I took my tC in this morning after making an appt on wedsday for an aligment. They told me it would take about an hour to get done so thats what i tell my work. I didnt leave there till after 10 AM after delivering it at 8AM. I didnt even get it washed, it took that long supposedly to get the aligment done. After about 1.5 hours i asked what the progress is and they said its still on the rack and they have TWO guys working on the rear cambers.

I only dropped the thing 2 inches and it wasn't even pulling, should it really take this long. I have a survey card they left in my car that I'm going to send in and I'm debating contacting the service manager. On the card it asks if they did all these things like open the hood and do a walk around with me and they did none of them.

What do you guys think I should do, I still had to pay the full $82 for the aligment even though it took twice as long?

 

I normally don't like bagging on dealerships too much.. But you did take it to Power Toyota
They are known for slower than xmas service. Next time Call your Consumer friendly service center.. aka Camelback..

And you did pay for them to do the alignment.. if it was not done improper.. they did thier job.. so pay up $ucker.. lol..

 

I agree, I just think it sucks that it took twice as long as they said it would.

 

Oh I agree.. It took power all day to figure out that my werid noise coming to a slow stop in my Matrix was a cupped tire.

 

The tC will take just under 2 hours for the first alignment. I suspect that as they do more they may change the “estimated” time to do it.

You must have all four wheels aligned after lowering it, not only to adjust camber but toe-in on the rear. The tC rear-end toes in considerably, it is so severe that you scrub speed. With this much toe in the rear end wants to “wander around” when you’re driving. I suspect that the car coasts better now and the rear end does not feel squirrelly anymore.

The rear end is a _____, the links took a considerable amount of work to break loose as it appears SCION may have been a little over zealous with the thread lock.

The front end, not sure why but the right front could not be adjusted back to factory geometry. A cam bolt was required to be installed, the dealer did not charge me for this. I know of two tC that have had 4 wheel alignments and both required cam bolts. I have not heard of any other tC needing them, then again I asked if they had it aligned.

Estimated time, it happens, as long as they did a good job and you’re not wearing out tires it what really matters.

 

Hey Scott, just as a little defense for the process of alignment (especially laser alignment) Dropped or not, it can take 90-120mins sometimes. Honestly our Hunter racks at Sears are so freakin' picky. They will read to .001DEGREEs. Plus, front alignment is set on rear thrust angles (pulling or not). Alignments can correct pull and track, but really alignment is advantageous for saving your tires and creating a more stable experience. If you car was lowered I can tell you a sears wouldnt even align your vehicle (unless they told you up front no warranty and no gaurentee's on time or anything [Prescott is cool like that to peeps]).

Anyhow, remember you can have a "toe and go" done and not see tire wear, or you can have a tech that understands concepts like thrust angle, dave point and how camber can change under steering (direction, not understeer as loss of driving line) and do it right.

Sorry you schedule got so hectic though. I see customers everyday that come in with the idea that a 45min alignment will be done (85% of the time that's true). Then a bushing is out of spec, or full contact shims, etc. Im glad to see your asking for advice rather then flaming them right away.

Honestly, auto repair can never be exact to time. I would say pay full price....unless you actually saw the tech on his cellphone or something stupid like that.

82 isnt bad either. Most shops are up to 85-90 bucks an hour for work. Sears is up to 64.99 for an alignment... for this market up here in "preskit" its expensive.


For anyone interested this past year (I think it was Sport Compact Car) did an article series called "Making it Stick." To date I would call it the most comprehensive beginners guide to understanding suspension geometry and effects of different setups. The series of articles literally could walk you through conceptually from knowing nothing to actually making tweaking your ride a lot of fun. It helps you understand what the difference is on expensive suspension products and whats right for your driving needs no matter what vehicle you drive.

 

thank you Jason, i have calmed down now and yours and Kellys information helps me to better understand. i just get irritable when I'm told one thing and get another so i figured when i was told an hour and it took twice that that they were goofing off.

Oh and kelly this is the third time getting it fully aligned but first time since it was dropped. When i first got it it had a bad pull to the right, so i took it in and they did a poor job and had take it in again.

 

i like taking my tc for service a camelback, but 8 hrs for the SunRoof Recall, and now 8 hrs for a 3rd tail light that is a little long. im thinking the my service rep dont like me

I only have one car!

 

Camelback Toyota service must have some new people. A couple of weeks ago it took 7 hours for an oil change/"yellow service" and mud guards instal.

 

Troy who is your service rep?

 

Alfonso - i had an appt tomorrow 715 till ??? 3-4 but i needed my car tomorrow so i had to cancel.

 

Give me a heads up next time you're gonna have servicing done. If I know your car is back there I'll do a little persuading.

 

ill be in next week some time - but i have work so ill need a shuttle or something

 

i had my allignment done at a toyota dealership for my tc after i lowered it, yeah, it took two hours for me too after they told me it would take two, i think they charged just a flat rate, so it wasnt based on time.

 

correction to above, they told me it would take one hour.

 

well this is all good to know. Thank you everybody for your repsonse. Hey Bryan I think i'm going be taking my car in next weekend to get the oil changed again. I'm at 8500 somethin and taking it to prescott this weekend so i dont think having 10,000 on it by next weekend would be a problem for my second oil change

 

If it's just an oil change. 30 min or less

 

u guys do loaners?

 

They sure do. Mark and Bryona are always there for the taking

 

lol