craig k

Hello. We were having a squeak in the lower front end of the car and the dealer replaced the lower control arms. After this was done the car seemed to pull to the left. I called the dealer and asked if they did an alignment and he said that replacement of these parts did not require it. I thought any time you pulled apart someting in the front end it needed to be aligned. Any thoughts on this?

dawson1112

Well considering that the alignment of the car was probably set with the worn components I would expect it to change with the adition of a new control arm .

And since it was good before the change I would think they would take the 30 45 min extra to do an alighn ment of it.

Find a different dealer, talk to them. If it were me I always drive a car before any changes are performed then after to assure it is correct. Had I done it I would have noted the change in alignment and put in to have it corrected ...

craig k

I would agree but the car still had the factory alignment and the parts should not have been worn as it only had 4311 miles on it at the time. Now that there is 15,000 the front tire is showing uneven wear. It's my girlfriends car and to be honest I never noticed it.

craig k

by the way it's a 2012

157dB

Lower Control Arms are a 'no alignment needed' swap.
IF the tie rod ends were not forked with in length.
Pulling is a sign of something else very bad.
Does it still steer straight (the steering wheel
being straight when driving straight) or does
the wheel need to be turned to the right to
compensate for the pull to the left?
Can a stiff jerk to the right while driving make
any difference to the sever left pull?

The components you described as being replaced
attach at mounting holes with NO SLOTS for adjustment.
Its a unbolt the old and bolt in the new
(hope they replaced the one time use fasteners as well).