Why is my alignment off?

[detroiter]

Just wanted to see what others opinions might be...

I took the car in today to get the tires balanced and rotated, along with an alignment check. So first they put the car up on the lift and take the tires off to balance and then rotate them. Then they pull it over to the alignment machine.

They come back and say the front right toe is off quite a bit and the rear right is out of spec as well. I understand the front could be off because I ran over a decent sized pothole not too long ago. But the rear, I'm not sure how the rear toe could be off since it's non adjustable. I never had an issue with the rear being out of spec..

Rear Left toe was .12
Rear Right toe was .35

The limit was .31


So my question is if I never had an issue like that before, how could it be now? Was it perhaps from lifting the car up to rotate the tires and setting it back down, the springs didn't sit back in all the way 100% before doing the alignment? Or could it be something faulty with the machine? (It was done at Belle Tire and a pretty reputable one, so I don't know how possible that might be).

Is that a number that I should be really concerned over?

[detroiter]

So I took it to a different location to get a second opinion. They said the same thing, that the rear was off...but this time around, it was the opposite side! That's really bizarre if you ask me. First it was the right rear, now it was the left rear. Strange!

[markitect]

I have trouble considering any bell tire reputable, after my, now fiancée took, her car there and they put in new rear brake adjusters and didn't adjust them at all. They are lazy. I would ask to see their most recent alignment rack calibration.

Or they simply aren't doing it right and they are both really .20-.25

[HTM Yaris]

Yeah mine was that way as well . Just get the rear shims from Garm . Have the shims installed . You should be fine .

[detroiter]

Is it hard to install the rear shims and how well do they stay placed?

[HTM Yaris]

Yes , they are hard to install . You will need a computer setup . It involves taking the hub off . Once they are on , they are on .

Talk to a reputable alignment shop . Its hard for you to do but fairly easy for the shop to do b/c the have the computer .

[MUSKOKA800]

All it would take to throw out the rear alignment is a slight bend in that flimsy rear axle/cross bar. This is likely why the owners manual says to never jack the car by the rear axle or under the rear spring perchs. Always use the body jack points.

That said, when I took mine in for an alignment check they lifted the rear from under the springs. Mine had slightly extra toe at the right rear but they advised it shouldn't be an issue and after about 50,000 kilometers it has had no ill effect to tread wear.