Wheel alignment necessary?

[Doctordestiny]

My daughter had a little incident last night with her car. She went off the road and had to get towed out. The tow was done by the AMA so I'm sure it was a good tow job. Someone has told her that she should get a wheel alignment or get it checked to see if one is necessary. I'm not so sure that is necessary. Is it possible that this tow job could put the wheels out of alignment? She has to do a road trip from Edmonton to Calgary tonight and needs to know if there are any safety concerns before she goes, or if she should take another car.

[sa226]

It doesn't sound very serious at all, so I wouldn't be too worried. An alignment is much more than just aligning the wheels for even tire wear. There are predetermined specs that the wheels should align to, and if they don't adjustments can be made. An alignment can tell you if the frame has become twisted or if the rear tires are "Dog tracking." It can correct any pulling.

If you are concerned it is relatively cheap (50-100 dollars) and you can ask the mechanic for an interpretation of the alignment specs.

As I said it doesn't sound too serious. But if your concerned, why not?

[schteve_d]

I wouldn't say it's necessary if everything seems ok (no new noises, pulling, steering wheel off centre, etc.) but it wouldn't be a bad idea. In doing an alignment, all front end components have to be checked first so you will know if there was any damage. The alignment itself can tell if anything got bent going off the road. If it's a mechanic you trust, you may also tell them what happened and see if they would mind just having a quick look underneath to check for any damage while it's on the hoist.

If everything seems ok I wouldn't hold up her trip over it but it wouldn't be a bad idea to just have it checked when it's convenient.

[snappyk]

I work in a dealership, it costs $30 for an alignment check and it's well worth it to get it checked out just to make sure that nothing is bent underneath the car.

[STeeLy]

I don't think you need an alignment. Unless she hit something big that could potentially bend/deform the control arm, I think the car would be fine.

If you're concerned... spend the $30 just to see, but I don't think it's going to be that much of a problem.

[flamesrule_kipper34]

Bump.

Took my 2013 Acura MDX (under 1 year old) and they left me a voicemail saying that it's not covered under warranty (thought it was, but when I spoke to them they said they called Acura Canada after I mentioned that it should be and they said it's not).

Basically there's a pull on the vehicle (veers left, which I have noticed lately), and it'll be $139.99 for the wheel alignment.

I have to call back relatively quickly to let them know to do it or not, that price seems high to me?

What are others thoughts on this and/or where could I get it done properly and well for less?

Let me know, thanks CP!

[burn_this_city]

That's a pretty typical price.

[flamesrule_kipper34]

Basically if that seems standard and just then since my car is already in I'll get them to take care of it.

But before I do I just want to make sure that it's not standard.

[burn_this_city]

Most places charge $150-200 for an alignment depending on the vehicle.

[flamesrule_kipper34]

I just quickly checked at Precision Alignment, they had it for 110, called Acura back asked if they could meet me to that price point and they agreed.

So worked out I think, thanks for the advice burn_this_city.

[burn_this_city]

Nice work, doesn't hurt to shop around and ask if they'll match.

[Calgary14]

I recently switched to all season tires from winter tires and noticed the steering was a bit off. Nothing too drastic but the car would slowly veer off to the right so had to steer in the other direction to correct even on a straight road. I checked the air on all tires and they were low so filled them up and that did the trick. My guess is that some tires had less air than others which made it never when driving. All for a cost of $1

[stampsx2]

$200 for an alignment seems like a cash grab unless the problems obvious. You hit a pothole and you need another alignment. What a waste.