[AyushB]

Originally Posted by fazayal

They are correct. Incorrect wheel alignment can cause damage to steering or suspension components. If the alignment has been refused to be done at authorised dealership after being recommended and if a failure/damage happens subsequently, they are well within their rights to refuse warranty for that part.

I get Alignment done every 5000-6000 Kms and believe that shops do a better job than ASS in alignment and Balancing.

[vipul_singh]

Originally Posted by fazayal

They are correct. Incorrect wheel alignment can cause damage to steering or suspension components. If the alignment has been refused to be done at authorised dealership after being recommended and if a failure/damage happens subsequently, they are well within their rights to refuse warranty for that part.

I own 3 Honda cars, and have never been asked to get a WA / WB done. If warranty was in question, they would have mentioned these items in the owners manual. Posting a snapshot of my Jazz' owners manual, and I don't see alignment / balancing as a periodic item:





I typically get alignment and balance checked whenever I feel an abnormality. In the Jazz, I first felt a need to get it checked at around 40k Kms, and the toe was off by 0.1 degrees.

It is very easy for a driver to detect an alignment or balance issue. With wheel balancing, it is also trivially easy to tell whether imbalance is in the front or rear wheels. There have been instances where I have gotten just the front/ rear set of wheels checked, and licked the vibration problem. One should ask the SA to demonstrate what issue they have detected in order to recommend a wheel alignment or balancing job.

If one detects such a problem on the road, by all means one should get it checked and addressed as soon as possible. But in my view, getting a wheel alignment done at 5k KMs is waaay overkill , and for nothing.

[fazayal]

Originally Posted by AyushB

I get Alignment done every 5000-6000 Kms and believe that shops do a better job than ASS in alignment and Balancing.

Maybe the shops do better job than ASS but if something happens to steering or suspension parts which ASS suspect is due to wrong alignment done outside, they are well within their rights to refuse warranty.

[AyushB]

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

I own 3 Honda cars, and have never been asked to get a WA / WB done. If warranty was in question, they would have mentioned these items in the owners manual. Posting a snapshot of my Jazz' owners manual, and I don't see alignment / balancing as a periodic item

I agree that 5K is overkill but I usually end up driving around 700-800 Kms a week and sometimes on pretty bad roads. So I get alignment done regularly just to be sure.

Mod Note : Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

Thanks!

[fazayal]

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

I own 3 Honda cars, and have never been asked to get a WA / WB done. If warranty was in question, they would have mentioned these items in the owners manual. Posting a snapshot of my Jazz' owners manual, and I don't see alignment / balancing as a periodic item:

I never said that WA/WB is a part of scheduled maintenance. I said that if ASS feels the alignment is out and suggest you to get it done, if you refuse to get it done from ASS and get it done from outside, they can refuse warranty claims incase something goes bad in steering/suspension which they can pin to wrong alignment.

I drove my Beat for 70,000 kms. The only time I did alignment was when I changed my tyres. Doing alignment at 5-6000 kms is definitely an overkill.

[vipul_singh]

Originally Posted by fazayal

I said that if ASS feels the alignment is out and suggest you to get it done, if you refuse to get it done from ASS and get it done from outside, they can refuse warranty claims incase something goes bad in steering/suspension which they can pin to wrong alignment.

I think we are pretty much aligned () then! The only thing I would add is that the SAs should be asked to demonstrate why they 'feel' that the car needs wheel alignment / balancing. Wheel alignment / balancing is not a mysterious matter or black art.

[AyushB]

Originally Posted by fazayal

I never said that WA/WB is a part of scheduled maintenance. I said that if ASS feels the alignment is out and suggest you to get it done, if you refuse to get it done from ASS and get it done from outside, they can refuse warranty claims incase something goes bad in steering/suspension which they can pin to wrong alignment.

I drove my Beat for 70,000 kms. The only time I did alignment was when I changed my tyres. Doing alignment at 5-6000 kms is definitely an overkill.

There was no issue with the car at all. It was just a way to try to convince me to WA/WB done from them. It's all about scare tactics the SA's use to take Add-on services

[fazayal]

Originally Posted by AyushB

There was no issue with the car at all. It was just a way to try to convince me to WA/WB done from them. It's all about scare tactics the SA's use to take Add-on services

What you could have done was challenge them that there was nothing wrong with the alignment. They can fix it on the alignment machine to check and you would pay only if it could be seen that alignment was out in any of the readings.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Whether one gets wheel alignment done at service or tyre shop, it is good to get it done. There is no overkill or underkill on this one: one pothole can throw it out.

Actually, at my last dealer service I asked for it and the service adviser told me I hadn't done enough mileage. They are not all sharks. I still wanted it done.

[vipul_singh]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

one pothole can throw it out.

And therefore it has to be done as soon as an alignment issue is detected by the driver. This is not a periodic thing, but something that has to be done as soon as possible.

On the other hand, there is no need to check it periodically, in my opinion, because the driver can easily detect an alignment issue. It's similar to a blown headlamp bulb, in a way.

Even manufacturers don't specify it as part of periodic maintenance, perhaps for that reason.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

... ... the driver can easily detect an alignment issue.

Can we? I have to confess that I don't know how, except for uneven wear on tyres, by which time the issue has done actual damage.

Hope this is not a thread sidetrack, but I do believe that an annual check on wheel alignment does no harm and can do a lot of good.

[dhanushmenon]

Wow. This thread is quite an eye opener. I never knew that they got cuts out of these. I am reminded of the commissions the taxi drivers receive from hotels if they rope in a walk in customer to them. I am sure similar trend would be there with all businesses. After all, it's the money that matters!

[samy1117]

In my case, always Honda SA include "Motor Care Treatment" and "AC Cleaning" in the service estimate for my Honda City. In the initial years, I didn't go thru the estimate and paid for it. Recently, I started checking each items in the estimate before approving. Unsurprisingly, every time they include "Motor Care Treatment" and "AC Cleaning" and I promptly ask them remove it. Both these items costs around 1500 Rupees.

One trick is to look for "O" under "Type" column in the estimate sheet and ask SA to remove it. Type "O" means optional.

First time in 5 years, my Honda city service (70k) cost came under 5k at 4900 rupees.

[AirbusCapt]

Mother of all scams, thankfully avoided by me during the first service of my discovery sport. The initial estimate was a shocker of Rs 74500. The itemized bill listed of things like alloy wheel cleaning, body cleaning (some 3m nonsense), ac anti bacterial cleaning and other such nonsense. When I said I want only mandatory service (all fluids and all filters changed), the bill dropped down to Rs 32000.
In essense the jlr dealership was making a cool 42k over a 32k bill!! God forbid if they get an innocent victim who pays without checking.

[Ultim8]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Can we? I have to confess that I don't know how, except for uneven wear on tyres, by which time the issue has done actual damage.

One way to detect wheel alignment issue is whether the car pulls towards the left or right when no steering input is given (meaning steering in straight position).

This link explains detecting wheel alignment issue and it's consequences in a simple manner.

https://www.fiix.io/car-advice/artic...aligned-Wheels