Dealer alignment for brand new bronco shenanigans. Three strikes?

[BadmansSAS]

Well.

I dont think I've bought a new car that didnt need an alignment right off the showroom floor. And my new 23 BDL SAS is no different. In all fairness the alignment is straight. Its the steering wheel thats off. Its kicked to the right a few degrees. So when you are going dead nuts straight, the wheel is tilted to the right. SUPER ANNOYING. And if you set the wheel straight, then it veers to the left. Its clear as day. Repeatable in any lane.

Well Bronco Bama has about 300 miles on it, so I took it straight back to have the selling dealer fix it.

Fixed - nope. Exactly the same, so we went right back in.
Fixed v2 - nope, STILL exactly the same.

The break down here is that I've told them it tracks straight and everything is good there, but the wheel is not straight. They keep nodding like they understand and take it back a third time.

Fixed v3. NOPE. Still the same. And this time they got someone with more experience doing it. They are back to telling me its all green on the machine and straight and when they set the wheel, its straight. So Im super confused here. They are lost. Wanting to replace tires and swap wheels around. This shouldnt be that hard.

Going in for the shop foreman to try tomorrow morning. They claim their machine is like $1m dollars and admittedly their service department is brand new. Whole building has been redone.

After this what then? Just leave it? Assume its going to get knocked out anyway when I start wheeling it? I didnt want to do anything with it until this was good. Lord knows if it came in with dirt/mud under it, they would call it abuse and not cover it...

Thoughts?? Any Ford tech on here know what they are doing wrong???

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[BadmansSAS]

Oh and its probably in my head, but since they have tried the alignment three times, it feels like it wanders a bit more on the road than it did when I took it in. Felt tight and good, but now it wanders around in the lane with no steering input. Has be a bit worried something might be loose from the three alignment attempts...

 

[Ducati1098]

Any other local dealers? May be worth giving that route a shot if the current one can’t handle it.
I know you shouldn’t need to and you’ll have to pay, but last resort you can also always bring it to an aftermarket shop.

 

[BadmansSAS]

Any other local dealers? May be worth giving that route a shot if the current one can’t handle it.
I know you shouldn’t need to and you’ll have to pay, but last resort you can also always bring it to an aftermarket shop.

Yeah that sucks major if I'd have to pay. I'd rather call Ford corp and get the ball rolling with them to get involved. That gets dealer service managers motivated usually to get something done right.

As for an aftermarket shop, I'd have to dig and find a good one.

 

[Rednek]

Have you tried turning off lane keeping,it can be sensitive at times,also ask dealer if they reset ipma after alignment for lane keeping correction.

 

[BadmansSAS]

Have you tried turning off lane keeping,it can be sensitive at times,also ask dealer if they reset ipma after alignment for lane keeping correction.

Yes I keep it off anyways. I’ll ask them about this tomorrow.

 

[JohnnyBronco]

With alignment spot on but steering wheel akilter calls for removing thevsteering wheel and reinstalling it in correct position. Why they were even messing with actual alignment is beyond me.

Some vehicle's steering wheel is not even directly connected to the rack but is electrical in form. Alignment of an electronic steering shaft is a nightmare.

 

[BadmansSAS]

In my 40 years of buying brand new cars, I can't think of a single one that had to have an alignment off the showroom floor. Did you not notice this on the test drive?

I didnt. My Bronco just came in and was covered in plastic when I drove it, including the wheel. It was hard to tell and I wasnt focused on it on that like 3 mile drive. As I said the truck tracks straight. So not being able to see the wheel was off was not something you'd have been able to tell. Its not like it pulls to either side. Its just the wheel is kicked to the side. When you straighten the wheel, then it veers off but thats if you force the wheel straight. If you let go, it will go straight but the wheel is off.

As for the alignment, that is the proper way to do it. Straighten the wheel with a tool that keeps it straight. Then bring the alignment in to match it. If you take off the wheel, its likely going to be splined and who knows if the splines are going to take it more out of alignment in either direction.

 

[BadmansSAS]

So after looking at a video, the steering wheel is not splined but its like a nut in there. If you try to put it on and its not in the same position, it would be WAY off since it lines up in like an octagon shape. Its not possible to adjust this with removing the wheel looks like.

 

[Ducati1098]

With alignment spot on but steering wheel akilter calls for removing thevsteering wheel and reinstalling it in correct position. Why they were even messing with actual alignment is beyond me.

Steering wheel only goes on one way. There is no adjustment. The only way to align the steering wheel is to adjust the alignment.

 

[Ducati1098]

So after looking at a video, the steering wheel is not splined but its like a nut in there. If you try to put it on and its not in the same position, it would be WAY off since it lines up in like an octagon shape. Its not possible to adjust this with removing the wheel looks like.

Correct. Splines haven’t been used in a long time.

 

[MileHighCitizen]

Had the same problem, took it into Ford twice with the same results you had. Mine was slightly off to the left and it bugged the hell out of me as well.

I finally broke down and took it to an alignment place near me that had good reviews and it was fixed. I told them what was wrong and they took care of it, cost ~$70 with a tire rotation. Alignment is "green" and the steering wheel is dead center.

Not sure what Fords process is, but whatever it is doesn't adjust the steering wheel. Just go on google and find a place near you with good reviews.

 

[PWillette]

Have you looked at the u-joint that connects the steering column to the rack? The u-joint connection is splined, a slight adjustment is possible there. PITA to get at but just need to undo the locking bolt & slide u-joint off the shaft, rotate a spline, slide it back on and lock it down.

 

[5GENIDN]

With alignment spot on but steering wheel akilter calls for removing thevsteering wheel and reinstalling it in correct position. Why they were even messing with actual alignment is beyond me.

Some vehicle's steering wheel is not even directly connected to the rack but is electrical in form. Alignment of an electronic steering shaft is a nightmare.

Actually I believe there is a pinion gear that DIRECTLY connects the the wheel to the rack... The electric motor assist sits on the passenger side of the rack.

Other ways to straighten the wheel would be to disassemble the rack and rotate the pinion gear over one tooth in rack.... Or lengthen the tie rod on the passenger side and shorten the tie rod on the drivers side....OOPS... reverse that... Probably choice 3 would be how I would approach it... but I am not an alignment guy. I just like simple answers.

 

[APEX REX]

Posts like this confirms that humanity is doomed.

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