Alignment/Tire issues....Please chime in!

[schu300]

Ok, this is a rather lengthy story so grab a cup of joe or pop and sit tight...

Roughly the first week of November, I purchased 4 new Michelin PS Plus tires for my 06 M45 Sport. I took the tires to my local Infiniti dealer and had them installed and an alignment preformed. Immediately, upon taking delivery of my M45 out of the shop, I noticed the car liked to "walk" to the right. Wasnt so much a pull or a sharp steer but rather just a nice gentle "walk" is what I am referring it too.

I called my dealer as soon as I got home and explained the issue, we set an appointment for the following morning. The next morning I show up and drop my car off, a few hours later he calls me and says they checked tire pressures and re-did an alignment and nothing was found un-common. He suggested that we take the RF tire and swap it with the RR tire in thoughts that maybe that tire was not molded perfectly on the center line bead. Thinking that within 500 miles or so it would wear into a normal pattern. I agreed! I picked my car up that evening and took the long way home. From what I felt, the car felt like it was fixed and no longer "walked".

Now its been 2 weeks since the last alignment. The car is not "walking" more to the right and its getting worse and worse as the miles tack up. My dealer is frustrated cause he feels like I am making this crap up to waste his time ( like I have that much extra time to waste).

Loooking for some advice/help...I am taking my car back to the dealer Wednesday 12/3 morning and the adviser is going on a test drive with me to see what I am feeling.

My only thought is that maybe something is bent in the suspension that wouldnt show up on an alignment rack. The tires we had previsouly were stock tires and we rode them until literally they had no tread due to some financial woes on our part.

If there is a tech out there who thinks they have some options/opinons please call me or email me directly with your thoughts!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Kris [email protected]

[M45Caliber]

First, I would take the car to a different tire shop and have them check the alignnment. Maybe the Dealers rack is in need of a calibration...

the other issue might be a bad tire - belt separation, etc.

[antzrus]

Just to add more confusion to this issue. See: zer...-fix

[schu300]

To follow up with "M45Caliber"....

The reason we took the RF and put it on the RR was to see if the "walk" would go away, hopefully hinting to us a possible bad original RF (now RR) tire. However, the "walk" is still there even after we switched the tires.

belt seperation/bad tire was my first idea as well. However, we have sense thrown that idea out due to the same issue we are having after the tire swap.

[SnowSurfLax]

bump... Any updates? I think my wife's M35 is doing something similiar at times. Seems to occur more often on scored roads.

I've also noticed that it will pull left or right when braking if the tires aren't completely straight. My QX4 does the same thing at times, so I figure it's an Infiniti thing.

[daveM45]

I noticed that the Pilot Sport's were more sensitive to road variations. I think that is the trade off that comes with sharper turn in. The worst for jumping around I had were a super sticky pair of Potenza's that lasted 10K.

Have you noticed any difference in the amount of 'walk' on a crowned 2 lane road (which will pull to the right a bit) versus a left lane of a highway? Or textured concrete versus blacktop?

[schu300]

I have tried quite a few different roads in hopes of finding something wrong..or at least convincing myself of it. It pulls or walks right on any road condition with any type of crown. Coming home tonight I was in the far left lane of a 3 lane highway that slopes to the left into the median. The car still wanted to walk right...The biggest thing I've noticed is that the car walks harder right at higher speeds, which makes a little bit of sense.

My Infiniti dealer has told me as of today that sense I did not order the tires through them and that they are not an Michelin retail center, that they will no longer warranty any of my problems pertaining to my "walk" issue and that I would have to take it to a Michelin Retail Center. In their minds, they have put it on the alignment rack 2 times and both times have come out within spec, however, when I ask for a copy of the report he tells me they do not save the reports to print.....

I have filed an official complaint with Infiniti corporate as well as turned in 5 CSI cards into Corp Infiniti with bad grades on them. I have a friend that used to sell cars with Infiniti a few years back, he says those CSI's are crucial part to keeping the Infiniti name tag on your building.

[grindjv]

Something has to be wrong with the tires themselves if it wasn't pulling before you had it installed....In my opinion, the dealer sounds like it has went above and beyond to try to help you....If you had bought the tires from them that would be a different story. I would try to get a replacement from the place you bought the tires from.... I am not one of these who constantly defend the dealerships either...My dealer is a ripoff with a lazy and irresponsible service manager. (MONTGOMERY, AL!)

[TexasMadrone]

I'm not familiar with the PS plus Michelins, but maybe they are rotation direction tires as many are. Just a wild guess but if so, maybe one or more are having the rolling tread pointed differently then the others. Or, maybe by accident, the tire store installed a different rated width or sidewall height tire in one spot. These suggestions sound like remote possibilies, but considering all the other suggestions that have not cured the problem, these this could cause it. If not, take them back to the tire store and insist that they try some other PS plus tires as something must be wrong with your set.

TexasMadrone