Wheel alignment at 19K on a 2015 X3

happy_chrissy · 02-17-2016, 07:16 PM

I brought my car in for an oil change and was told that I need to get a wheel alignment and to get need to clean out the fuel tank b/c it has too much soil or something in it from the fuel? Needless to say the gas/fuel tank thing I passed on but I told them to do the alignment.

ba ba boosh · 02-17-2016, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy_chrissy

I brought my car in for an oil change and was told that I need to get a wheel alignment and to get need to clean out the fuel tank b/c it has too much soil or something in it from the fuel? Needless to say the gas/fuel tank thing I passed on but I told them to do the alignment.

Wheel Alignment should usually only get done when just had new tires installed. Other than that it's a scam to up charge the bill. And that fuel tank cleaning sounds like total BS all together. I have never heard of that one. You should go back to the shop and kick the service adviser in the groin.

FSociety · 02-17-2016, 09:56 PM

at 19k miles is still not needed for an alignment, and if you do get curious there's a few shops with the Hunter 3d Hawk Eye that is able to show you pre-alignment and post-alignment to see where and if so you need one.

Tjalle · 02-18-2016, 05:56 AM

What reason did they give for alignment? Since they did it - before and after?

Fuel tank? Dirt in oil spilling out in fuel?

nyalpine90 · 02-18-2016, 06:44 AM

service shop that i go to have wheel alignment machine at the entry.While you wait for you service adviser the car is being checked.

MichiganMike · 02-18-2016, 06:50 AM

If I were you I would begin by replacing the service adviser. The SA clearly appears to be malfunctioning in a manner to siphon money from your wallet.

I once asked my SA whether I should consider a wheel alignment. His response was it was likely a waste of money unless the tires were showing unusual wear or the handling suggested misalignment.

Unless you have reason to believe your fuel tank was directly contaminated, there is no reason to clean the fuel tank. The fuel filter is designed to keep contaminants from reaching critical parts. At some point you may need to replace the fuel filter.

Barbera335 · 02-18-2016, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichiganMike

If I were you I would begin by replacing the service adviser. The SA clearly appears to be malfunctioning in a manner to siphon money from your wallet.

I once asked my SA whether I should consider a wheel alignment. His response was it was likely a waste of money unless the tires were showing unusual wear or the handling suggested misalignment.

Unless you have reason to believe your fuel tank was directly contaminated, there is no reason to clean the fuel tank. The fuel filter is designed to keep contaminants from reaching critical parts. At some point you may need to replace the fuel filter.

+1 on this

And I strongly suggest keeping the SA that dissuaded you from the alignment. Good honest SA are hard to find.

The X Men · 02-18-2016, 12:17 PM

happy_chrissy, If the dealer found the fuel filter to be dirty, you should probably start another gas station or try not to gas up when the gas tanker is filling up the gas station's underground tank.

FSociety · 02-18-2016, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichiganMike

If I were you I would begin by replacing the service adviser. The SA clearly appears to be malfunctioning in a manner to siphon money from your wallet.

I once asked my SA whether I should consider a wheel alignment. His response was it was likely a waste of money unless the tires were showing unusual wear or the handling suggested misalignment.

Unless you have reason to believe your fuel tank was directly contaminated, there is no reason to clean the fuel tank. The fuel filter is designed to keep contaminants from reaching critical parts. At some point you may need to replace the fuel filter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbera335

+1 on this

And I strongly suggest keeping the SA that dissuaded you from the alignment. Good honest SA are hard to find.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The X Men

happy_chrissy, If the dealer found the fuel filter to be dirty, you should probably start another gas station or try not to gas up when the gas tanker is filling up the gas station's underground tank.

+1

Stick with any TopTierGas.com Retailer, I use shell 90% of the time, been rotating with Costco Premium the past 5 months since its the cheapest price on debit or credit. Shell/76/Valero are my fav for how they feel when i press the pedal.

Pinewood · 02-18-2016, 02:14 PM

Always rotate your fuel stops and put in some premium fuel every 4th fill up. Supermarket fuel is renowned for being inferior here in the UK

gIzzE · 02-18-2016, 04:04 PM

Don't you guys use premium fuel anyway?

What do you class as premium? 93 Octane?

These cars have knock sensors and retard the timing considerably if you use lower octane, 87 will loose you a fair bit of BHP and MPG.

how much extra is premium at the moment?

