2009 Vibe GT in need of alignment or something more?

[vibenvy]

So, I started noticing a while back that my 2009 Vibe GT (34,714 miles) was pulling to the right. It didn't seem too bad, so I didn't think too much of it. Then, a few weeks ago, after having driven my Vibe, my dad asked me if I had noticed that it was pulling to the right. I told him yes and that I had a feeling that one or more of the 18s was out of balance. I told him I was going to see what it did once the winter 16s were on. So, I put the 16s on last Thursday and now it doesn't pull to the right anymore, but it does seem to ever so slightly pull to the left, although the pull to the left is not anywhere near as bad as the pull to the right with the 18s was. So, my plan is to have the 18s re-balanced before they go back on in the spring, but for now I am wondering if I should go ahead and get an alignment? There is a reputable local shop that does alignments for $59.95 so this wouldn't be a big expense or ordeal. Should I have the front end suspension components checked as well or should an alignment be enough? Is an alignment even necessary or should I start by getting the 16s re-balanced and see what that does? Any help and/or information, comments, concerns, etc. is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[vit]

Hmmm... originally I would say alignment, but it shouldn't change with another set of wheels/tires. Guess I'm not much of help.

[Scwmcan]

Blanching doesnt normally cure a pull to the side ( in my experience) unless you are meaning something else than what I consider balancing. I would say an alignment would not be a bad idea, and generally they will let you know if anything is out of whack with you suspension when they do they alignment. I know from what I read he that you take good care of your Vibe, so I am ruling out the obvious low pressure in a tire causing a pull, so since I am assuming you are driving on the same roads as usual ( ruling out odd camber in the road itself, or trimming from the tires) an alignment is your bet insurance, though it is strange that it changed with the tires. Hopefully you don't have a bad tire ( broken belt etc) as that is really the only other thing that I cam think of that would cause a noticeable pull.

[vibenvy]

Yeah, I drive the same roads every day going to and from work.

I think I am going to start with an alignment since it's only $59.95 and go from there.

[circuitsmith]

How long since the last alignment?
How rough are the roads you drive on?
Mis-alignment can make the suspension more sensitive to different tires.

[vibenvy]

How long since the last alignment?
How rough are the roads you drive on?
Mis-alignment can make the suspension more sensitive to different tires.

It's never had an alignment. It rolled off the line on November 17, 2008. I bought it brand new on April 11, 2009 with 76 miles on it (it was driven from another dealer for a dealer trade). It currently has 34,795 miles on it.

The road I drive on going to and from work everyday is sort of rough. It's not really bad, but bad enough compared to other roads in the area I guess.

[Caretaker]

well, if your car has never been aligned after several years and many tens of thousands of miles, it is not a bad place to start. However, I recently brought my Vibe in to GM to have an alignment done during one of their great coupon deals. I also had them do my wife's Hyundai Elantra Touring (HET). When I got them back, I was not very impressed nor satisfied with how the HET turned out, so I went to talk to the manager. He said that they were done perfectly and that it is possible that the tires on the HET had some runout. I had never heard of this term. Well, the manager was nice enough to recheck the alignment and report back that the alignment numbers were spot on and that due to the runout, I should switch the tires around. I did so and wouldn't you know it, the car drove straight and true. So whatever this runout is, and how it gets that way, could be the problem with your car too. So, long story short, after your upcoming alignment, if the car still pulls a little, try moving the tires to different positions. It worked for me.

[ponta2147]

I'll keep an eye on this one, especially since my car is over 50,000 miles without an alignment either.

[vibenvy]

well, if your car has never been aligned after several years and many tens of thousands of miles, it is not a bad place to start. However, I recently brought my Vibe in to GM to have an alignment done during one of their great coupon deals. I also had them do my wife's Hyundai Elantra Touring (HET). When I got them back, I was not very impressed nor satisfied with how the HET turned out, so I went to talk to the manager. He said that they were done perfectly and that it is possible that the tires on the HET had some runout. I had never heard of this term. Well, the manager was nice enough to recheck the alignment and report back that the alignment numbers were spot on and that due to the runout, I should switch the tires around. I did so and wouldn't you know it, the car drove straight and true. So whatever this runout is, and how it gets that way, could be the problem with your car too. So, long story short, after your upcoming alignment, if the car still pulls a little, try moving the tires to different positions. It worked for me.

