so,

i just got new tires put on the fit (eagle gt's, great so far, a review to come) and i figured it was time to get an alignment since i've had the fit for 2 years and have never gotten one.

all the places i called bascially quoted me the same as the honda dealer, so i figured why not just take it to honda themselves?


a LONG wait later, my car was aligned, or so it would seem. (they actually had my car in the 'ready for pickup' area for quite some time...but they did not come and get me to let me know it was ready, something i found odd.)

bascially, the service guy told me that they could not get my right rear wheel into its factory spec alignment and he had a picture graph showing the toe and camber to each wheel.

he then proceded to say that it was impossible to adjust anything on the rear wheels due to the torsion beam rear...something that has been discussed on this site.....but then i thought, well, if thats the case, and it cant be adjusted....why is this even an issue?

he said they called honda and honda suggested replacing the ENTIRE TORSION BEAM. my eyes widened and i was just like, 'huh? the entire rear suspension?'

he proceded to tell me that that was the case and mentioned that since i was out of warranty, he would call me the next day with some options. i chimed in and told him that i had an extended warranty that lasted to just under 100k, bumper to bumper. the look on his face changed, and he hurried himself away after taking me to the service dept cashier and just said he would call me the next day. well, that was yesterday and no phonecall.


an example of them trying to pull a fast one? suprising since they have been great to me before and have always been very honest.

and just as an fyi to myself, the fit does not NEED/CANT have a rear alignment right? due to the way the suspension is designed?

 

I've seen mention of people using shims in the rear to adjust camber.

 

Back when I drove a Dodge Omni (with a similar torsion beam setup), the accepted practice to adjust the rear alignment was to use shims under the spindle mounting bolts. I seem to remember the service manual even illustrating how to do this.

 

i'll have to check out the manual thanks

 

Somebody sells a rear camber kit for the GD3, and it is just some shims, etc.
Not really sure where to pick it up, though...

 

i'm not really interested in actually adjusting the camber...my whole thing is i thought that nothing back there was supposed to be adjusted at all. if it was, wouldn't honda include shims? or at least supply the dealer with them? if they did, i cant see them calling honda up to figure out whats wrong and having to resort to chaning my entire rear torsion beam.


still no call btw.

 

I think they are trying to pull a fast one...sounds really shady, especially with the way you say they were acting.

 

this sounds like a case of attempted up-selling

 

lol up selling and entire rear suspension!

 

it's a good thing that you're more educated than they assumed. most people would've freaked out and bought the assembly. thank you FF.net for letting us know better.

 

Call corporate and report the tech and the service manager. At the very least call the svc dept. and tell them you've been getting price qoutes to replace the rear beam and were wondering why they haven't called back. Dirty fricken soulless service dept. whores! They ought to be ashamed of themselves, and would be if it didn't work 85% of the time.....

 

Sounds like a typical dealership to me.

 

the car isn't very accurate to begin with, meaning it doesn't demand perfect alignment to drive correctly, so i would just leave it as is unless you have severe tracking problems or something.

shimming will work but obviously dealers will not want to do that because it will be out of Honda's spec. the torsion beam is one big piece of metal and non-adjustable..well from Honda's perspective for normal folks.

 

Umptyleventh thread on this subject lately. Yes, the rear can be aligned with shims. Specialty Products, aka SPC, (for example) sells a shim kit (part# 75800) which is readily available through your local parts store for under $15. They also have a front caster/camber adjustment bolt(s) for about $28 (#81260)

I'm certain that a competent shop would have the ability to install a shim kit or even create their own if necessary.

 

That's why I hate the service department at dealerships. If you do have a warranty, I'd pursue this idea of needing to replace the torsion beam. Call and ask for the manager, act concerned that you may be driving a vehicle that needs major repairs, but the mechanic there hasn't called you back like he said he would. I'm sure he'll have a different story for you. Then I'd report them to Honda.