Rear Wheel Misaligned? (UPDATE: some rear axles out of spec; warranty replacement)

[Canoehead]

Mitsubishi corporate wrote back again saying ". . . it was concluded that your rear axle is within specification and there was no abnormal wear on your tires". The tire issue is a non-starter, as I had used winter tires with maybe 2000km on them on this car, so not enough to tell, really. I called the dealership and they explained that in talking with their mechanics and the Mitsubishi engineers the -2.0 camber (which was -1.9 in the before measurement) was close enough to the -1.8 specification that it wasn't going to be fixed. The dealership also said that they had seen a few where the toe was off, and that the toe measurement is more important for both handling and tire wear. I'm satisfied with this explanation, and glad it isn't off by more.

I understand an expensive fix for a minor defect might not be reasonable. I do wonder, though, if Mitsubishi would stand behind it if the issue was more pronounced. I'll be tuning in to this thread to hear others' experiences and hope Mitsubishi does right by its owners.

[BRagland]

Update:
Interestingly enough, the dealer told my alignment was this (As shown on dealer paperwork mailed to me 2 weeks after they replaced my rear axle):

FRONT
Right Tow: 0.1
Right Camber: 0.5
Left Tow: 0.1
Left Camber: -0.5

REAR
Right Tow: -0.17
Right Camber: -0.61
Left Tow: -0.19
Left Camber: -.55

I had to wait for them to mail me the warranty paperwork, and that was what the numbers were on their alignment form.

Today I decided to take it to Goodyear as I was suspicious of the rear, after my home-brew string alignment was showing zero toe.

Low and behold, this is what Goodyear shows me:


It turns out, that the fellows at Mitsubishi have no clue what they're doing.

I had Goodyear re-check the alignment with me watching, and it was true! The rear-axle is BETTER than what Mitsubishi said it was.

BUT: That right front toe?

Turns out, the fellows at Mitsubishi have no clue how to "center a steering wheel" so they toed in the right wheel to make the steering wheel straight when driving instead of adjusting for total-toe, to center the steering wheel.

Goodyear tech adjusted the steering wheel to center, then adjusted the alignment, and all is good to go. Steering wheel is perfectly centered, and my front and rear toe is the best it's ever been. Glad to know everything is finally golden.

I highly recommend getting a 2nd opinion on everything, as Mitsubishi has shown us they have no problems in mis-representing the facts, no matter how minor those facts may be.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, but with my front toe fixed by Goodyear, I saw an immediate 5 MPG increase.
Drive to/from Goodyear (40 minutes / 30 miles) with 3 mph cross wind (road is perfectly north / south. Cross wind coming in from the east was very light)

Before Alignment: 50.3 MPG
After Alignment: 55.7 MPG

Alignment really does affect your MPG. Get her fixed, and bask in the quickest MPG bump you'll ever get.

[MetroMPG]

Woohoo! Glad you got it sorted out (and double-checked things).

[deleted user]

My right front toe was off and I had to center the wheel myself. On the original alignment I paid my local shop to adjust the toe to get it nearest to 0 possible. I took it to the dealership two months later and after that I took it back to the same shop I went to first.

I HAD THE SAME ISSUE, RIGHT FRONT TOE SET IN TOO FAR.

I corrected it myself with my home built gauge. I wonder if both dealerships did the same thing. Mine was too far in, just about the same way.

regards
mech

[Eggman]

Automotive News has an article about surging auto production in Thailand, which prominently features Mitsubishi and the Mirage in particular...

First U.S.-bound vehicle exports highlight Thailand's growth as production site

Some highlights...

• The very first U.S. shipment of 1,074 Mirages left Thailand's Laem Chabang port on August 27th, 2013
• Thai auto production has exploded: "In 1995, the country exported barely 8,800 vehicles. Last year, it shipped just over 1 million."
• Local workers' "mai pen rai mentality" is a challenge facing manufacturers -- the laid back "no worries" philosophy makes quality control a top priority
• Japanese Mirages are also produced in Thailand, but because Japanese consumers are so picky, cars bound for Japan receive "exceptional" attention in the form of a special "double-check" quality inspection line.
• U.S. bound Mirages go through the special quality inspection line, but only for the first 6 months. (Japanese Mirages will always get special screening.)
• Thai labour costs are about 1/5th of Japanese, 1/3 of Korea, and even lower than China. So there are a lot fewer robots on the factory floor; more labour intensive.
• Mitsu's workers do about 10% of welding in Japan; the rest is done by robots. In Thailand, workers do 60% of the welding.
• 3x as many quality assurance workers in Thailand as a result

Read the full article: http://www.autonews.com/article/2013...#axzz2hhWBQJGr

When did these alignment problems start? I wonder if it was after the "first 6 months"

[El Kapitan]

YUUUGE ship!

not surprising that japan gets all the best cars.
@Trump

[cyclopathic]

When did these alignment problems start? I wonder if it was after the "first 6 months"

Do they build them at the factory or they come from supplier?

[Eggman]

YUUUGE ship!

not surprising that japan gets all the best cars.
@Trump

Dude! Ocean-going ships are nothing short of engineering marvels. Imagine the storms and heavy seas they will encounter, and imagine the forces imparted on those hulls. AND people actually go out to sea on them. Crazy.

Imagine wind loads pushing that hull around - propulsion must overcome not only the ship's weight & draft in the water, but the sail area too.

It goes on!

Do they build them at the factory or they come from supplier?

Good point. I would, however, expect the factory quality assurance process to catch defects, no?

[TooManyMiles]

**********************************************
REAR-WHEEL TOE AND "MODIFIED SPECIFICATIONS"
**********************************************

My dealer's specs for allowable rear wheel toe are different from the specs shown in this thread.

The target range in the thread is -0.03 to 0.28 degrees.

My dealer's printout shows -0.12 to 0.38 degrees.

Two sets of specs?

According to the dealer, my right rear wheel toe measures 0.33 degrees. The left rear 0.10 degrees. These number put the alignment outside the tolerance indicated in the thread but inside my dealer's tolerance. All other specs in my dealer's printout are the same as those in the printouts in the thread -- only the rear wheel toe specs are different.

I don't want to think that the dealer (or Mitsubishi) "solved" a liability problem by changing the standard. But...well...

Here's why I was at the dealer's. The steering wheel was cocked clockwise about 10 degrees for the second time in 10,000 miles. The first time was immediately after I bought the car in 2014. The dealer re-aligned the wheels. Ten thousand miles later, the steering wheel was cocked again. The dealer re-aligned the wheels but this time charged me. I went along with this because I assumed the service writers would deny the validity of a third party's diagnosis, and I saw a long fight coming up.

Because the new car was delivered with misaligned wheels, I've thought since day one that there was a manufacturing error. The dealer said no (twice).

The title at the top of my dealer's printouts is:

"Mitsubishi : Mirage : 2014-15 (Modified Specification)"

The title is in both the before and the after printout. Has anyone else seen the words "Modified Specification" in their printouts? Anybody have any thoughts?

[Eggman]

The title is in both the before and the after printout. Has anyone else seen the words "Modified Specification" in their printouts? Anybody have any thoughts?

I'm curious which dealer you are referring to, and if you considered trying another dealer.