I know my 335i lost 40hp on regular gas, and around 15% down on mpg too.

Commerce · 02-18-2016, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinewood

Always rotate your fuel stops and put in some premium fuel every 4th fill up. Supermarket fuel is renowned for being inferior here in the UK

Isn't the car recommended premium only? I know if I don't fill up with premium I don't get the same performance.

happy_chrissy · 02-18-2016, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happy_chrissy

I brought my car in for an oil change and was told that I need to get a wheel alignment and to get need to clean out the fuel tank b/c it has too much soil or something in it from the fuel? Needless to say the gas/fuel tank thing I passed on but I told them to do the alignment.

I always use premium, normally BP(a few blocks away) Exon or Sunoco.Maybe I should try Exon or Sunoco more often.

I agree good SA are hard to find!

I did test drive it and it feels little sturdier than before. Plus, two weeks ago, my steering wheel did shake a lot when I was driving. I thought that there was tar on my tires and it lasted for a good 4 minutes but stopped, so I wasn't too concerned.

Thank you for the recommendations of the shops. I will go there next time, you live and you learn, oh well.

The fuel tank or injector with debris, didn't have them change it. I am thinking I may wait to the 2017 comes out and just trade it in and get DHP, which I didn't get on this 2015...

xdriv3 · 02-19-2016, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Opulence

Isn't the car recommended premium only? I know if I don't fill up with premium I don't get the same performance.

The minimum is 89. I haven't tried it yet. Any else can comment?

ba ba boosh · 02-19-2016, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xdriv3

The minimum is 89. I haven't tried it yet. Any else can comment?

Technically you could put regular, but your gas mileage would suffer quite a bit.

Tjalle · 02-19-2016, 12:54 PM

My 35i is happy with 95, while my 1972 Jensen Interceptor 440 6-pack wanted 98 and additional lead and then additional soup-up additives.

gIzzE · 02-19-2016, 06:01 PM

It maybe happy but it will be down between 25-40hp running on 95. This has been proved time and time again on rolling roads over the last few years.

Pinewood · 02-20-2016, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinewood

Always rotate your fuel stops and put in some premium fuel every 4th fill up. Supermarket fuel is renowned for being inferior here in the UK

In the Uk we have regular diesel and premium diesel such as Shell's VPower.
I tend to fill up with regular diesel from Shell,BP and Esso. In addition I will fill her up with Shell VPower every 4th tank full. Never had an issue with my E60 530d and see no reason to change my fuel habits for the F25 (unless you gents tell me otherwise?)

BOSSBMW · 02-22-2016, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xdriv3

The minimum is 89. I haven't tried it yet. Any else can comment?

Ive been using 89 for my past 3 fillups and have not noticed any detriment to power. It's probably SO negligible anyways...

gIzzE · 02-22-2016, 11:06 AM

Here is a graph for the 35i, the biggest difference is from 5000rpm.

Remember 95ron is like your 89 and 99ron is like your 93.

The X Men · 02-22-2016, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beneliezer

Ive been using 89 for my past 3 fillups and have not noticed any detriment to power. It's probably SO negligible anyways...

The savings in using 89 is also negligible

alleyooptroop · 03-01-2016, 06:48 PM

i'm about to bring in my 2015 for 21k service and I'm sure I'll get the reco for alignment. I did just upgrade the 18" 307's to a staggered 19" setup. haven't noticed anything wrong with steering.
-should i get the alignment done?
-is it a 4 wheel alignment?
-how much did it cost?

