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2012 Sorento alignment

7K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  Besfort 
#1 ·
Hi guys , probably someone has more experience with this , here’s the problem , I replaced on my wife’s car control arms both sides which came with ball joint installed , also sway bars plus tie rods , of course it’s of alignment , so closest car shop was Ford dealer 88$ did alignment, but according to them they couldn’t do it 100% because Kia camber and caster bolts are not adjustable, so he asked me 300$ parts and labor to put new ones that are adjustable, it seems to me expensive, can I replace them my self and then send car for alignment , here’s the pic of it , he said that it’s not that bad , but is like to fix the issue
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#2 ·
On my 2014 Sorento I changed the ball joints and sway bar end links and struts. The alignment shop had no problem aligning it. Pretty sure the suspension is similar from your model to my model. I suggest taking it to another shop and see what they say. $300 does seem pricey but it is a dealership after all.
 
#3 ·
To me this it seems crazy , 300$ parts and labor are plus 88$ For alignment again , it doesn’t seem to me right , because I did before alignment on this car and never run on this problem , that’s why I came up here to ask if anyone has or had this similar problem, I will definitely when I have time drive by Kia dealer and just show them papers and ask them and see what they will say , she needs new tires before winter , so I need to fix the issue and have 100% alignment on the car ,here’s the description of what they done and what they suggest to fix the issue
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#4 ·
So after putting new set of 4 tires I did alignment to Kia dealer which alignment came out ok , expect right rear passenger wheel couldn’t be alignment 100% according to the tech the rear right arm is bent a little , and in order to fix it I need new control arm , also he said that there’s no dangerous driving it except tire may not wear even , does anyone had this similar problem, should I order new part and replaced or it’s ok leave it the way it is
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#6 ·
honestly I was surprised when he told me cus as far as I remembered we haven’t hit and hole or anything like that , unless previous owner or first owner maybe hit something, but yes I can replace it since shouldn’t be a big of a deal , I asked a technician he said it that idk , I probably will replace , I did replace both fronts before couple weeks , so rear control arm shouldn’t be that hard ,but after wife’s comes home today I’m going to lift the car and see it myslef , then I’ll start from there
 
#7 ·
I would not get overly concerned about the alignment unless you have tire wear issues. Alignments on most cars over the past 25 years have no factory adjustments to them except for the toe. The only factory adjustment is the slop in the mounting bolt holes, which is very little. If more adjustment is needed then a aftermarket kit is required which may add up to 2° to 3° more movement by way of special off set cam bolts.

The camber, caster, and toe changes as the suppression moves up and down. This is called bump steer in a race car. Your camber on the rear may be caused by wear and deflection in the rubber bushings, worn spring, load or ride height of car, or it could have been off from the factory. Most alignments today are nothing more then setting the toe and anything else is extra charge because it is not adjustable from the factory. If tire wear is a problem, it is more likely caused from worn parts causing the problem; like ball joints, tie rod ends, worn bushings, and yes bent parts. There is very little that an alignment is going to fix if there is something wrong, parts need to be replaced.
 
#9 ·
Okay guys me again , I apologize for bothering so much but seems like my problems never end , had replaced front Struts and spring complete assembly, to mention they’re made by Mando South Korea , just for curiosity I went to Kia dealer to do alignment since thought it went out of alignment, he did alignment and came to me saying that he couldn’t do it 100% , the front driver side Camber is -1.24 , according to him he said he can’t make it move or do it , I told him before couple month u guys did alignment on this same car and camber came perfectly fine now ur telling me that u cant adjust ,drove interstate to home and it pull tiny bit to left , according to him , he said if it was bad we wouldn’t do it or let u drive , he said it may affect tire west , I don’t get it and don’t understand how come same dealer couldn’t do it right , any help any advice please I appreciate it
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#10 ·
As I stated above, there is no adjustments for chamber or caster on new cars. What you need to look into is this: 2012 KIA SORENTO 3.5L V6 Alignment Cam / Plate | RockAuto . A good alignment person would have told you that it needed cam bolts installed if that is the case.