Thanks for the info! I will definitely keep the tire runout in mind depending on how the alignment goes.

I'll keep an eye on this one, especially since my car is over 50,000 miles without an alignment either.

Dang Michelle... both our Vibes are just about to turn over 35,000 miles.

[trb]

An alignment is a good idea every couple of years unless you can get a lifetime alignment. I have the lifetime on my Mustang and usually buy it on new cars when I get the tires replaced the first time. I had the 2010 aligned when I bought Tires at 36,000 miles and it was just barely off on 1 of the rear tires. With the lifetime I have them check it every time they rotate the tires. I need to do it again soon.

[vibenvy]

An alignment is a good idea every couple of years unless you can get a lifetime alignment. I have the lifetime on my Mustang and usually buy it on new cars when I get the tires replaced the first time. I had the 2010 aligned when I bought Tires at 36,000 miles and it was just barely off on 1 of the rear tires. With the lifetime I have them check it every time they rotate the tires. I need to do it again soon.

Thanks for the advice . I'm going to get mine aligned when I get paid again in 2 weeks. I'll be sure to post the before and after specs.

[ponta2147]

I'll keep an eye on this one, especially since my car is over 50,000 miles without an alignment either.

Dang Michelle... both our Vibes are just about to turn over 35,000 miles.

But you make up for it by having like 3x as many posts as me on here now!
And not to totally hijack this but have you noticed a rough idle in the cold? My car is vibrating at idle and slow speeds, and I just noticed it. I think it goes away when the engine warms up, and I have experienced many cars where this is the case, but this is my baby and I worry. <pets lovingly>

[tpollauf]

I'll keep an eye on this one, especially since my car is over 50,000 miles without an alignment either.

Are you still riding on your original tires Michelle? Sticking with this thread, junior's Vibe GT will be getting new rubber in the next week or two ( Bridgestone Potenza RE970, or Continental DWS) and upon any recommendation of the said shop, we'll then get an alignment. His Vibe is @ 44000 miles. He wouldn't need new rubber yet if the prior owner would have rotated the tires . Two of them still look new and two of them are bald My Vibe on the other hand, will actually get driven a bit this winter as the wife is back to work and won't drive the G8GT in the snow. She'll slowly increase my mileage from it's current 13000 mark

[vibenvy]

But you make up for it by having like 3x as many posts as me on here now!
And not to totally hijack this but have you noticed a rough idle in the cold? My car is vibrating at idle and slow speeds, and I just noticed it. I think it goes away when the engine warms up, and I have experienced many cars where this is the case, but this is my baby and I worry. <pets lovingly>

Well, that's only because I have no life .

No, I haven't noticed a rough idle with either one of our Vibes. I don't know if yours is kept in the garage or not, but both of ours are so that may make a difference . From what I have seen on here though, it's a common thing with the older Vibes, so I wouldn't worry too much about it .

Are you still riding on your original tires Michelle? Sticking with this thread, junior's Vibe GT will be getting new rubber in the next week or two ( Bridgestone Potenza RE970, or Continental DWS) and upon any recommendation of the said shop, we'll then get an alignment. His Vibe is @ 44000 miles. He wouldn't need new rubber yet if the prior owner would have rotated the tires . Two of them still look new and two of them are bald My Vibe on the other hand, will actually get driven a bit this winter as the wife is back to work and won't drive the G8GT in the snow. She'll slowly increase my mileage from it's current 13000 mark

God, people are so lazy these days (regarding not rotating the tires). It's recommended every 5000 miles for goodness sakes. It's not like you have to rotate them every other day .

I keep forgetting to stop at the alignment shop after work and/or I leave work too late, so I will be stopping there some time this week hopefully to set up an appointment for an alignment.

[ponta2147]

Yup, stock tires, and they get rotated every time the oil gets changed (5000 miles, imagine that). They're getting close to end of life though, and probably in the spring I'll have to... SPRING for new ones <ba dum chh!> I'm guessing right around the same time I'll need to start thinking about whatever the manual recommends for the 60,000 mile mark, since I'm at 53,XXX as of today..

