Honda Car Forum

I took my car for alignment a few weeks ago, but I can see on my new tires
that they're wearing on the outer corners very fast!..

I saw this in an article at: http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm

"On many front-wheel-drive vehicles, camber is not adjustable. If the camber
is out on these cars, it indicates that something is worn or bent, possibly
from an accident and must be repaired or replaced".

My car hasn't been in an accident or suffered any damage!..Could anyone
indicate me how this problem could be fixed?...The guy who performed the
alignment a few weeks didn't tell me about any problems!...

Do I need to be specific and point this problem to the technician if i
return with my car so they can fix it?...What do I have to tell them?.....

In fact if you see the car from the front and with the wheels turn to one
side, You could be able to see the tires falling towards the inside of the
car on the upper part of the tires!..

Some comments and ideas:

1.
I'm pretty sure only toe is adjustable on the 1991 Civic. My reference for this
is a July, 2004 article in "Import Car" that states, "on most [Honda] models
only toe is adjustable." Also, sites
http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/Concert...sk301/12-4.pdf (on caster and
camber)

and

http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/Concert...sk301/12-5.pdf (on toe)

indicate that only toe is adjustable on the 1991 Honda Concerto. The Concerto is
very similar to the Civic.

2.
Often only front toe is adjustable.

Notice that the first web site above also says that caster or camber that is out
of spec indicates a bent, worn, or damaged component(s).

3.
Why did you ask for an alignment in the first place? I have never had an
alignment on my 1991 Civic. It seems to steer fine with no abnormal tire wear
after 157k miles and three sets of tires, all of which lasted about what I
expected. (I'm not saying your car didn't need an alignment, BTW. Just curious
what the symptoms were to start with.)

4.
I don't understand the part of your description below about "the wheels turn to
one side." Are you saying the car's front wheels now have negative camber? (If
you don't know what camber is, google... )

Wear on the outer edges of the front tires suggests out of spec positive camber.
Positive camber = top of wheels tilt outwards or to the left (for the left tire)
and right (for the right tire) as the driver sits in the car.

5.
Did the technician check the tire air pressure before aligning?

Did he inspect the suspension components (springs, shocks, tie rods) under the
car before the alignment?

Is the car's ride height in spec? (Ride height is also a specific alignment
parameter.) Is the car sagging or tilting in any way so as to indicate a broken
suspension component?

6.
Front springs, ball joints, bushings, and other suspension components do fail on
Hondas. Any funny noises?

"Gershund" <gershund00@usa.com> wrote
> I took my car for alignment a few weeks ago, but I can see on my new tires
> that they're wearing on the outer corners very fast!..
>
> I saw this in an article at: http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm
>
> "On many front-wheel-drive vehicles, camber is not adjustable. If the camber
> is out on these cars, it indicates that something is worn or bent, possibly
> from an accident and must be repaired or replaced".
>
> My car hasn't been in an accident or suffered any damage!..Could anyone
> indicate me how this problem could be fixed?...The guy who performed the
> alignment a few weeks didn't tell me about any problems!...
>
> Do I need to be specific and point this problem to the technician if i
> return with my car so they can fix it?...What do I have to tell them?.....
>
> In fact if you see the car from the front and with the wheels turn to one
> side, You could be able to see the tires falling towards the inside of the
> car on the upper part of the tires!..

assuming you don't have any damage or suspension wear, keep going back
and bugging them to get it right. they'll figure out they're losing
money on you before long and sort you out.

it's not uncommon for some unscrupulous shops to do this to make the
tires wear fast - keeps you buying more. if they whine, you can also
point out that your tire warranty is affected by their incompetence, so
you /really/ want them to get it right next time.

front wheel alignment has quite a tolerance margin - zero to two mm toe
in. you can specify they set it close to zero if you like.



Gershund wrote:
> I took my car for alignment a few weeks ago, but I can see on my new tires
> that they're wearing on the outer corners very fast!..
>
> I saw this in an article at: http://www.familycar.com/alignment.htm
>
> "On many front-wheel-drive vehicles, camber is not adjustable. If the camber
> is out on these cars, it indicates that something is worn or bent, possibly
> from an accident and must be repaired or replaced".
>
> My car hasn't been in an accident or suffered any damage!..Could anyone
> indicate me how this problem could be fixed?...The guy who performed the
> alignment a few weeks didn't tell me about any problems!...
>
> Do I need to be specific and point this problem to the technician if i
> return with my car so they can fix it?...What do I have to tell them?.....
>
> In fact if you see the car from the front and with the wheels turn to one
> side, You could be able to see the tires falling towards the inside of the
> car on the upper part of the tires!..
>
>
>