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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BMW 5-Series (F10) Forums General 5-Series Sedan and Wagon (F10 / F11) Forum Alignment Troubles on 535i xDrive
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      10-16-2016, 04:34 PM   #1
phennighausen
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Angry Alignment Troubles on 535i xDrive

Hi All!

So about two weeks ago I brought my 2015 535i xDrive in for a service at my nearby BMW dealer. They recommended I do an alignment as one of the tires was feathering slightly. I agreed to this since the car had about 15k and I had noticed the tire as well. Well after a lengthy stay at the dealer (they ended up replacing the turbo, oil lines, oil pan, and gasket after they had noticed several 535i's having issues with the turbo oil lines) I got the car back and it pulled to the right and keeping it going in a straight line required constant correction and the steering wheel being held about 2-3 degrees to the left.

I immediately called my SA back who was very helpful and took the car back in and gave me a loaner. They performed a front-end alignment and marked it as fixed. Yet, the next day when I picked it up before I even got up to speed the steering was still off center and pulling to the right. I called back and once again they took it back in, gave me another car, and performed a complete four-wheel alignment and swapped tires. Then they were kind enough to deliver the car back to my house. Later that day I drove it and sure enough it was still pulling and requiring constant correction to drive in a straight line. I called back and they kindly took the car back and had me drive around with the Shop Manager who confirmed that it was indeed pulling to the right and the steering wheel was out of square. So back it went and a 4th loaner car was issued. They are going to try to swap the tires again and adjust the toe-in to see if that resolves the issue.

Here is my question, after reading on the forum at all of the similar problems owners have had resulting in many different fixes, what would likely be the culprit. I put several thousand miles on the car with it driving perfectly and tracking straight. Now after being aligned several times it cannot be brought into line. I would assume on 2015 models they would have fixed any of the steering issues that would cause "pulling" from the earlier models? Is there some suspension component that may have been damaged or faulty? I've been searching through the forums but it's hard to narrow it down to what would affect a 2015 model 535i xDrive.

Thanks,
Peter
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      10-16-2016, 07:29 PM   #2
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For what it's worth, I had a similar issue with a Mercedes about 10 years ago. It wasn't until I tried another dealership that I finally got it resolved. I don't have a technical explanation for why dealer #1 was unable to get my car to track straight and smooth and another dealer could, it could be anything - different equipment, different approach, different tech, general lack of incompetence? Maybe they weren't even putting it up on the rack again, I don't know. But if you can't get satisfaction, try another dealer or an independent. My experience has been that bad shops are bad shops and you can go in circles with them or you can try another dealer or shop.

Also, I have an '11 F10 535 that has always tracked straight and true with 19" run flats, 19" Pilots and 18" Michelin Alpin snows.
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      10-16-2016, 08:04 PM   #3
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once the tires have developed bad tire wear from the alignment being off even after the alignment is corrected and back within specs the tire may or can cause the car to feel like it's still not aligned. hopefully them replacing those tires will correct the issue you're having. i use to work as a SA once upon a time and i would always let my customers know that even after the alignment is done the tires will or may cause issues still
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      10-16-2016, 09:03 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lsturbointeg
once the tires have developed bad tire wear from the alignment being off even after the alignment is corrected and back within specs the tire may or can cause the car to feel like it's still not aligned. hopefully them replacing those tires will correct the issue you're having. i use to work as a SA once upon a time and i would always let my customers know that even after the alignment is done the tires will or may cause issues still
That's what I was worried about but they've already swapped the tires from side to side with no change in the pulling.
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      10-16-2016, 11:08 PM   #5
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Also there is a service update called "steer-ahead" that did wonders for me.
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      10-17-2016, 03:39 AM   #6
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As the OP did have a car which tracked straight for several thousand miles, the car can be aligned correctly.

So it is either not set up to the right tolerances, or it is the tires. A decent dealer should try a different pair of wheels, if they are confident they have a proper alignment.
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      10-17-2016, 09:43 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HighlandPete View Post
As the OP did have a car which tracked straight for several thousand miles, the car can be aligned correctly.

So it is either not set up to the right tolerances, or it is the tires. A decent dealer should try a different pair of wheels, if they are confident they have a proper alignment.
not quite. i think the tires plays a big part in tracking properly. the fact that the car tracked straight on a worn out tires with bad alignment, that just meant that the setup was worn in/broken in togther (meaning they are all sync). so with the new alignment, it threw off the threadware on the worn tires so there will be rumbling, tracking and maybe some pulling. thats why its always recommended to replace tires and get an alignment.

try to get the alignment specs from the dealer, make sure that the specs are correct. an alignment is only as good as the results. anybody can say they aligned a car but it could still be off spec.

possibly get a new set of tires to see if that helps. if not, go to a good indy shop that has a hunter machine for alignment.
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      10-17-2016, 02:14 PM   #8
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They should give you a print out from the hunter machine that shows before and after specs on all four wheels...
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