Regarding wheel allignment due to my car pulling to the left. We'll after reading a few threads about how normal tyre servicing places don't know our cars and often dont do anything thing for the wheel allignment I thought who better to use than nissan itself. Wrong! To start the story off I booked the allignment for 8 this morning because I had work later at 12, so I get to nissan tell them what I'm there for and they have no account of my call and appointment from the previous day Anyway thats fine they get all my details again ask me what I want and take my keys. Anyway I'm waiting for 30-40 mins till my car gets touched, so when the 200kg guy starts to move my car I have a quick word with him regarding the allignment and what the adjustments should be, I confirm that the adjustment refer to toe IN not out and away he goes for a preadjustment testdrive and then drives it into the workshop where I cant be. Anyway some time passes I see the car on the hoist and a little bit of tinkering being done then I see the car come down with it's bonnet popped but not open and thats the way it stayed for the 2nd test drive this guy did So anyway car comes back with bonnet popped goes back on hoist and machine comes down, goes for another test drive (with the bonnet finally closed) and comes back for the final time. So I go speak to the guy and he's like "I've got it the best I can but I couldnt do a full adjustment because of the aftermarket low profile rims and tyres" I think fair enough aslong as its better. So I get my keys back pay $85 and drive home getting angrier every minute of the drive. Get home ring nissan tell them I'm really not happy as the car pulls to the left just as much. I get told to bring it straight down and the forman will come in the car with me as soon as I get there. Get there at 10.30 wait till 11 then get told by the lady that the forman said he doesnt need to come for a ride or see me because it has aftermarket rims/tyres so theres nothing they can do and no refund, I call bullshit! I speak to the forman who turns out to be a 20-24 yr old idiot and go through the adjustment sheet which looks like theyve set it for toe out! Anyway I convince him to go for a ride and he drove, whilst driving it was obvious the car was pulling to the left despite him blaming the road. So we get back he says it may be because of worn bushings, bent suspension etc. So I ask him did the technician see worn bushings, bent suspension or anything that would effect it and his reply is that they dont check and they will not doing anything about it and again blames rims and tyres. WTF! Anyway I have to leave to get to work, less $85 and plus a car that has automatic lane changes and just used around $20 of petrol for 4-5 test drives. My argument was that if they could not do a full wheel adjustment because of the rims and tyres why not tell me that before they charge me $85 for a half done and I think wrongly done job? The story is a bit longer and angrier but thats all I'll post, very unhappy. Actions I should take?
Get names, ask for the workshop manager. Be difficult and don't take any excuses, If the workshop manager is an asshole demand to speak to his coordinator/regional manager. Don't say anything specific like "It's obvious they didn't check this or check that". Just keep it short, ask for a manager and don't change what your problem is. You were not advised before work was done that the issue could be a separate to the wheels, you were charged for the work and the work has resulted in no change. If the Manager there is a Hick I suggest calling; Phone: (03) 9797 4111 Ask formally and be precise, you are at a Nissan Dealership who charged you for unsatisfactory work, you are speaking to the Manager who is unhelpful and you wish to talk to someone who can help. If the customer service rep is unhelpful, be difficult. 'I do not wish to talk to you I want to talk to your coordinator or support manager' Keep being difficult until you get the outcome you want. Push for a refund. Just keep being difficult, don't agree to anything and keep pushing. Trust me. Don't get pushed around, get angry, get it solved.
Observations:A wheel alignment can be performed irrespective of what wheels are on the car. Incorrect wheel/tyre selection can cause issues with 'tramlining' and strange handling characteristics. Action: Don't take a 20 year old car to a new car dealership. Nissan service department is good for a oil and fluids change on a in-warranty vehicle and that's about it. Sorry you had to learn that the hard way. Check your adjustment sheet against the specs in the factory manual on page MA-32, and report any variances back to us.
