First of all, IanH, I will get back to you about those alignment numbers.
Secondly, Molten_ser_v:
It’s too bad that you spent so many years around the dealerships, because you missed out on becoming a real mechanic.
It seems that you are suggesting that I should blame the symptom instead of the source. If the wheels are aligned correctly, the tires will wear evenly, front and rear, except for the normally expected shoulder wear on the steering tires. Finding that the front tires (which normally wear out much faster than the rear tires on front wheel drive vehicles) have twice as much tread than the rear, and evenly worn, indicates that something is drastically wrong. A tire that is not tracking correctly will not only wear out the tire prematurely, it also adversely affects gas mileage. Also, stating that this problem has been around for twenty years doesn’t mean that all cars with the solid rear axle will have problems; just the ones with improperly manufactured axles. And if you would come into any reputable tire dealer with tires worn like these, they would politely send you back to the car dealer for repairs.
Understand, please, that my beef is not that the car I purchased isn’t perfect; having repairs done on a new car is what the warranty is all about. The real problem was the dialogue between me and the service manager on the very first visit:
ME: I have an unusual tire wear problem on the rear of my car.
SM: Did you rotate the tires?
ME: No, I didn’t.
SM: Then that’s the problem.
I got almost the exact same reply from a different Nissan dealer, then he handed me the alignment check printout and added, “however, your rear axle is definitely out of alignment”. (The big brass ones he must have to say that with a straight face.) I further was stonewalled by the district service manager and Nissan Customer Assurance (HA!). If not for the intervention of the BBB, the matter was over.
As to giving the dealer service departments a ‘bad rap’, it is obvious from this experience that the ‘rap’ or ‘rep’ the dealers have is of their own doing. If someone with no mechanical experience had asked about this problem, they would have left the dealer feeling ashamed that they had ‘neglected’ their car; with two new tires that cost them double the going rate; and a misaligned car.
Thanks I would appreciate that.
SO let contrast the Nissan response to one from Toyota, admittedly years ago. BTW I also had other issues with Toyota so they are NOT in my good books despite this positive incident.
I had a problem with a new 1987 Toyota Tercel I purchased in the last days of 1 yr 12,000 warranty's.
The front tires wore out in 7,000 miles !!
The dealership did an alignment and rotated the tires.
at 14,000 mile the tires were shot again and the car need 4 new tires. remember this had a 12,000 warranty.
The dealer called Toyota and got permission to work on the car.
They did the following
1) checked the alignment. Only thing adjustable was the toe, it was OK.
2) called Toyota and got the OK to send the car out to a frame shop in the Audi dealership ( strange I thought)
3) they couldn't find anything wrong, so they shipped another new car over for comparison.
In the end they concluded the frame was fine, the rear axle and placement was fine,
Replace the front drivers side spring.
4) the alignment tech at the dealer replaced the spring and reassembled the car and used in their words "a large hammer to align everything up" ( I was thinking sledge hammer)
So at this point I go else where and buy the cheapest tires I could find at discount tire because I am expecting to be replacing them again soon.
So imagine my surprise when these tires lasted 80,000 miles !!!! even with teenage daughter driving it.
So would Toyota be as responsive today ???
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1997 Sentra GXE w/195/50 15's and AD22VF, Tach, Halo's, Front seal, Rear SER Disc Brakes Soon to be sold
1997 S-ER 5 sp yea !!!
2003 Pathfinder SE 4WD
Ex- 2001 Sunny N16 RHD (N16 Nissan Bluebird Sylphy)
Last edited by IanH : May 14th, 2008 at 09:20 AM.
Reason: spelling
hey dave- or TOOL- its funny that Molten chimed in to try and give advice and help, yet you heckel him with your jab and usless response. Perhaps your busted ass car is might have come from a little bad karma. What comes around goes around is what i always say... Sounds like you need to be a honda owner anyway. I have a b16 spec v and its a ball, with no wierd tire wear issues. Maybe you should have forked the extra 3 or 4 grand and got a way better sentra. I also have a 94 se-r and a 94 G20 that have similar problems but nothing BAD. You want to make your tires last, keep up with your maint. and rotate your damn tires and stop crying.
The cupping of the tires is usually from alignment or bad shocks. Those solid rear axel cars like my 2003 SE-R have no way to align the thing. Maybe there is a way to get the toe with some kind of Kit.
Chris
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Part of the AUTO / MANUAL SWAP CLUB
Lucinosr20,
It sounds like you must work at a car dealership also. They all seem to have the same problem with finding qualified, honest people to fix cars. Oh, and also the ability to think outside the box.
It you read my post again, you will find that 99% of it deals with the fact that the car does not meet NISSAN'S own specs, and they refuse to handle the problem. I have dealt with 'experts' that looked at tires that appeared to have been run through a meat grinder, and said they didn't see anything wrong. MY intention in making this post is to inform Sentra buyers without mechanical experience to be on the watch, and to not let the dealership try to bamboozle you. I can repair this car myself, in my own (home) garage. Others may not be so fortunate.
Will you please share the spec and the actual measurement from your car please.
I would like to know so if I run across this I will have more information.
thanks Ian.
Ian,
I have had my alignment corrected by a professional alignment shop. The rear toe-in was 3/8" total before adjustment, and is now 1/32" total, which is within the Nissan spec. I am looking forward to seeing the difference in gas mileage and tire wear on my next long distance trip (I was previously getting 34-35 mpg highway).
The fix was not complicated, just a matter of shimming the spindles to the correct angle. The Nissan dealerships are obviously not equipped with what it takes to do the job correctly. If you need this kind of service, seek out a shop that specializes in alignment and suspension repair, and has been in business for several years.
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