Warranty woes - Do I need an alignment?

[AWD Chaser]

Hi guys,

Issues on the Kia pulling to the left. Kia has released a bullitin on the prob, so I booked it in to get fixed (warrenty). The guy (at the end of the job) told me he had to pull out the whole front left suspension and do some adjustments, and that now, I will have to take it to get a wheel alignment.

I have had 3 wheel alignments in the past 6 months to sort this problem out (1 of which, they crashed my car) and a set of 4 new tyres.

Should I really have to pay out for a wheel alignment? If he "really" recommends I get one since this work was done, should they be doing it?


On another note, I also had some brake shudder at high speeds. I was gonna get the discs machined, but the guys said there was a bullitin issued by Kia about customers complaining about brake shudder, and they will book it in (warranty work) to get 4 new pads, and two new front discs (currently done 45,000 k's). This concerns me that there may be a more serious issue here? Am I right, as I'm still driving the car for a while till the work will be done.

[Smoke Pursuit]

Its a Kia, and the brake issue sounds like the BA one, i wouldnt stress, its just a matter of upgrading the parts so they don't do the same thing again!

[duaned]

You payed good money for the tyres, a wheel alignment (out of your pocket) to look after your tyres is not worth fussing about. It's cheap, I say just do it.

[pauljh74]

I don't see why the OP should have to pay for an alignment again. The car came to Kia with the wheels aligned - or close to it - and came back out of alignment due to the warranty work done. Restoring the alignment should be Kia's responsibility. It's like saying "We took your wheels off, but put them back on loose - you'd better tighten them before you drive off"

[smally289]

[QUOTE=Kia Chaser]Should I really have to pay out for a wheel alignment? If he "really" recommends I get one since this work was done, should they be doing it?

QUOTE]

I'd push to have the alignment done, but just remember a couple of things.

The guy you spoke to does not have the authority to make decisions on what is or isn't warranty. Even the Dealership has its hands tied by the manufacturer. Kia don't own the Dealership, and any warranty work is paid for by them to the dealer, just like any other workshop customer, just at a lower labour rate. Basically if Kia won't pay the dealer for the alignment, then it won't get done unless you do.

Again, I reckon it should be done as part of the repair. Is there a customer support number for Kia in the owners manual? Get up 'em!

[Dezza]

If it was fixed under warranty, they should be paying for the alignment. Basically anytime you muck around with steering or suspension components, I'd recommend an alignment.

[genebaby]

I don't think you should have to pay in this case, but I would rather get my own alignment done than trust a dealer, no matter how fancy their machines, they can't seem to get it right.