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Post alignment and new tire issues

4K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  MikeG911 
#1 ·
Looking for a little help here. Our 2014 Shawd advance MDX had a blow out in the left rear. We had about 25k on it and the tire had about 5/32 left. I just opted to replace all 4 with Michelin Premier LTX's at the local Tire Kingdom. They had them in stock and I needed to get off the donut. Anyhow, they did an alignment as well. After getting the tires and alignment done the car shook like hell while braking. It never did prior to this. They have rebalanced it 3 times and redid the alignment as well. I noticed the steering wheel is probably 5 or so degrees off TDC. Anyhow, I had them cut the rotors and only one was barely off but it didn't help. So, Monday they are going to do a road force balance on it. My question is could the steering angle sensor be causing the issue since I only feel the vibration while braking? Sounds like their scan tool didn't allow it to reset it. Rotors and pads are good. Only change was tires and alignment and now it shakes like a space shuttle while braking. Thanks for any help.
 
#3 ·
I can feel a slight vibration when I start, but it is rough between 50 to 20. I also noticed that depending on the steering angle it will be almost nonexistent so I am really hoping the electronics are goofed up due to the steering angle sensor (SAS) not having been reset or re-calibrated after the alignment. Anyone else had issues like this post third party alignment. Who knows, maybe I have a bad tire as well.
 
#4 ·
I have never heard the steering needs to be reset due to tire/wheel changes. Assuming your alignment was fine, you don't even have to do alignment (i.e. you are swapping on a brand new vehicle). You just have to do balancing.

Is it possible that they didn't do a proper job on the alignment? Usually vibration on brake is due to rotor warp. If it's tire/wheel or even steering issue, you should feel the same not just on braking, but also when you're on those speeds.
 
#5 ·
I'd probably bite the bullet and take it elsewhere to have it checked out since the place that messed with it obviously doesn't know what they're doing and messed things up. There should have been no need to do an alignment when getting tires replaced and it's best to avoid doing what's not needed since the more that's done the more there is that can be done incorrectly - as in your case.

A slightly misaligned alignment shouldn't cause the shuddering you're describing but would, of course, cause the steering wheel off center issue. I'd be concerned they might have done something quite wrong such as neglecting to connect everything back together correctly or severely misaligning it.

It's too bad the brake rotors were messed with, which wouldn't have a caused a sudden problem like this although warped rotors could of course cause a shuddering but rotors don't suddenly warp by themselves when tires get replaced. In messing with the rotors they could have caused more problems. I've had a problem in the past with an incompetent tech turning rotors incorrectly causes them to be out of true and cause major shuddering. Actually, I do my own brakes and have for decades now (not on the MDX yet - at 36K it doesn't need it yet) anymore I don't even bother to have the rotors turned anymore - I just replace the rotors with new ones. Many of the rotors today don't have enough meat on them to safely turn, or barely do, and the thinner rotor is more likely to warp when used and new rotors aren't usually terribly expensive.

Good luck with this but you have a safety issue now and shouldn't drive the vehicle much until it gets fixed - preferably at a shop with competent techs - maybe even the dealer.
 
#6 ·
Thanks guys. Yeah, I do most all my own work - I even have a lift in my garage. I put it on the lift and didn't see anything glaring, but I am no alignment expert. When we had the blow out it was on the highway and it took us a bit to get off the road so I figured the alignment was jacked at that point. It was just slightly off, so they made the adjustment. The wheel was off center about 1 to 2 degrees to the right after the initial install and alignment. Second time back the balance was off 1oz on one wheel and .5 oz on another. They redid the alignment as well and this time the steering wheel was 5-6 degrees off TDC to the left. That is when the major shuttering started. I have done brakes and figured, maybe it was the disc. Took it to a buddy who has an n car lathe and he said they were all true except for the inside of the front right which was barely off; not enough to cause a problem.

I questioned the shop and they got their scan tool out and there was no option to reset the SAS sensor for a 2104 MDX. However, he called the other Tire Kingdom which has a newer machine and it IS an option. So, my guess at this point is a bad tire (separated belt or something) or because the steering wheel is off TDC the electronics in the car then sense the steering angle and vehicle direction are not matching and the brakes and AWD start to take over. It is also intermittent. I was able to brake with the steering wheel at TDC (which causes the car to veer to the right) and the braking was smooth.

As an FYI, the Hunter website also states the MDX needs to have the SAS reset/re-calibrated after an alignment. I drop it off tomorrow at a different shop, and will post the results. If not, it goes to Acura, it is under warranty so I'll let them figure it out.

PS - yeah I am a little pissed I cut the rotors, but was trying to eliminate all the possible variants.
 
#8 ·
Sorry for the delay - took it to Acura - tire place way over torqued wheels and bent the rotors. Skim cut the rotors and vibration is gone.
 
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