Good Morning 

 

We bought a 15 Plate SKODA SUPERB ESTATE 5-DR 2.0 TDI (140PS) SE BUSINESS DSG in January this year. 

 

Our friend, who is a mechanic noticed uneven wear on all tyres and recommended 4 wheel alignment. We took it back to our local Skoda dealership who said the uneven wear was incorrect inflation of the tyres. 

 

Following this we put on 4 new Michelin primacy 4 tyres in March and had the wheel alignment done which was well out (Skoda did not pick this up).  Since this we have had to get the wheel alignment done at least 3 times because it keeps going out. 

 

2 weeks ago we noticed that both front tyres were heavily worn on the outside edges - down to the cord on the near side front, these tyres have done about 8,000 miles on mainly motorway. The wheel alignment was checked again and yet again it was severely out, so badly out ATS thought that either we had major work done on the suspension or their machine was broken. 

 

The car has not been driven erratically, not been carrying heavy loads or towing. 

 

Our local Skoda dealership is insisting that there is nothing wrong with the car, they don’t believe the alignment figures from ATS and they said that 8,000 miles was good mileage for a set of from tyres on a Superb, really??? My husband drives superbs at work and they get significantly more mileage that that out of the tyres. 

 

Can anyone help me shed some light on this? Why the wheel alignment keeps severely going out and how long should tyres last on the superb on average, I feel like we are being fobbed off by our local dealership and can not afford to rattle through tyres like this and constantly having to pay for the wheels to be realigned. 

 

Sorry for for the long post  

Sounds like something isn't right with the suspension/bushes etc ?

Just wondering, was it a proper 4 wheel alignment machine such as a Hunter 3D Pro-align or Hoffmann, where you get printouts before and after adjustment ?

I took my car to a tyre place that claimed to do 4 wheel alignment and did have Hunter equipment but was less than pleased at the results as they claimed camber couldn't be adjusted.....clearly they didn't have a clue what they were doing.  Basically they were doing 4 wheel tracking rather than full on geometry.

I have now found a place local to me with the proper set up and they dialled my car back to factory settings.  See thread below.

Before my wheel alignment the car chewed through the back tyres on the inner edge down to the canvas after 18k miles, fronts were ok but worn.

I do think a proper alignment at least once a year helps with tyre wear on the Superb.

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/451865-4-wheel-alignment-results-superb-estate/?do=findComment&comment=5085009

 

" clearly they didn't have a clue what they were doing "

 

And this seems to be the problem with a lot of garages that have the 4 wheel alignment machines.

The machine is only as good as the staff that work it, a lot don't seem to have any idea.

It sounds like Lelly's garage probably made the alignment worse.

 

I had my old Passat aligned at a local trusted garage.

They deal with race car setup & obviously knew what they were doing.

Previously it had been wearing the rear inside edges of my tyres, just like TasMan.

Had my son's Tiguan done at the same place.

He had the same problem as my Passat which was corrected by the re-alignment.

 

Not that any of these problems should have been present with the cars anyway.

A lot of VW group cars seem to leave the factory with incorrect alignment !!!

 

Lelly, you havn't put your location in your profile.

If we know where you are in the country, others may be able to recomend garages near you that know what they are doing.

Thank you for your reply’s. 

 

We we are in Carmarthen, West Wales, we wouldn’t mind travelling within reason to get an opinion from someone who knows what they are doing. 

 

Any recommendations would be gratefully received. 

 

Many Thanks. 

Have a look on here...  https://www.alignmycar.co.uk/

 

This should get you somewhere decent with the correct gear.  When you find somewhere check out their website or Facebook pages to gauge past experience/reviews etc.

 

PipH seems to have the same issues as I had and the place I use also are well known for setting up fast road and track cars and have a good history of doing so.  This is why I went to them, there should be somewhere near you that will help.

I was charged £80 and it is money well spent.  I would be asking for before and after printouts and a full geometry check including toe and camber settings back to factory tolerances.

 

Keep us posted with how you get on.

Cheers

Edited 12 December, 20187 yr by TasMan

7 hours ago, Lelly said:

Our local Skoda dealership is insisting that there is nothing wrong with the car, they don’t believe the alignment figures from ATS and they said that 8,000 miles was good mileage for a set of from tyres on a Superb, really???

 

You're dealer is clueless.

 

Once you get the car properly aligned, take your evidence back to the dealer and ask them for a contribution towards the cost of the replacement tyres.

 

They sold the car to you with misaligned suspension, and they need to stand behind their responsibilities and obligations.

 

Be sure to raise a case with Skoda UK using this online form, if for nothing else but to let them know how shoddy one of their franchised dealers is...

 

https://tools.skoda.co.uk/contact-us

If the suspension keeps going out of alignment then either something is bent/broken/worn or whoever did the alignment didn't tighten something properly.

 

All of the adjustment points are designed to hold firm when the securing nuts and bolts are tightened: they don't slip out of alignment over time.

Look for worn suspension bushes 
I am having to replace my Rear lower inner bushes as the bolts that adjusts the camber are seized on the bushes but on further examination there is a lot of play in the bush so upgrading to Powerflex



 

Our car was wearing the inner edges at an astonishing rate. Turns out the front control arm bushes had worn out.  We've done 180,000kms. The front strut top mounts have now worn out too.... 

Gone

Edited 9 January, 20197 yr by FlyingSpanner

Were you shown the before and after alignment figures? Did they mention the shear bolts that have to be replace to do it correctly when adjustment is needed. Mt dealer did that and it has been fine since.

G

Edited 9 January, 20197 yr by FlyingSpanner

On 12/12/2018 at 06:53, Lelly said:

 

 

Quote

2 weeks ago we noticed that both front tyres were heavily worn on the outside edges - down to the cord on the near side front, these tyres have done about 8,000 miles on mainly motorway. The wheel alignment was checked again and yet again it was severely out, so badly out ATS thought that either we had major work done on the suspension or their machine was broken. 

 

 

 

 

I've never had my 2014 FL twin door checked re wheel alignment. The only issue I've found was wear on the inside edge of the rear tyres during a long European trip very heavily laden (especially at the back!) - that finished a pair of tyres off, but to be fair they had already done 35,000 miles! (original Continental summer tyres). Mine are 205/55 16 tyres which may last a bit longer than 17 or 18 lower profile tyres.

 

Due to the nature of the independant rear suspension when heavily laden you end up with more negative camber which would tend to wear the inside edges.

 

I'd be suspecting this car has had some suspension damage before you got the car.

Edited 22 December, 20187 yr by bigjohn

Interesting topic. 

I have a 2014 Superb l&K. Took car into local skoda dealer to diagnose road noise at 50 MPH.

They said the noise was from the rear wheels due to uneven ware. The car has done 3200 miles over 7 years.

 

Picking it up today and I will be asking for a diagnosis of what caused this to happen. 

 

Do the rear wheels need alignment, I thought rear wheels were fixed?

 

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Thats a very low mileage over 7 years...!

Probably saw toothing of the rear tyres.

Find somewhere who does a Hunter 3D 4 wheel alighnment, you will be surprised how much out of tolerance your car is likely to be.  All four corners can be trued up and brought back into spec.

Around £80 - £100, money well spent...