Honda Dealer Service - Tire Balancing for No Apparent Reason?

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Feb 25, 2011
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... And I'd like to learn more about this bit "their machine detected that she was out of alignment when she entered the garage". That's news to me...and quite the machine if it can do this while the car is moving.
There "machine" detected it was out of alignment when she drove in? HA. i have never heard of that one before. total BS.

My Acura dealer has one of these. It involves lasers. (LASERS!)


They use it to check every car that comes in, probably to sell more alignments, but when I went there specifically to get an alignment (after getting new tires) they handed me a printout from one of these that said I didn't need one.

So... yeah.

My question is this: is it typical for a dealer / service center to perform a tire balance check for no apparent reason.


They will do any service they can convince the customer is "a good idea" or can convince them is due, whether it is or not. They may also choose not to remind the customer that a $15 service is available until they are satisfied that the customer is not interested in a $50 service item tat includes it.

Most places will recommend rebalancing at the same time as you do a rotation. The weights sometimes pop off. Sticky loses stickyness or whatever. Weather in my state is a bitch and losing weights is common enough I get it checked every time I bring it in (which is probably every other rotation or so, since I sometimes just do them myself in the driveway.)

They probably threw some "six months or 6k miles" type babble at her, said, "well, if it was my daughters car I'd get it done" and she agreed. I do despise the the hard-sell tactics. For whatever reason (*cough*grouchyoldman*cough*), I don't get a lot of it directed at me, but the dumb shit I've overheard in the waiting room... goddamn. And most of the time the customer agrees, because they have no idea where their air filter is and don't want to know.

Brake fluid should be flushed every 2-3 years, but it's nasty shit. I pay somebody else to do that.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,358
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I've been told that getting an alignment is entirely pointless UNLESS you replace the tires immediately before, or recently before the alignment.

If I recall from what I was told, it was basically - if you're misaligned it is wearing down the tires in certain places - And any alignment will simply quickly fail over to the already defect tires that are worn down in certain areas.... and the place that told me this wasn't a tire-sales place.

Of course, I don't know jack shit on this kind of car stuff so I'm curious if there is any validity to it....
the roads around here can fuck your alignment pretty bad.
 

bryanl

Golden Member
Oct 15, 2006
1,157
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I recently read in another forum that car dealership service writers can make $60,000-$100,000, and now I understand how.

How much does the A1 service cost, versus Honda's required service? Dealership "recommendations" can be twice as expensive as the manufacturer's.
 
Feb 25, 2011
16,907
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I recently read in another forum that car dealership service writers can make $60,000-$100,000, and now I understand how.

How much does the A1 service cost, versus Honda's required service? Dealership "recommendations" can be twice as expensive as the manufacturer's.

"A1" is the maintenance code from the maintenance minder computer.


A1 means oil change and tire rotation.
 

rsutoratosu

Platinum Member
Feb 18, 2011
2,716
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this does not seem scammy at all...... nothing about how accurate it is, just about how many more alignments you sell.

Thats funny, I had that at the acura shop.. was going to ask about it. Pretty cool but yeah, don't know accuracy
 

rsutoratosu

Platinum Member
Feb 18, 2011
2,716
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I'm dumbfounded that so many of you have not encountered the Hunter quick check system. To be clear it's not like it just detects visually, they put targets on the wheels and it gets scanned as it's driven a few feet IIRC (one full rotation I believe).

I absolutely hate any hint of alignment or balance issue so yes, my cars get aligned regularly. I also pay the extra for full road force balance on all my cars. Yes, re-balancing is a thing. Not because of tire wear but because the weights are just adhesive these days and they can fall off.

You can make the argument that these services or this level of vehicle care isn't worth it to you/for the cars you drive, but there simply is no validity to an argument for never needing to check alignment or balance after initial setup.

Viper GTS
Also if you live in pot hole hell, it gets whack fast
 

bigboxes

Lifer
Apr 6, 2002
40,339
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The dealers have a lot of overhead and need to make that money somehow. So, they'll tell you need a lot of unnecessary things. First off, never take your car to the dealer. Second, never take your car to the dealer. I've done my own oil changes for over 25 years. It's easy and I make sure to use the good oil and filter. You never know what they will put in it. That and I won't have to fight them if they cross thread the drain bolt. That "MAINT REQD" light that comes on your dash is not an indicator that something is wrong. It just comes on at preset intervals to remind you to do something that the manufacture recommends. Learn how to reset that and you could have avoided all that shadiness. Lesson learned.
 