02-17-2016, 07:16 PM	#1
happy_chrissy Rookie 22 Rep 69 Posts Drives: 2015' X3 28i Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: new york iTrader: (0)	Wheel alignment at 19K on a 2015 X3 I brought my car in for an oil change and was told that I need to get a wheel alignment and to get need to clean out the fuel tank b/c it has too much soil or something in it from the fuel? Needless to say the gas/fuel tank thing I passed on but I told them to do the alignment.
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02-17-2016, 09:56 PM	#3
FSociety IG @bmwF9xG80 3812 Rep 7,592 Posts Drives: G80 M3, X4M, G07 X7m50 Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: NYC to NJ to Orlando FL iTrader: (3) Garage List 2023 BMW G80 M3 [0.00] 2020 BMW X4MC [0.00] 16' BMW X4 M40i [10.00] 06 Cadillac STS [0.00]	at 19k miles is still not needed for an alignment, and if you do get curious there's a few shops with the Hunter 3d Hawk Eye that is able to show you pre-alignment and post-alignment to see where and if so you need one. __________________ 60-130mph 6.5s X4M #HCP 60-130mph 5.0s G80 M3 #OrlandoAutowerks Sauce IG: @bmwF9XG80
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02-18-2016, 05:56 AM	#4
Tjalle Major 183 Rep 1,259 Posts Drives: X4 35i Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Sweden iTrader: (0)	What reason did they give for alignment? Since they did it - before and after? Fuel tank? Dirt in oil spilling out in fuel?
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02-18-2016, 06:44 AM	#5
nyalpine90 Lieutenant General 7425 Rep 11,840 Posts Drives: MY24 G01 AW Msport Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: L.I. NY iTrader: (4) Garage List 2016 BMW X4 [9.33]	service shop that i go to have wheel alignment machine at the entry.While you wait for you service adviser the car is being checked.
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02-18-2016, 06:50 AM	#6
MichiganMike First Lieutenant 132 Rep 362 Posts Drives: 2016 X3 xDrive 35i Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Maryland iTrader: (0) Garage List 2020 X3 M40i [0.00] 2016 BMW X3 35i [0.00]	If I were you I would begin by replacing the service adviser. The SA clearly appears to be malfunctioning in a manner to siphon money from your wallet. I once asked my SA whether I should consider a wheel alignment. His response was it was likely a waste of money unless the tires were showing unusual wear or the handling suggested misalignment. Unless you have reason to believe your fuel tank was directly contaminated, there is no reason to clean the fuel tank. The fuel filter is designed to keep contaminants from reaching critical parts. At some point you may need to replace the fuel filter.
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02-18-2016, 12:17 PM	#8
The X Men Colonel 99 Rep 2,323 Posts Drives: 2013 X3 35i Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: MA iTrader: (0)	happy_chrissy, If the dealer found the fuel filter to be dirty, you should probably start another gas station or try not to gas up when the gas tanker is filling up the gas station's underground tank.
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02-18-2016, 02:14 PM	#10
Pinewood First Lieutenant 45 Rep 363 Posts Drives: BMW X3 30d M sport LCI Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Buckinghamshire iTrader: (0)	Always rotate your fuel stops and put in some premium fuel every 4th fill up. Supermarket fuel is renowned for being inferior here in the UK
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02-18-2016, 04:04 PM	#11
gIzzE Major General 363 Rep 5,984 Posts Drives: F11 + 911 C4 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Norfolk, UK. iTrader: (2)	Don't you guys use premium fuel anyway? What do you class as premium? 93 Octane? These cars have knock sensors and retard the timing considerably if you use lower octane, 87 will loose you a fair bit of BHP and MPG. how much extra is premium at the moment? I know my 335i lost 40hp on regular gas, and around 15% down on mpg too.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-19-2016, 12:54 PM	#16
Tjalle Major 183 Rep 1,259 Posts Drives: X4 35i Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Sweden iTrader: (0)	My 35i is happy with 95, while my 1972 Jensen Interceptor 440 6-pack wanted 98 and additional lead and then additional soup-up additives.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-19-2016, 06:01 PM	#17
gIzzE Major General 363 Rep 5,984 Posts Drives: F11 + 911 C4 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Norfolk, UK. iTrader: (2)	It maybe happy but it will be down between 25-40hp running on 95. This has been proved time and time again on rolling roads over the last few years.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

02-22-2016, 11:06 AM	#20
gIzzE Major General 363 Rep 5,984 Posts Drives: F11 + 911 C4 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Norfolk, UK. iTrader: (2)	Here is a graph for the 35i, the biggest difference is from 5000rpm. Remember 95ron is like your 89 and 99ron is like your 93.
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-01-2016, 06:48 PM	#22
alleyooptroop Enlisted Member 8 Rep 31 Posts Drives: 2015 x3 Join Date: May 2015 Location: LA iTrader: (0)	i'm about to bring in my 2015 for 21k service and I'm sure I'll get the reco for alignment. I did just upgrade the 18" 307's to a staggered 19" setup. haven't noticed anything wrong with steering. -should i get the alignment done? -is it a 4 wheel alignment? -how much did it cost?
	Appreciate 0 Quote