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Thread: Steering Wheel to the right?

  1. #11
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    Went to dealer today and they said it was an alignment problem without checking. They couldn't do anything because apparently they rent from another shop and only do checks/alignments on weekdays. They wanted me to pay $125 for the front wheel alignment.

    So I took it again for the third time in a week to another shop and got another alignment done. Made sure to get the results this time. They said something was out in the front but the back was still a little out of spec. The wheel is straightish now and my MPG is back to 50+ so that seems decent.

    Is it worth bothering with this anymore? I'm starting to get pissed that every place I bring this to has different results.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2019 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 38.8 mpg (US) ... 16.5 km/L ... 6.1 L/100 km ... 46.5 mpg (Imp)


  2. #12
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mirageman38 View Post
    Is it worth bothering with this anymore?
    I'm going to re-post your pics to make them easier to look at.

    FRONT END:
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    REAR AXLE:
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    Bottom line:

    Your front end numbers are mostly OK. You have zero toe on both front wheels...which is ideal for long tire life. The camber is slightly off...but not a big deal. This is less important as far as tire wear goes. And camber is not adjustable so most shops just shrug their shoulders at this point. A shop can install special bolts to allow for camber adjustment (or even hog out the bolt holes on the strut to allow for camber adjustment) but most places won't take the time to do it.

    edit - I just noticed that your front caster numbers are a little strange...doh... Never mind. I was reading the numbers incorrectly. Your front caster numbers are OK.

    Your rear axle is another story. It is out of spec. You have excessive positive toe on the left rear wheel. You actually have very slight negative toe on your right rear wheel (but the right side is within spec). Your right rear toe shows 0.0 in the diagram, but the arrow indicates the number is something slightly negative. Again...the right rear is perfectly within specs.

    What the heck does all this mean? Here's a picture below to show what your wheels look right now if you viewed your car from above. This is a basic diagram for educational purposes. Your eyes can't see this. These angles on the rear wheels are exaggerated (especially on the right rear)...

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    Your front wheels are pointing straight ahead. That's good.
    Your left rear tire is pointing inward too much. That's bad...and out of spec.
    Your right rear is pointing outward very slightly...but is technically OK.

    So as you drive down the road, your front end is going straight...but your rear axle is trying to push the car off to the right slightly. If you have to hold your steering wheel slightly to the right while you are driving to keep the car tracking straight, this could explain why.

    Can you live with this? Sure. Is the left rear tire on your car going to wear excessively over time? Probably.

    Should you take it to a Mitsubishi dealer? Yeah...I would. Your rear axle isn't right and they will install a new one under warranty for free. Tell them your car doesn't track straight and you have bad alignment rear axle numbers as well. If they don't know right away what the issue is, a quick call to the Mitsubishi Tech Line by the Service Manager will clue them in.
    Last edited by Top_Fuel; 02-24-2020 at 12:49 AM.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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  4. #13
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    It's been one day since my last alignment and already my steering wheel is pointing to the left. I think Pepboys didn't tighten down the tie rod or something. Awful I will never bring it to Pepboys again and demanding a refund. I will just let the dealership check/align and get this all done at the same time.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2019 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 38.8 mpg (US) ... 16.5 km/L ... 6.1 L/100 km ... 46.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mirageman38 View Post
    ...I will never bring it to Pepboys again and demanding a refund.
    Before you go in and blast Pep Boys...

    When you get an alignment done in a Mirage (and a lot of other cars), there is typically only ONE adjustment that shops will make...and that is front toe. Caster and camber angles are not adjustable (without additional effort and/or aftermarket adjustment kits) so most places do not attempt camber and caster adjustments during a front-end alignment.

    Here's what the Mirage factory service manual says about not adjusting front caster and camber...

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    According to your readout, your front toe settings are PERFECT right now at 0 degrees...

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    In other words...Pep Boys performed a typical front end alignment on your car, and they did a good job.



    It's time for this car to go to the dealer because your rear axle is out of spec. Worrying about the steering wheel position right now is just chasing a symptom. You need to correct your car's rear alignment with a new axle and then see what your steering wheel position is like.

    When you go to the dealer, don't tell them you're dropping the car off for a new rear axle. Let them find the problem(s) on their own. Give them specific drive-ablity complaint(s) like this...

    - The steering wheel isn't centered.
    - The steering is unstable...the car wanders.
    - I have to constantly keep the wheel turned to the <fill in the direction> to keep the car tracking straight.
    - The car pulls to the <fill in the direction> on a level roadway.

    If you want to give them the rear alignment numbers from Pep Boys, go for it. If the Service Advisor acts like he's never heard of a Mirage alignment problem before, ask him to call the Tech Line. Those guys know all about it.
    Last edited by Top_Fuel; 02-24-2020 at 01:16 AM.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    In my opinion, your beef is with Mitsubishi, not Pep Boys.
    I feel Top Fuel has given you some really good advice. I would move past Pep Boys, because the main source of your problem is beyond their ability to correct.