[vibenvy]

So, I finally went to the alignment shop today. I explained to the owner the issue of my Vibe pulling to the right with the 18s, but not with the 16s. He said that is indicative of a problem with the tires, not with the alignment being out of whack. He did say that an alignment would probably be a good idea since the vehicle is 4 years old and has never had one though. I went ahead and scheduled an appointment for December 24th, so I will be sure and post what they say, do, etc.

[vibenvy]

The alignment was done yesterday for $59.95 at Arneson Alignment & Tire in Sandwich. Below are the before and current measurements...

Pontiac : Vibe : Front Wheel Drive : 2009-10 : GT

Left Front - Before Measurement - Camber = -0.6*
Left Front - Current Measurement - Camber = -0.6*

Right Front - Before Measurement - Camber = -0.9*
Right Front - Current Measurement - Camber = -0.8*

Left Rear - Before Measurement - Camber = -1.1*
Left Rear - Current Measurement - Camber = -1.2*

Right Rear - Before Measurement - Camber = -1.1*
Right Rear - Current Measurement - Camber = -1.1*


Left Front - Before Measurement - Caster = 2.9*
Left Front - Current Measurement - Caster = 2.9*

Right Front - Before Measurement - Caster = 2.7*
Right Front - Current Measurement - Caster = 2.7*


Left Front - Before Measurement - Toe = -0.08*
Left Front - Current Measurement - Toe = 0.05*

Right Front - Before Measurement - Toe = -0.11*
Right Front - Current Measurement - Toe = -0.03*

Left Rear - Before Measurement - Toe = 0.23*
Left Rear - Current Measurement - Toe = 0.31*

Right Rear - Before Measurement - Toe = 0.06*
Right Rear - Current Measurement - Toe = 0.06*


Front - Before Measurement - Total Toe = -0.20*
Front - Current Measurement - Total Toe = 0.02*

Rear - Before Measurement - Total Toe = 0.29*
Rear - Current Measurement - Total Toe = 0.37*


Front - Before Measurement - Steer Ahead = 0.02*
Front - Current Measurement - Steer Ahead = 0.04*


Rear - Before Measurement - Thrust Angle = 0.09*
Rear - Current Measurement - Thrust Angle = 0.12*


My parents dropped the Vibe off and picked it up for me since I had to work all day yesterday, so I didn't get a chance to talk to anyone at the alignment shop about the measurements, etc. but I guess it's all pretty straightforward. The right front toe was way out of whack which I'm assuming was causing the pull to the right. I have not yet driven the Vibe post-alignment and probably won't until I go back to work tomorrow, so I will update how it's handling, etc. ASAP. Thanks again for all the advice and info everyone !

[vibenvy]

So, after I had the Vibe aligned last year, it just didn't really feel any different. It still pulled to the right and I was getting some minor abnormal tire wear on the inner side of the front passenger tire (summer wheels and tires). A couple weeks ago, I took the Vibe to a different shop and had them check out the suspension, etc. They said everything was nice and tight and just as it should be. The mechanic did mention that he thought the abnormal tire wear was due to the camber being off. He said he could install some adjustable camber bolts on the front and align it. I went ahead and had them do that this past Monday. All I can say now is WOW! The difference is like night and day. Turns feel much tighter. I can take my hands off the steering wheel at 55 on the country road I take to work and the Vibe tracks nice and straight, no more heading for the ditch. I am extremely pleased with this mechanic and will most definitely continue to take the Vibe to him whenever necessary. He charged me a $10.00 inspection fee a couple weeks ago to check out the suspension and charged me $80.00 for the installation of the adjustable camber bolts and alignment. I paid $60.00 for the alignment last year, so not bad at all as far as I'm concerned.

Also, I don't know if it makes any difference, but apparently this mechanic uses Hunter computerized alignments. I'm not sure what the other shop uses.

So, a heads up for any 2009-2010 Vibe owners... if you're having suspension issues and end up getting an alignment, request that the shop order and install adjustable camber bolts to help further the possible adjustments and increase the chances that your Vibe will achieve much better results from an alignment.

[lannvouivre]

for $59.95

Locally it's $75. My last one was $110 because of camber bolts. $75 is an average cost, so you got a pretty spiffy deal esp with camber bolts.

I think I'll just stick with doing the alignments at school since I live in an abyss of high costs.