Just wondering how often do people here get wheel alignments done on their Prius. Do people do it like on a regular schedule, or only if they think there's something amiss with their tire wear or FE. Last time I got my tires the replaced the tire place insisted that I absolutely needed an alignment done ($50), even though the wear on my previous tires was the most even of any car I've ever owned.
The only times I have ever done an alignment is if the tire wear is uneven (tire rotation every 7,500 miles) during the tires lifetime at proper inflation (checked bi-weekly). Or, hit a pothole hard and the steering veers off to the left or right on a smooth level road. Last car, my 2001 Honda Insight, ran 287,000 miles without an alignment before I sold it to get the Prius. Steering tracked straight as an arrow
Only if I see problem with uneven wear, adjusted rear camber myself as rear tyres started to wear on inside shoulder with no feathering across the tyre.
Once a year or less. It depends on if I have done a new suspension mod or not. I think I have only had 3 alignments in 158,000 miles.
Only in the case of abnormal tire wear or if the car will not track true and straight. The last time I had an alignment on any of my cars was with my previous Jeep GC after the tie rods were replaced. That was at something like 150,000 miles. I have always been able to get the mileage warranty plus some on my Michelin tires without needing alignments. I rotate and balance the tires regularly.
Thanks for the info guys. I thought the bloke at the tire shop was full of it and declined the wheel alignment (and was really annoyed at how insistent they were that it needed doing despite the even tire wear). Actually I spoke with another guy on an Australian forum earlier today and he says he gets his car serviced at this same place where I just had my tires fitted. He has the car serviced every 10,000 km (6000 miles) and every time without fail they tell him it needs a wheel alignment. He told me that one time he'd just had a wheel alignment done less than 1k miles before the service and they still told him it needed one. Anyway, I'm pretty confident now that I did the right thing in resisting their stupid high pressure sell on this service.
It's called the Wheel Alignment Shop Full Employment Act. The shop owner has a payment due on his boat.
My 2 cent worth. Here is the thing(align). If you get an align done make sure all four wheels are done. Next despite pot holes if the vehicle does not pull to the left or pull to the right while driving on a level road surface . Otherwise why am I giving some1 money for 10 to 15 minutes of sitting my vehicle on their equipment???
LOL xs650 But actually the real situation is even funnier. This place had been running an ad on the TV all week saying you got $50 cash back if you bought a set of four Bridgestone tires that week. So it's $50 off for the cash back deal and then they take it straight back for the unnecessary alignment. A good scam. I was particularly annoyed because I negotiated the price and booked the appointment, but my wife took it down to get them fitted. Straight away when she got there they told her it HAD to have an alignment (and they really did put it to her in such a way that she didn't even realize that there was any option!). Apparently they were just about to start on it when they realized that they'd ordered the wrong sized tires and had to reschedule for the next day. So the next day I took it down to make sure they really did have the correct tires and I refused the alignment. This really pissed them off and one guy even wanted to argue the point with me so much that I made him go and get my old tires and show me what signs he was referring to that showed it needed an alignment. It was so laughable, he grabbed one of my worn out tires (and I have to admit I ran these tires too long and they were worn down to about 1/32" across the entire tread width) and he pointed to the edge and said "look the tread is all worn out on the edge of the tire". In reply I said "and it's all worn out in the middle, and on the other edge too, about the same amount of wear over the full width". I just couldn't believe this guy, he just held his bluff and wouldn't admit that it was uniform tire wear even though it was staring him right in the face. I really wish I had of taken a photo of this tire to post here for all to see.
I agree with your comment of the value of a normal Prius "4 wheel alignment". There should be some criminal penalty for alignment shops and dealers calling their typical work a 4-wheel alignment. Most shops and probably well over 90% of dealers don't align the rear wheels at all and the majority of both don't adjust the front camber unless you beat them into submission.
Once/year or as much as needed. Alignments = a combo of caster, camber, and toe. You can adjust toe in the rear so it is a 4wheel alignment.
I had mine done once in the 3 years I have had the car. I was having some "drift" while on the highway. I did have it done at a shop other then the one that recommended it, and that shop indicated the alignment was way off. I did do some driving in the NE and NYC where the roads were really bad and I am sure I had hit some big potholes. FWIW my mileage did not improve after the alignment although the drift problem did improve.
I have yet to get an alignment at 160k, my car drives straight as can be, no vibrations at any speed, and tire wear has been great on all 4 corners. I just had the 4 wheel alignment check, and the rear was off (0.36 and 0.37, range is 0.03-0.30), while the front was perfect, even after all those miles. While I have never had an accident, I had hit quite a few curbs, and also parallel parked dozens of times. I also have hit potholes in DC, which can be huge. I do maintain my air pressure, always have since I own a compressor. I have always got 45 MPG, I can do better if I try, with my highest tank being about 56 MPG. Dave