I can see both sides of the coin here. Its fairly well known that once you move away from stock rims, adjustable camber is required to get a setup that wont wear the inside edge of the tyre. So the chances are that your tyres are worn on the inside edge, even if they don't look like it, take a closer look. Any adjustment that they have done could actually make the pulling left problem worse due to tyre wear and its changed contact with the road. Have they done the job as well as it could be done, I would say probably yes. Is your setup and tyre wear causing the problem, I would say probably yes. Should you get your money back, I would say no. Should they have told you before they started, how are they to know ? , why don't they give you advise on rectifying the problem, because it is out side factory setup.
Sounds like bs to me too. I have been to that Dealership before a few times, once for trying to get a job as a spare parts guy which I didn't hear back from (typical) and recently for a replacement fan belt. I know for a fact to never take a Z32 to one of these shops as their mechs wouldn't know a thing about our cars. I know you feel ripped off but i would cut my loses and find somewhere else to get the alignment done. I would recommend Bridgestone Tyres on Fitzgerald rd and can say they know their stuff. Had them replace all 4 tyres front and back with new Adrenalins and did a full front and rear alignment for me. My invoice stated they charged me $65 for the full alignment and even tho they stated my suspension was worn and would need replacing to get a perfect alignment, I haven't had any issues at all since the alignment was done 2 years ago. If you need any more help let me know.
There's one simple rule that should be stickied for all new members. NEVER take your zed to a Nissan dealer. Your local tyre place probably would have done a much better job.
BrisZ: I get what your saying but the service was by no standards acceptable especially when representing Nissan, when I was trying to rectify the problem they made NO effort to suggest what I could do or what they could do. Secondly on the drive with the "foreman" he was very patronising: as the car was pulling to the left he was driving and said to me "So do you not drive with your hands on the wheel": what a twit. I tried a search about nissan werribee before I booked it in and found no bad news on the forum unfortanatley. Heres the Allignment report: Note it came in with Negative Toe values, so I assume toe in and let with positive, I assume toe out? Anyway thanks for all the suggestions, was really one of my most frustrating days and I almost want to just write it off and forget about it but $85 is a lot for me as a student haha. I'll let you guys know how I go. Cheers
I guess it would of been nice if they came to you afterwards and said look we have done the wheel alignment as per these details but the road test still shows a slight pull to the left as was observed in the pre alignment road test. And offered an explanation along the lines of "Front wheel camber is slightly out of spec, probably due to sagged springs, and in turn tyre wear exacerbated by larger wider rims then factory, this causes the tyre to wear unevenly on the inside edge, even more so on the left tyre due to road surface camber. This is just what I feel is most likely. But then again it could be more to it then this simple explanation, damaged suspension, tyre pressures, brakes etc. Here's a link to a good read: http://www.familycar.com/Alignment.htm I think its the service level that has been the big fail here, sent you on your way with no warning that it was still pulling left with no possible explanation as to why. How about this, call them back and ask who is the dealer principles assistant, ask to be put through to them. Hi my names Peter Pan I have had a problem dealing with the Service Department. OH REALLY WHAT HAPPENED ? Well its a long story would you mind if i sent you an email ? (Have the email already composed and ready to send.) Keep the email as brief and to the point as possible, sign off with a contact number. When I arrived for my booking, the booking was lost, I understand things happen so at the time I didn't let it bother me too much. I was having a wheel alignment done as I was concerned about why my car was pulling to the left and general safety of the steering system, I came to a Nissan dealer with my Nissan, as I thought they would be the best to deal with my needs. When the car was returned to me I drove away and was immediately disappointed, the car was still pulling left ! I contacted the service department etc etc etc They did not offer any coarse of rectification or cause of the problem other then my suspension might be bent or warn and or my aftermarket wheels were the problem. I find this hard to swallow as large numbers of cars have aftermarket wheels with no apparent problem. I also find it strange that given that there was still a defect in the operation of my steering i was sent away as if all was good. I paid to have my wheel alignment inspected and adjusted, neither of which have resolved my problem and with no real answers as to what will. As this is a safety issue I will have to have this attended to immediately else where, I am requesting a refund as I am not satisfied at any level with the service i experienced. I contacted your office as I think its important that the highest level of a business knows what is happening within, also to allow this situation to be resolved as quickly as possible. Please mail a check for $85 to: Regards, Peter Pan Just some ideas on what might of happened and how it may be resolved.