BonzaiDuck

Lifer
Jun 30, 2004
15,880
1,550
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Bigger or smaller repair shops -- dealership vs independent -- have more to do with the wherewithal to invest in more equipment and hire more mechanics because you already have a larger market share and it is growing. The key to running a successful shop -- big or small -- is to maintain a regular, growing customer-base which loyally continues to return for more service because there is some level of trust.

I don't know if ALLEN TIRE is nationwide or regional as a chain, but I started going to them immediately after purchasing my first Trooper in 1999/2000 (the '87) and continued with them through brake repairs, tire and shock replacements with the possibility that more serious front-end or suspension work needs attention.

You should always balance and align your wheels after replacement of old tires for new. If they charge -- and Allen does -- its one-time and chump-change for the life of tires that may have cost you at least $500. (Mine are more.)

I have a sense of trust with the local Allen manager. With or without it, they offer free periodic balancing, rotation and nitrogen-gas inflation services as part of the warranty provisions for a sale of new tires. The tire prices are always reasonable. And they will even give you a choice to purchase tires at COSTCO so that Allen takes possession and installs them.

For the rest of it, growing up building your own skateboards, riding and fixing your bicycle, pushing shopping-carts and other activities, you should have a sense whether your tires are "right" or "wrong" for something like a tire balance. A symptom for being out of alignment might be instances when the car seems to wander in one direction. Out-of-balance may be indicated by a vibration that increases in frequency with velocity. You can look at your tread depth with a Lincoln penny or something better, and you can identify patterns of abnormal wear. I don't enjoy riding along with square Flintstone stone wheels, so I don't defer, I don't delay -- it's routine maintenance cost which you should simply budget on an annual basis out of your income -- or from other resources, but I follow my own rule.

That leaves steering-wheel freeplay. Before you let a mechanic tell you that your freeplay is too loose, consult the factory manual for the adjustment spec and go for a roadtest to see if you are within that spec or just equal to it. You can adjust the steering-wheel freeplay most likely with a wrench applied to a single hex-nut (->shop manual), or arrange for a mechanic to provide his opinion and do it for you.
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,898
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Stop-and-go city driving is the scenario where the wheels being perfectly aligned makes no functional difference unless you start eating up the sidewall before the rest of the tread wears out.
There are two reasons to get an alignment:
The car is constantly veering out of the lane in a severe and dangerous manner.
The tires are prematurely wearing in sections.
Related to point 1, the car can stay in its lane "hands-free" for extended periods so the operator can talk on the phone, do makeup, eat food, etc. (I am being facetious).

Also, probably saw a younger woman and thought they could pull a fast one via emotions.
 

NutBucket

Lifer
Aug 30, 2000
27,053
571
126
If you care about your car you get a proper alignment:
4UyWlOw.jpg
 

Pacfanweb

Lifer
Jan 2, 2000
13,149
57
91
There "machine" detected it was out of alignment when she drove in? HA. i have never heard of that one before. total BS.
Not total BS. Some dealerships have equipment that can look at your alignment right in the service lane.
Now whether they actually USED that equipment or just told her that to make money, I don't know, but it's certainly something that can and is done and is not BS at all.
 

Pacfanweb

Lifer
Jan 2, 2000
13,149
57
91
Stop-and-go city driving is the scenario where the wheels being perfectly aligned makes no functional difference unless you start eating up the sidewall before the rest of the tread wears out.
Not really true. Driving is driving. The tires are rolling and need to be in alignment, or they will wear incorrectly/prematurely. If you are doing stop and go, you are simply wearing them at a slower rate, but you're still wearing them.
 
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mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
8,359
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Stop and go driving wears tires faster (if considering the mileage you get out of them) even if the wheels are correctly aligned. It also tends to involve more/sharper cornering and braking so a misalignment can have a more significant impact on handling.