2015 AWD VS. 2009 RWD tire alignment question

[Alfer]

Went and got a new set of tires on my 2015 AWD 3.8 yesterday and they emailed me the receipt and gave me copies of the alignment paperwork showing all the specs and adjustments they made.

Upon closer inspection of the paperwork, I realized they used the wrong Genesis year for the alignment and receipt/warranty.

Turns out they chose our old 2009 RWD Genesis in their system vs. my 2015 when they loaded the data in for the sales order and alignment specs.

So my thought is that whatever tweaking they did to my cars alignment was based on totally different specs and tolerances and in turn the alignment is truly not correct. I mean the car seems to drive straight when I let go of the wheel, but at times I sensed a slight pull to the right.

So do I trek all the back and spend another hour+ to get it re-aligned or leave as is?

 

[srobak]

I would at least call them and speak with the manager/owner about it. It shouldn't be too big of a deal to do it right - and the differences are likely to be small enough that you wont see them with your eye, but they will be felt by your tires as they wear.

As far as pulling to the right - this may be road dependent. Most roads are crowned so water runs off the side - and on a 2-lane road with such crowning - you're going to feel it a lot more than on a multi-lane road which is also crowned. If you can find a road where it pulls to the right - see if levels off or pulls to the left when you go into the further left lane (obviously when no opposing vehicles are present ).

 

[Alfer]

I did call the main branch and a nice woman looked up my info and put notes into my order etc to show that other branch tied the sale to wrong vehicle. She told me I could stop by her shop to have alignment checked. I may due it but it just means I'm out of pocket for 1-2 hours of my day sitting around car shop.

 

[srobak]

I did call the main branch and a nice woman looked up my info and put notes into my order etc to show that other branch tied the sale to wrong vehicle. She told me I could stop by her shop to have alignment checked. I may due it but it just means I'm out of pocket for 1-2 hours of my day sitting around car shop.

Meh - if there is a restaurant nearby just go for a walk, get a stiff drink and a good meal.

I also just noticed in the thread title AWD vs. RWD - and I would absolutely get it re-aligned with that in mind and the resulting lack of shared components between the models.

 

[Alfer]

Had some free time Friday so took car to another branch and explained my concern. They didn't feel having wrong model car loaded to system for the alignment would cause issue. But I told them I felt there was a slight drift to the right when I drive so they re-calibrated and sure enough when we compared the old report to the new one it was night and day how far off each adjustment was. Car now drive better.

Sad how you pretty much can't trust ANYONE to do a job right these days.

 

[srobak]

I'm actually concerned that the new shop didn't think it would be an issue. They are 2 completely different cars - with different chassis, different suspension and steering components, different ride-types and even different tire sizes and wheel offsets. How could they NOT think there would be a difference on alignment measurements? Yikes. Good thing you were persistent. Hopefully they didn't charge you again.

 

[Alfer]

Nor charges.

He claimed that mechanics always scan the bar code sticker on the actual vehicle whenever they do an alignment etc. Problem for me is if he did, why did all the first alignment paperwork clearly show "Hyundai Genesis- 2009-2014" all over it?