Heavy cars with flimsy or poorly designed bushings will sure need an alignment sooner than others.

 

[Motion122]

I think I failed to answer this earlier, so to be clear I agree that 6k mile alignments are overkill. I do them myself, so it's just a time problem and not a cost problem. In reality, doing them every 12k-15k miles is good for 99% of people.

what have you noticed during the every 6K alignment? Camber and toe changes? In what direction?

 

[Jeremy3292]

My Model X with 25K miles on it has not noticeably changed alignment (and I mean actually measuring it with strings). In order for alignment to change, something has to bend, slip, or bushings have to wear out. I would not say that on average that cars go out of alignment "very quickly" from driving on normal roads.

My previous car was out of alignment every tire rotation (7,500 miles). And I’m talking putting it on the alignment rack and verifying it is out, not subjective. I have all the printouts and records available. I had lifetime alignment for that vehicle at a local shop. (it would’ve been in their best interest to lie to me and say it wasn’t out but they didn’t and they corrected it every time )

Cars are out of alignment far more than people realize. They just don’t care and don’t get it checked objectively on an alignment rack.

Like I said does it matter? Maybe not. But cars get out of alignment very often in my experience. YMMV

 

[Motion122]

My previous car was out of alignment every tire rotation (7,500 miles). And I’m talking putting it on the alignment rack and verifying it is out, not subjective. I have all the printouts and records available. I had lifetime alignment for that vehicle at a local shop. (it would’ve been in their best interest to lie to me and say it wasn’t out but they didn’t and they corrected it every time )

Cars are out of alignment far more than people realize. They just don’t care and don’t get it checked objectively on an alignment rack.

Like I said does it matter? Maybe not. But cars get out of alignment very often in my experience. YMMV

This may be an anomaly. My mother's 2000 MB E320 has been serviced at my shop since 2005. I have not aligned it in 16+ years and it wears the tires perfectly, even now. The only alignment done was in 2009 when the front lower control arm bushings started to crack. Replaced them with an aftermarket HD version and no signs of any cracks even after 12 years.

 

[MasterC17]

what have you noticed during the every 6K alignment? Camber and toe changes? In what direction?

I think this has a lot to do with where you are driving. In California, where you guys have nice roads there is probably not a huge need for this.

Where I live in Massachusetts there's fourteen potholes every five feet, which makes avoiding them all pretty difficult.

That being said, on the 3 and Y I've just had to make minor toe corrections and everything is good again, nothing major.

 

[Sam1]

Just to chime in with some dealership experience - It is very common to perform an alignment during a PDI (pre-delivery inspection).

Tesla definitely isn't doing it because they don't even perform proper QC's on the assembly line a good portion of the time.

 

[Motion122]

I think this has a lot to do with where you are driving. In California, where you guys have nice roads there is probably not a huge need for this.

Where I live in Massachusetts there's fourteen potholes every five feet, which makes avoiding them all pretty difficult.

That being said, on the 3 and Y I've just had to make minor toe corrections and everything is good again, nothing major.

Our roads are pretty bad out here as well. It's like driving a slalom course at times.

 

[Motion122]

Haha, this may be why no one is doing an alignment before giving the car to the customer!!

Something else to add to the delivery day check list. Perform a toe check at the Tesla parking lot!