Wheel alignment

[LewLew]

So I'm absolutely k@kking myself. Went and had the wheel alignment checked and they gave it the all clear. But the car is definitely not right. When heading in a straight line the steering wheel sits off centre to the right. When I brake she pulls gradually to the left. :blueCry:

I'm going for a second opinion on the wheel alignment this weekend. But my guess is I've done more serious damage than just altering the wheel alignment. I hope I'm wrong. Or this is going to be costly.

From my research I could have damaged a multitude of things: control arms or tie rods, maybe even the bearings? What else could I have done?

Keep in mind I mounted a curb about 50cm away from standstill. A lot of my research also says it's unlikely I've caused major damage. But regardless, something is wrong.

Will a wheel alignment place be able to spot that sort of damage if I ask them to look out for it? And, worst case scenario, if I have damaged any of those components, what sort of financial damage am I looking at?

Seeing as a simple wheel alignment check at BMW costs R2000 I'm assuming I'm in for a nightmare bill, if I have damaged something serious. :thumbdo:

 

[lebofa]

So I'm absolutely k@kking myself. Went and had the wheel alignment checked and they gave it the all clear. But the car is definitely not right. When heading in a straight line the steering wheel sits off centre to the right. When I brake she pulls gradually to the left. :blueCry:

I'm going for a second opinion on the wheel alignment this weekend. But my guess is I've done more serious damage than just altering the wheel alignment. I hope I'm wrong. Or this is going to be costly.

From my research I could have damaged a multitude of things: control arms or tie rods, maybe even the bearings? What else could I have done?

Keep in mind I mounted a curb about 50cm away from standstill. A lot of my research also says it's unlikely I've caused major damage. But regardless, something is wrong.

Will a wheel alignment place be able to spot that sort of damage if I ask them to look out for it? And, worst case scenario, if I have damaged any of those components, what sort of financial damage am I looking at?

Seeing as a simple wheel alignment check at BMW costs R2000 I'm assuming I'm in for a nightmare bill, if I have damaged something serious. :thumbdo:

when you sent in the car for an alignment, did you tell them that the car is pulling to the left? if you just tell them to check your alignment they will say it is ok, but if you tell them that the car is pulling to the side, they will do the alignment to fix that

 

[LewLew]

I told them I mounted a curb on the left side and asked them to check for damage. I didn't give specifics though and the guy doing the checks didn't seem the most competent.

 

[peanut125i]

Last time I had a issue with my car pulling left I took it to TW&T and after 5min the guy came to me and asked if the car was pulling left so I reckon you just had the bad luck of having a techie that doesn't care or hasn't had proper training.

 

[lebofa]

I told them I mounted a curb on the left side and asked them to check for damage. I didn't give specifics though and the guy doing the checks didn't seem the most competent.

If you are not far from cedar isle Auto, take your car there and tell them that your car is pulling to the left, don't tell them about hitting the curb or to check for damages. They will do the alignment and if something is wrong, they will tell you. don't stress

 

[Oldman]

Lew go to Motomags in Highlands North or Koenic in Edenvale, these guys have the equipment to center the wheels and are far cheaper , Mike has driven BMW for years , Koenic are also very experienced.


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[lebofa]

Lew go to Motomags in Highlands North or Koenic in Edenvale, these guys have the equipment to center the wheels and are far cheaper , Mike has driven BMW for years , Koenic are also very experienced.


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The car is still under motor plan, they will do wheel alignment free. Lew, if I were you, I would go to any BMW dealership and tell them the car is pulling to the left. You have already paid for the wheel alignment when you bought that car. I just prefer cedar isle auto because they are good

 

[Oldman]

I just paid for Wheel alignment with 490 Kim's at club motors but I replaced the runflats with Michelin Pilot Supersports.


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[LewLew]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'm going for a second opinion this weekend. Will keep you updated.

 

[WIDEOPN-X5]

Personal experience with wheel alignment at the stealership...cost MP R1000.00 odd and cost me replacement of 2 x front tyres on the X3. This despite my repeatedly telling them that the tyres were wearing on the inside.

Long story short, when I replaced the tyres at 20000 odd km's with good tread on the middle and outside with worn almost to canvass on the inside, I had the alignment checked at Tyremart Pinetown where I bought the tyres.

The next set got me 58000km's and I changed all 4 only because the rear tyres were worn inside edge (common problem with the rear negative camber and wide 19" tyres

My personal opinion, don't let a dealer near your alignment.

 

[irfaanlall]

I am also having a problem with my 2008 320D M-SPORT, which i assume is a problem with my alignment. I noticed my steering wheel is a lot heavier than my brothers 2007 320D M-SPORT so i started to pay attention to my alignment as it is quite a noticeable difference between the two cars. The only difference between the cars is that my car has runflat tyres and my brothers has normal tyres. When i park my car at parking lots in a mall I notice that my tyres show contact with the concrete only on the inside 3/4 of all 4 tyres whereas my brothers car shows complete contact with the whole tyre (as u can see the dust on the part of the tyre that is in contact with the ground). Could this cause the steering of the car to be a lot heavier? Please note that my car does not pull in any direction and tyres are in good condition (feels normal, other than heavy steering and front tyres do not seem to grip under heavy breaking).

 

[S1NGH 911]

With my 2011 320d Lci I also experienced the issue where the car was pulling to the left, but only when braking.

The culprit was the front brake disks.


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[JaunRothner]

I've got a feeling my alignment is out so I wanna go for a checkup. I spoke to BMW and they say it's around R2k to have it done there!! She said I can "take a chance" and go somewhere else but they don't always have the right specifications for BMWs.

Any suggestions on where I can go in the Randburg area? Or which franchise is the best with BMWs? How much does it cost?

R2k for wheel alignment...Am I the only one who thinks that's day light robbery?
:RedNo:

 

[LewLew]

So, here's an update on what is becoming a bit of a nightmare.

Decided to take my car to BMW Northcliff to have the wheel alignment checked out. When I got it back, the steering wheel now sat off centre to the other side. Steering wheel sits off to the left, if I straighten it out the car pulls to the right.

It's since been back 3 times. Each time, nothing changes. But all they're doing is messing around with the wheel alignment. They haven't as far as I know looked for any mechanical faults. And I obviously didn't tell them about the curb incident.

Unless BMW are absolutely useless at wheel alignment there must be something mechanically wrong?

I guess I need to hint that they check the suspension etc for mechanical damage without letting on that I'm responsible for the damage.

What sort of damage could I have done? What does it sound like to you guys?

Also, will a dealership be able to fix something like this?

 

[zama]

Go to BMW Isando, they will sort it out.

 

[Lizzard]

If first your steering wheel was off-center to the left and when driving it went straight and now it is off-center to the right but same conditions as it is still driving straight when leaving the steering wheel at a straight line, then the problem isn't the car or the suspension but more the TECH's that is doing the alignment.

I normally take my car to suspension parts in Pretoria west to have them inspect the car and then they do the alignment for me, they actually go the extra mile and ensure that my steering wheel is set dead center before they give me the car back. Have been with them for years now, don't trust anyone else :RedNo:

Take it to place where you can stand with the tech and see that your steering wheel is center before they start working on the alignment. This is the only way you will know that the work isn't done by a grade 0 student and by a competent person.

Sound more like you had bad luck with the techs then the car.