I would only get an alignment when changing tires (from old to new), if I noticed a destructive wear pattern. Chances are I would notice that wear pattern during regular tire rotation. It has never crossed my mind to have an alignment done on a new car. The exception would be if the car did not track correctly, but otherwise no.

That leads me back to the original question, what prompted you (with 200 miles on your car), to think the car needed an alignment?

 

To fix the wear problems before they happen. Just a preventative check before a problem occurs. And well I guess it was a good thing I did have it checked. But Honda is doing there best to cover it up. This is why I am asking 15 fit owners to get it checked BEFORE the warranty runs out! If we all get it checked and find a lot of them out of alignment spec then honda will do something about it. But if you wait till 50k miles to get tires and alignment and find the problem then, then there is nothing you can do.

 

You took a new car in with less than 200 miles to have alignment done for possible preventive measures? Wow.

Really on such a light weight car are the rears really going to wear out that much faster?

I dunno but seems to me you have wasted more time and money chasing this alignment problem than what excessive tire wear will cost over the lifetime of the car.

Just my two cents.

 

So why do manufactures bother with a warranty? I guess their not needed then?

The car has new tires so I did an alignment.

The first 2 alignments from honda dealer were free because alignment was "NOT IN SPEC"!

 

I could understand your early alignment if you had an incident, such as hitting a large pothole, or running over a curb, but as just preventive maintenance, on a brand new car, it is rather unusual.

 

I agree. Thought never crossed my mind to do an alignment unless the car was not tracking right. You are fighting an uphill battle for honda corp to do anything about this. Its a MacPherson strut system, its designed to cut corners in flexibility but also be reliable.

 

But it shouldn't be unusual. It should be the norm. Don't be so naive everyone! What? Because it's new it must be ok? Because honda made it it must be ok? The dealers and honda are in the market to make money. With every new car should be the alignment printout. And it looks like my alignment request was justified! So the question still stands! My alignment was not in spec and the rear is not adjustable but somehow the dealer adjusted it to within spec??? Doesn't this seem odd to anyone??? This is why I am asking everyone to get there 2015 fit's alignment checked! I suspect it is a class issue but until enough people get there's checked nothing will be done. After the warranty then the cost will be on you! But o well I guess no one really gives 2 sh!ts. But had I made them do the alignment before I bought it and know it is not adjustable I would of NEVER bought it!!!

 

Jim, I appreciate that you are having an issue. I do dot understand how you knew you had an issue or why you decided you needed to have tour Fit looked at but I do not think it is reasonable to have everyone with a 2015 Fit take it in for testing because you had a problem.

I think the dealer is going to look at me like I am nuts if I relay this story and I do not blame them

 

I honestly really didn't think or suspect there would be a thing wrong with the alignment but just being a mechanic for me it is worth the peace of mind knowing the alignment is correct before waiting 20, 30 or 40k miles later and it sounds like a jeep with nobby tires going down the highway and your warranty has expired by then.

So tell me how do class problems get known? Like the takata air bag, etc.... so we have to wait till someone dies? o ok i see now....

The dealer thought I was nuts too! But then he ended up eating his words when he came back to tell me "HOUSTON! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"

 

The rear is not macpherson strut. The rear is solid axle. That's like an ol'school pick up truck! That is the cheapest way you can get to do a rear end!

 

My bad, yes front end is macpherson. Rear is solid axle. And yes it its a sub 20k vehicle, wouldnt expect a 3 or 4 link independent suspension, though having on this vehicle would make it super sweet!

You are a mechanic huh? That explains the need to get the alignment. You are much more proactive than most drivers. Most would not have questioned if the alignment was off if the car drove straight.

 

I would never worry about what the dealer thinks! It is YOUR car and YOUR responsibility to maintain! Just do what I did and ask them did the factory or the dealer do an alignment? I will bet money they will give the deer in the headlights look! The answer is NO! So please go get you alignment done!

THANK YOU!

 

Not so. An "old-school pickup truck" (typically) has a live rear axle on a leaf spring suspension. There are multiple millions of vehicles out there with twist-beam, coil suspensions holding up the back end of the vehicle – it's a well-proven design and that's what our Fits have. It's definitely a less-expensive solution as compared to an IRS, but the Fit (with its segment-leading low price) is also not marketed as a high-end sports car.

As long as the beam and wheel assemblies were manufactured correctly, and the mount points on the vehicle's unit body have not moved (crash damage) or were not manufactured correctly, and the rubber mount bushings have not worn out, there should be no need for alignment, which is why means for same are not provided.

My 2000 New Beetle TDI had a twist beam rear suspension, and it held perfect alignment for nearly 200,000 miles until the mount-point bushings wore out. A refresh of same put everything back to rights without further adjustment needed (and this on a 12+ year-old car).

That said, you obviously had a problem, which would tend to point to a misalignment when either the unit body was welded up, or when the beam was welded (at least, those would be my first guesses). Either could also have been damaged during transport, as I would expect the car to have been tightly lashed down (which could have bent something).

Your advice to have an alignment done is probably wise, and even more so if multiple folks discover the same issue (which would point to an ongoing manufacturing issue).

es

 

1117141054 by gramfam123, on Flickr
1212141136 by gramfam123, on Flickr
1212141136a by gramfam123, on Flickr

 

It's smart to get an independent shop to check the alignment. Alignment numbers are subject to fudging and dealerships are very likely to fudge them in the direction of being within spec to avoid having to do warranty work.

Of course, the dealer will still likely say that there isn't a problem but it's more difficult for them to do so in the face of evidence from an impartial source.

 

That's what the 3rd image is. It is from a local independent shop.

 

curious to see how you get this resolved....

I've had my fit for 124k miles, and it's rear left wheel has developed a noticed tip in at the top and Firestone says it can't be adjusted...I've heard of people shimming their hubs but need to confirm if this can be done for the GE.

I was conscious if this dip happening and tried to settle more weight in the right side of the car but guess it is inevitable....

at least it is less noticeable when the car is lowered a few inches

 

I'll bet that Honda's ultimate response will be to change their acceptable specification for rear toe to 0.0-0.4 degrees.

Back in the Ford twin-I-Beam era, some shops actually came up with ways of carefully and accurately bending the beams to correct alignment. I suppose that the same could be done for the Honda trailing beam rear suspension.

 

GD and GE body styles are able to have the rear hubs shimmed. The GK is not as the axle is solid welded. I've had all 3 gens and confirm this to be true. My GD was the only car that had rear alignment issues that I shimmed to fix it. The GE was perfectly fine no issues. GK has less than 5k on it now. After the first tire rotation I'll report back. Visual inspection shows no adverse wear patterns.

 

So, are the GK's rear hubs the old skool spindle and separate bearings or does a rear bearing failure require replacement of the entire axle?