Every time the car is put on a machine to do an alignment and the person doing it is not careful or the machine is not calibrated properly, you are going to get different readings. Also the lower control arm rubber bushings, the car ride height, lower ball joint wear can also cause readings to change. Finding a good alignment person today is almost impossible. All they know is to go through the steps of the alignment machine setup (and most of them can not even do that properly) and what the numbers are that the machine tells them. I would recommend you find a independent garage that does alignments and take your car there. Do NOT use a dealership or a big tire chain service center.
 
#11 ·
Thank you for help and reply , that’s what exactly I told the service rep that day , I explained everything and he’s like well we never done that before , it’s crazy , and yes it’s exactly what ur saying above I guess it depends who does and how good it’s on his job , I went rock auto and I’m going to order them ; so I need two of them for each side or just one each side , I have a independent local shop here and I will make appointment with them , should I put bolts in or just have them do it , if u can just help me about this , how many bolts I need per side and should I put them my self or have the shop do it , do I need to explain shop what’s going on ? Thanks again and merry Christmas 🎄
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#12 · (Edited)
I'm guessing that if you have to explain it then it's not the right place to do the alignment.

Maybe phone a few tire shops and ask if they know a good alignment shop. If they say they can do it, ask them what kind if alignment machine they have and keep phoning around. If they say Hunter, that's a good machine. Some tire shops do alignments and then some just install tires and send out for the alignment. Go directly to the alignment shop.

Not sure if I'd install the cam bolts. I'd probably have the alignment shop do it. I don't know how difficult it would be to install them or how to adjust them before taking it for an alignment.

Tell them about your other alignment and then ask how they'd fix it...make sure they mention cam bolts or shims. Maybe check on reddit or redflagdeals for your area and then look at reviews.

Note that I'm not a mechanic. These are just the kind of things I would do in your position. If you know a good honest mechanic, ask them what to do as well.
 
#13 ·
I would not buy any bolts. Let the shop buy them and install them. You will pay more for them but that way the job and all the parts are warrantied by the shop doing the work. No figure pointing blaming someone else or something for any issue comes up.

Struts are mounted at the bottom to the hub assembly by two bolts. These bolts should be free and not rusted as your struts were just changed. The holes for these bolts are bigger and allow the hub assembly to move in and out slightly, this allows for some camber adjustment. If all other suppenion parts are good, this small amount of movement shold be enough to get things in alignment. If you can not get enough adjustment from the holes then you can put in off-set cam bolts to allow more movement from the bolt holes so the hub can be tilted more. Typically the cam bolts are not needed unless damage is done to the car, like it was in an accident and the uni-body was bent. More likely,is that there are other suspension parts that worn causing the problem or you have someone not knowing what they are doing working on the car.

If you can not talk to the person doing the work or the shop owner, do not have the work done there. Explain the problem your having and see what kind of solution they offer you to fix the problem. Just show them the sheets from the other places and tell them what these places told you they got it as good as they could but it is still not within spec. See what they tell you.

This is all coming back around to your first post. You have spent money going to these other shops to have alignment checks done and the only thing you have paid for is for the number readouts from these different shops. You have not paid to have anything corrected. It looks like the first shop had it right and $300 is not bad if that corrected both the front and rear alignment issues. The KIA dealer could also be right. You have to pick someone to trust, so who gave you the most info about how to fix it and why it would fix the issue.
 
#14 ·
Thank u so much for help , and yea there’s nothing bent or wrong with front suspension, as of now the tie rods are new , sway bar links are brand new, cv axles are new ,front rotors are new with brakes ,controls arms are new , front struts are complete assembly new , there’s nothing old ,all parts or genuine Kia parts like didn’t put any cheap part , pretty much brand new complete front suspension ,so Monday I will stop to a local shop here , and talk to them and explain the situation and see what they will say about it, I wouldn’t worry so much about it , but before could moths I installed brand new set of tires and don’t want them to be worn uneven
 
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