Hello, one poster posed this regarding alignment and car feeling loose and not conencted to wheels after short time...
2011 RT non STP
"What you are experiencing is they are adjusting the toe in like this = /\. And the tires are taking the "play" out making it feel "tighter". Once the tire wear has worn and adapted, it will loosen up again - like what you are experiencing."
So my question is, after the tire worn has adapted, why is it loosening up a bit.
What are some of the parts or reasons that could be causing this:
The control arms, ball joints, bushings, and cradle is new. What other components are reasons could cause it to loosen up a bit after adapting (i.e. other suspension parts, worn tires, driving style)?
That loose feeling is the suspension. That "not on center" feeling is corrected when you replace the springs and sways. I've had multiple LX/LY cars and just upgrading the front sway bar will help. Adding new springs will lower the car to make it look right.
No, what he is experiencing (in my opinion since I am not there and have not driven the car) is his wallet being "loosend" by an alignment shop to apease what he feels is too loose with the steering. These cars, with their sheer weight and lowered stance have a tremendous amount of "bump steer". In other words, hit a bump in the road and the steering is soooo sensitive the feedback is immediate...hence creating a "loose" feeling. That being said, I am not ignoring that there may in fact be a suspension/steering component issue that needs correcting.
Here's the kicker, unless you have a friend that has the same year & model as what you are driving and they are aligned, you will never know what it "should" feel like.
To clarify my earlier statements about the toe in on the alignement ( where I stated they were doing this /\ to his suspension to create the tight feeling), yes - tire wear will "loosen" things back up in about a month or so like you were stating is happening. Think about it, tire tread creates traction, traction provide stability. If a tire tread is worn, you loose traction and thus, stability. Stable = tight, unstable = loose.
I would highly advise going to a reputable mechanic and not one of the "chain store" shops. As another possibility and as one poster mentioned previously, tie rod ends are one of the biggest fail points on these vehicles...but normally you will hear banging/popping going over bumps and such.
I dont think the shop is taking me for a ride, because everything that they did, they said since it is a lease, it will be fine for another 2 years. The control arms, ball joints, cradle, steering shaft u joint, etc...
Maybe other cars have loose components too or dont have that same feeling when they were new, even after 12k miles.Perhaps if you take the 4200 lb car and make hard turns and cornering, things will get loose over time. Maybe if others check under their car, they may see some play too?