Hello community, I recently took my 2021 Tacoma in for the 25K mile service at the dealership. When it was returned to me they "recommended" that it needs an alignment because of "feathering" on the left rear tire. Of course my knee jerk reaction was to question why the left rear had anything to do with the alignment. Then I did some research and found out that it is a 4 wheel alignment. Okay, I get that. But, I could not see any defect in the tire, so when I asked my "service advisor" to show me the defect he could not...because, "they use a tool". I believe they think I am a tool and I call B.S. I then asked how long the alignment was good for and the reply, "we recommend an alignment every 20,000 miles". Seems a bit excessive to me, especially when they charge $129 for the alignment. Am I out of touch with reality here, or are my instincts about this being a blatant up sell attempt spot on?
what kind of tool detects feathering?
{blackemo}:laughtertotears:
Spot on - rip off! I wouldn't be surprised if they recommended a new windshield every 50K miles just to see if you would go for it.
I then asked how long the alignment was good for
It depends on how you drive and where you drive. You can ruin your alignment if you pull out of their parking lot and drive off the raised part of the apron/ curb. If you live down south, where they don't really have potholes, etc. And you don't drive like a fool, alignments can last a good while. They don't have a predetermined lifetime.
Am I out of touch with reality here, or are my instincts about this being a blatant up sell attempt spot on?
Take your car to a dedicated alignment shop if you really want to know if your car needs an alignment. Dealers upsell everything and anything, and follow the service manual to the letter these days.
The service "advisor" at my local Ford dealer didn't recommend changing my girlfriend's transmission fluid at 60k miles, because Ford "recommends 150k miles" in the owner's manual. I asked how long they warranty it. He said normally 60k miles, but she has the extended warranty to 100k. I asked if they warranty the transmission if it stops working with the fluid change at 150k. He said no, it's out of warranty then. I said change the fluid. They did.
But, I could not see any defect in the tire, so when I asked my "service advisor" to show me the defect he could not...because, "they use a tool"
Take a quarter and put it in the tread of the tire. Look at the tread heights on the quarter, they should be even. If they're lower on one side of a ridge and higher on the other, there's feathering. https://tiregrades.com/tire-maintenance/tread-wear/tire-feathering/ You could also just run your hand across the tread.
The Tacoma has a solid rear axle. There is no "alignment" for the rear tires. If your front end was out of whack you'd see uneven wear on the front tires and would likely notice symptoms like steering wheel off-center and the truck pulling to one side. We're talking ripoff city here.
