Have had trouble with original tires wearing rather quickly. Thought it was the tires so bought a new set at 34,000 miles. After three thousand miles these tires (rated 80,000 mile tread) are feathering and the handling at high speeds (over 65mph) didn't feel right--it wants to wander back and forth but does not pull to one side or the other.
I brought the car first to the place where I got the new tires and they checked the balancing and replaced the left rear tire for free because of excessive feathering and flat spots. But then said I should have the alignment checked because one of the fronts (right) was also showing some abnormal wear.
At the Toyota dealer they checked the alignment and said the rear left tire was out of tolerance (0.32 toe) but there was no adjustment they could do. They said that the rear of these cars is fixed, so the alignment can not be brought into the Toyota specification. So the accelerated tire wear will be normal for our car.
This Corolla was bought new (2 miles on it when we picked it up) and the original tires wore out prematurely. Now, with 37000 miles on the car I find out that it's permanently out of alignment. It's been in no accident, and there's nothing bent or abnormal. It's apparently been this way since the factory.
Is this true that there is no way to align the rear end? If I had had this checked 1000 miles ago, I wonder what they would have done if I insisted it be brought into specification under warranty. Too late for that, now.
Have had trouble with original tires wearing rather quickly. Thought it was the tires so bought a new set at 34,000 miles. After three thousand miles these tires (rated 80,000 mile tread) are feathering and the handling at high speeds (over 65mph) didn't feel right--it wants to wander back and forth but does not pull to one side or the other.
I brought the car first to the place where I got the new tires and they checked the balancing and replaced the left rear tire for free because of excessive feathering and flat spots. But then said I should have the alignment checked because one of the fronts (right) was also showing some abnormal wear.
At the Toyota dealer they checked the alignment and said the rear left tire was out of tolerance (0.32 toe) but there was no adjustment they could do. They said that the rear of these cars is fixed, so the alignment can not be brought into the Toyota specification. So the accelerated tire wear will be normal for our car.
This Corolla was bought new (2 miles on it when we picked it up) and the original tires wore out prematurely. Now, with 37000 miles on the car I find out that it's permanently out of alignment. It's been in no accident, and there's nothing bent or abnormal. It's apparently been this way since the factory.
Is this true that there is no way to align the rear end? If I had had this checked 1000 miles ago, I wonder what they would have done if I insisted it be brought into specification under warranty. Too late for that, now.
The dealer is correct toe cannot be adjusted on the corolla, as it has a rear torsion beam (not independent rear suspension). You could go back and get the toe looked at again and it would be different. Also front camber cannot be moved, it is set at the factory.
You will have to get shims added in the rear and then a new alignment. There have been other corollas on here that had bad toe from the factory, either shims were added or the whole beam was replaced. I am surprised the dealer did not recommend shims. You could call around to alignments shops and ask how much to shim the rear and a new alignment. How often do you rotate your tires?
The tires get rotated every 6000 miles. The tire dealer now does it for free since I've bought these tires there, although they are not 6000 miles old yet so the new set has not been rotated. The original tires I had rotated by the Toyota dealer every six to seven thousand miles, but they always charged me to do it.
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The dealer is correct toe cannot be adjusted on the corolla, as it has a rear torsion beam (not independent rear suspension). You could go back and get the toe looked at again and it would be different. Also front camber cannot be moved, it is set at the factory...
They measured this twice with a short drive (less then a mile) between the measurements. Why would the rear toe measurement possibly be different if it was looked at again? On the sheets they gave me, it showed the exact same reading.
If shims are possible, I will look into that. Although I don't think I'd have this particular dealer do it, especially since they said there was nothing that could be done to fix this problem.
The tires get rotated every 6000 miles. The tire dealer now does it for free since I've bought these tires there, although they are not 6000 miles old yet so the new set has not been rotated. The original tires I had rotated by the Toyota dealer every six to seven thousand miles, but they always charged me to do it.
They measured this twice with a short drive (less then a mile) between the measurements. Why would the rear toe measurement possibly be different if it was looked at again? On the sheets they gave me, it showed the exact same reading.
If shims are possible, I will look into that. Although I don't think I'd have this particular dealer do it, especially since they said there was nothing that could be done to fix this problem.
If I remember correctly, I think the torsion beam is self adjusting. Although I cannot find anything on that. Shims should do the trick.
I wonder why the dealer didn't mention shims to bring it into alignment. When I questioned if I was stuck with a Corolla that would always have premature tire wear, the Assistant Service Manager said the rear suspension is fixed on my model Corolla and there was no possible way to correct it. He even showed me a computer print out along with the readings that stated: "This model Corolla Has a Fixed Rear Suspension And Is Not Adjustable." He was emphatic it couldn't be fixed.
Obviously, they didn't want to bother with the repair. I've been using this dealer since 1990, but after this, and after their first oil change on this Corolla when it was new, left the car with a quart low of oil, it looks like it's time to find another place to have work done. (I now change the oil myself so I know it's done right)
Edited to add:
After talking to a few more people on this I think I now know why they said there was nothing they could do to adjust the rear alignment. When I scheduled the appointment, I told them of the tire wear problem and the need to have the four wheels aligned. They said they'd do it for $89.00 (+$6.00 tax). Now, when the found the rear was out, they didn't want to do the more labor intensive work for the quoted price so they simply said there was nothing that could be done to align the rear. To me, that would explain the dealer's response.
You may consider printing out the service information showing how the alignment is to be done and making them stick to their quote. PM me if you want me to email you a printout of the service information. It's from Alldata, but it's copied verbatim from Toyota's service information.
You have same problem as I have. They say Shim is the answer but I had the shim installed last year in Juily 08 on my 06 corolla but now again after getting new tires I had the aligenment checked and the read right canber is off slightly. The old alignment was done in July 08 and has 12 months warranty (2 months left) so I will force the dealership to fix it for free. And if you get the shims look for a good dealership and also call the Toyota company and tell them about this problem. I have called Toyota and they have my case in their file. They should know about this issue and you should should some agner to them. I made a lot of fuss last year and Toyota reimbursed me the parts and labor costs.
Now if the dealership did not behave properly I will take them to small courts. I called the Toyota and the lady told me to go to another dealership for second opinion.
I am looking for a PERMANENT solution. Can't have alignments every 6 months and the cost.
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