I'm thinking that the tires already have wear and is tending to fall towards this worn side. Looking at the results that they gave you after the alignment. It's pretty damn good. Few things out of spec but that's probably due to worn bushes and sagging shocks/springs. I'd be happy with those results. If it's pulling hard to the left. I would definitely look at the tires. If in doubt, rotate them. Or deboot the tired from the rims and swap them left to right. See what happens then. Or look at what else could be making the steering wheel pull. Either way they've got that pretty good.
Thanks BrisZ Well if you reckon the adjustments are right then I also was thinking about the car pulling to the tyres worn side on the left, the tyres are pretty new but I guess they still would have some wear. The annoying thing is the foreman on the drive said "Often when the car still pulls to the left we actually swap the front tyres around and that actually stops it, to which I replied, well if you OFTEN find that after an allignment it still pulls but if you swap the wheels it doesnt, Why is it not common practice to do it? His response was they werent asked to I felt like I came to nissan and was expected to either be a specialist who knew more than them so I could instruct them exactly what to do or a complete idiot who would be blissfully happy with no change. My bottomline observation is that Nissan will do the absolute bare minimum, didnt check my suspension's health at all and didnt attempt to do the tyre rotation which seems to be common practice elsewhere. I should have known this as a while ago I enquired about a gearbox service there and was told they dont replace the filter or gasket just drain and fill. Oh well I'll attempt changing around tyres on the weekend.
Besides the Toe out they have that pretty much spot on. I would agree with sanouske, likely a tyre wear issue causing this now the alignment has been corrected. And what wheels do you have? Diameter and width?
They are 19Inches not too sure about the rest, I'll go have a check later on and post back, yeah I'll be swapping around the front tyres and see how that goes. Cheers
Just double check that the tires arent side wall specific. (cant think of the true term) but essentially check that the tires haved got OUTSIDE and INSIDE printed on the side walls. This determins which way the tire needs to be booted to the rim. Inside edge of the vehicle closest to the shocks or Outside which is towards the wheel arch. I think Adrenalin re001s are like this. Along with many others.
Yep thanks I had though of that, if they are I will have to get the tyre's removed and refitted to the oposite rim.
Just checked my tyres, the rear ones have the Outside defined but the front tyres just have the way they should be facing, so I suppose swapping the front tyres to opposite rims is fine, is it worth it? Hmmm should I get nissan to do this for me haha
Damn man, you really are a sucker for punishment ... Nissan for a tyre rotation?! are you nuts? Suggested course of action: Sell Zed, buy a KIA. They have a 5 year unlimited Km warranty. AND an additional 5 yrs warranty if you get it serviced by them. Just pray to your god that the nissan dealer and the Kia dealer are not operated by the same company :rofl:
Hahahahahahaha there's no denying your logic! :rofl: First of all theres no way I'm going back to nissan, just a bit of sarcasm haha. Secondly I'm driving my sisters Kia around as I can't bring myself to leave my baby at the train station when going to uni, and I REALLY hate the car! I relate its clutch, brake and accelerator to stepping on marshmallows :br: Anyway thanks for the laugh its helped with all my frustration haha
^^^ this this and more this ^^^ the fact that they charges you knowing full well that they "couldn't/wouldn't" do the work is against (Trade Practices Act 1974) and you have every right to be as difficult as it takes to get either a refund and/or the work don't that was paid for. make their lives hell until something is done! GoodLuck
