TVPostSound

iTrader: (9)

Hiitng a pothole would not show up on Carfax.

Varjo

November, it was 30k miles. Also thanks for the advice. I had the alignment done in the first place because the steering felt wandering at speeds. I asked the dealer to look over the steering as well, but they didn't see anything.

Iplcarbon

Op thats why I asked about when you bought your car? New Used there is warranty coverage unless you past that...if the dealership doesnt take care of it where you purchased it take it to another the warranty still covers regardless of where you purchased it... yet too call Customer affairs of Infiniti...they could help...

Varjo

I am absolutely still in warranty. It was a CPO and I negotiated a pretty decent price for the extended warranty, so I got that as well...

Is the alignment bad enough to warrant making a warranty claim, or will they claim it's just normal for a car with 30k miles on it?


Very true... though the dealer claims that the inspection of the steering didn't turn up anything.

Iplcarbon

Varjo

Any thing really on warranty...if its that way tell them to fix it... something is an issue there so I'd personally take it back...
if they wont nor find anything again try another dealership ...
my parts I had issues with my dealerwith no question just fixed it...was minor but its fixed...

Just my. 02¢

Varjo

So just tell them to keep replacing parts in the steering until the caster is within spec lol?

Iplcarbon

Id do it...lol

Varjo

Ok, a update:

I just got off the phone with the service manager at the dealership that performed the alignment (not the dealer I bought the car CPO from however). He agreed that with the caster out of spec like that, the likely conclusion was something being damaged or bent.

They are taking the car tomorrow, putting it up on a lift, and finding the problem. It will be realigned free of charge. Basically, I'm going to ask that they keep looking until caster is normal. If they replace a part and caster is in spec but front camber still looks iffy... I'll just have to get the spc camber kit I suppose. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

As for the problem, he (like some of you) said that sometimes the caster issues are caused by damage. He asked about pot holes. I told him truthfully that I had not had anything like that happen to me, but that I had no way of knowing what happened with the old owner. I know that traditionally, damage caused by something like that is not covered under warranty. Because it's a CPO I only bought in November, I'm hoping that if we get to that, I can convince Infiniti to cover it as it should have been caught in their CPO inspection.

Thanks again for the help guys. I'll update here when I know more.

Varjo

Ok, So I just picked up the car from the dealer this evening. They found nothing physically wrong with the steering, but had a "master tech" perform the alignment. The rear toe was fixed (looked like a simple oversight the first time), and the front Caster was (somehow, voodoo?) fixed to be nicely within spec. The one thing that the alignment didn't help was the camber. While it is in spec for each wheel, the difference between the front wheels is 0.8 degrees, which is larger than the fsm max deviation of 0.55 degrees.

The service manager wasn't around to talk to, but the tech I spoke with was quite adamant that this was:

1) Not abnormal for a car with 32k miles on it
2) Not indicative of an issue with any of the steering parts
3) Not something they could/would do anything further about.

He said it was due to "body sag", and that if I wanted it to be any better I would have to take my car to a body shop.

Anyway, they didn't charge me for today's work (I paid for the first alignment). Attached is a simple spread sheet I made of the car's measurements before the first alignment, after the first alignment, and after this second alignment.

Edit: Also uploaded as a jpg

Rad_Slinger

iTrader: (12)

looks pretty good.....and definitely way better than mine

JSolo

iTrader: (14)

Did you ask how they adjusted the caster? .5deg caster is quite a difference on a suspension with non adjustable caster/camber. On fwd cars, the engine cradle is loosened and rotated slightly (ever so slightly) to make such changes, typically after an accident.

I don't recall what the spec is for camber, but to have nearly a degree difference between the sides sound excessive. If there's no play in the suspension, and nothing is bent, several things come to mind.

1) their alignment rack is out of calibration
2) you have some other body issue with your car.
3) some wheel issue. The heads for the alignment machine attach to your wheels. If a wheel is tweaked, that might cause erroneous readings. Probably best to have the alignment done with the wheels that are on the car most of the time.

Finally, dealing with a body shop that also has a mechanical side might be the best bet. Those guys are familiar with techniques needed when dealing with misshaped cars, more so than the dealer.

Varjo

Hmm, thanks for the advice. I'll double check the wheels as that's easy to do, but the car had had some steering finickiness before the winter tire swap. As for their alignment rack, I suppose it's possible, but the car has definitely had some tangible steering issues, though it is much much much better now.

I know that new cars tend to be close to zero camber in front, is it possible that a control arm or something was simply replaced on the left by the prior owner? Could this account for the lower camber on that side as it's not the same age as the right?

Would I be served well by just buying the spc caber kit and asking the dealer to install it and realign the car? Hypothetically we could get a pretty much ideal alignment out of it at this point if we did that.

Thank you so much, and everyone else who has commented. I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to these sorts of things. My G is the first nice car I've ever owned, I feel at times like an over protective father lol. The tech i talked to when I picked it up was quite dismissive. He seemed to think that the camber asymmetry was absolutely no big deal.

TVPostSound

iTrader: (9)

Simple oversight? Laziness, more likely.

Body sag? Camber goes negative when springs etc sag.

Master Tech? Master bull****er!! There is NO WAY to adjust caster on this car without aftermarket adjustable arms.

I was a brake and suspension tech myself, its very easy to manipulate how the machine is going to read!! Overswinging the wheel during a caster read makes it go positive, underswinging, makes it go negative.
He didnt have the brains to tap the alignment head at the top to fake more negative camber for you?

JSolo

iTrader: (14)

Varjo, depending how much money you want to put in to this, adjustable suspension components might be the best solution. A competent tech will be able to dial in the alignment to exacting specs. I wouldn't be dealing with the dealer either. A performance shop that's familiar with the suspensions on these cars/dropped cars would be the better venue IMO. Who knows, they might catch something the dealer missed, like some bent component.

^^Is absolutely right. You push/pull on the top of the wheel and the camber changes.

Varjo

Wow... well i sounds like I may have been taken in by the dealer. You're sure there are no tricks to adjust caster? I have been told that with fwd cars there are some thins related the engine mount you an attempt. I may have to follow up with the service manager and ask exactly how they adjusted the caster. Like I said above, the tech I talked to upon pickup was pretty abrupt with me (borderline rude actually) when I asked about the camber differences. He told me that it was reflectively normal, and that it wasn't a big deal at all, and that "You'll be fine". When I asked what the next step would be if the issue got worse, he told me I'd have to visit a body shop.

It is starting to sound like I should find a good front end shop in my area....