    Let's hope the dealership comes to right conclusion here & does what it takes to correct it for you! I would do what Top Fuel has suggested. Let them believe that they have figured out your problem & how to correct it. If they can't pull that off, you have enough information to guide them in the right direction.

    I hope visiting the dealership goes well for you!

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    I seriously doubt those numbers are correct anymore. When I left the place the steering wheel WAS straight. The car was not pulling and had no problems. Just like when I got it off the lot.

    Now one day later it is way to the left. I don't think that would have happened without pepboys playing around with it nor do I think it has to do with the rear. The first time I went they said I didn't have an alignment problem. The second time they did and tried to fix it. The third time they said there was another alignment problem and it was still way out of spec. This is all within one week!

    Regardless yes there is the rear axle to potentially deal with. The thing is when the steering wheel is straight my car does not pull or wonder and I cannot even tell it has problems. This makes me think the majority of these problems are the front.

    My car is only 6 months old. I have paid $150+ for a lifetime alignment package that is supposed to mean I should be good for life, and now the dealer wants to charge $125 minimum just to do the front alignment because I am beyond 12,000 miles. Even the dealer said "bring it somewhere reputable next time". I have had more alignments in the past week then I have ever done before and yet the front is still messed up. Something is not right here.... I will end up seeing what the dealer says.
    Last edited by Mirageman38; 02-24-2020 at 02:34 AM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2019 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 38.8 mpg (US) ... 16.5 km/L ... 6.1 L/100 km ... 46.5 mpg (Imp)


  9. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mirageman38 View Post
    Now one day later it is way to the left.
    Hey Mirageman38 do you suppose this is affected by the roads you're traveling on? Some roads have a higher crown than others, which would cause your symptoms.

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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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  11. #18
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    The one thing Pep Boys could have done was give you a better explanation of your alignment and how it relates to your steering wheel position.

    Most good shops will give you a printout that shows your readings before and after the alignment. We can't see before/after numbers in your situation so we don't know if your front end alignment was off to begin with. There's a decent chance it was off...because many Mirages leave the factory with an improperly aligned front end.

    Now your front end is properly aligned...but you aren't happy with your steering wheel position.

    When they saw your out-of-spec rear axle toe, they should have advised you that before addressing any alignment-related concerns (including the steering wheel positioning), you need to deal with your rear axle first.


    You aren't the first Mirage owner with a rear axle problem to say "Hey my car drove fine and then one day the steering was off." Your situation reminds me of this guy...

    Hey guys, I'm a bit disheartened by this issue. My car drove fine. It tracked straight. I didn't notice any premature tire wear, although the tires only lasted 32k miles. I chalked that up to crappy tires. I had rotated them every 5k miles.

    When I went to PepBoys...they put on the 4 new tires. I didn't notice driving home, but the following day, I realized I had to hold my steering wheel to the right a bit to see the car tracking straight. I was really pissed. I had just paid for an alignment during the tire replacement. So I went back to PepBoys. They put it back on there machine. Sure enough, the right rear tire was out of spec by 4 degrees...The service tech told me there's no adjustment on this car, so there was nothing he could to. I basically wasted the money on the alignment that wasn't needed to begin with. He recommended I bring it to Mitsubishi.

    Post: https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...ll=1#post46755

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  12. #19
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    So took it in today. Get ready for these results. My 4th completely different alignment report in one week. Also it says 2018 but its still my 2019.

    Seems like pepboys did something wrong. Right toe was way out to -0.35. Explains why the wheel was to the left I guess.

    The oddball thing is the rear in their test started at 0.25 and 0 and ended at 0.20 and 0.05. Not sure what is up with that. Shouldn't this NOT be changing? Also it is pretty far off from my last results.

    On my way home I was able to get over 60MPG average for the first time pretty much ever. Wheel is now straight. Hope it doesn't get messed up again in one day. At any rate this alignment seems a lot more quality. What do you guys think about the rear?

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    Last edited by Mirageman38; 02-25-2020 at 11:41 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2019 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 38.8 mpg (US) ... 16.5 km/L ... 6.1 L/100 km ... 46.5 mpg (Imp)


  13. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mirageman38 View Post
    The oddball thing is the rear in their test started at 0.25 and 0 and ended at 0.20 and 0.05. Not sure what is up with that. Shouldn't this NOT be changing? Also it is pretty far off from my last results.
    It's just my opinion, but I think the rear axle will point in different directions depending on how it is loaded.

    An alignment technician can (and often does) bounce the various corners to get the car to settle. I'm no alignment tech, but I would expect this to give random results depending on where the suspension comes to rest.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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