Another alignment question....please help!

DH was calling around to get quotes for the alignment that our 03 odyssey needs (yep, it's taken us a bit to get to it). The going rate seems to be about $70......but he called the Honda dealership to get an idea of what they charge and they said $99, but it's for a 4 wheel alignment. What's a 4 wheel alignment, and is it something we might need? How would you know? I thought the rear wheels just kind of followed the front ones since it's front wheel drive! We are trying to get everything done this week so we can visit family a few hours away for easter, but now I'm not sure what we really need!

Copy and pasted from: http://www.familycar.com/Alignment.htm

There are two main types of 4-wheel alignments. In each case, the technician will place an instrument on all four wheels. In the first type the rear toe and tracking is checked, but all adjustments are made at the front wheels. This is done on vehicles that do not have adjustments on the rear. The second type is a full 4-wheel alignment where the adjustments are first made to true up the rear alignment, then the front is adjusted. A full 4-wheel alignment will cost more than the other type because there is more work involved.

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I'm not totally sure, but I think most modern shops use four wheel alignment machines. Personally, for the extra $29, I think I would go to Honda.

$99 for a 4-wheel alignment is pretty typical, and not unreasonable, especially if it's coming from the dealer. and to echo macgyver, i would also go to the dealer since they know your car's suspension pretty well. some tire shop techs don't even know where to find the alignment adjusters on some cars.

cars with independent rear wheels do in fact have to be properly aligned... they don't just follow the fronts. simpler set ups like solid axles are more fixed with respect to wheel angles, and there are few if any adjustments that can be made on them, but independent rear wheel suspensions such as on your odyssey do in fact have multiple adjustments that can be made. i would definitely recommend the 4-wheel alignment if you haven't yet had one on an 03 model year vehicle.

there is no real way of knowing if the alignment is truly off, but there are some telling signs such as abnormal tire wear patterns.

for $99, the dealer should be using a state of the art hunter alignment rack with laser guides, and should also be able to give you a printout of the alignment specs before and after the adjustments.

good luck!

Thanks guys!! We will be going to Honda!

Hey Amaris, you might try www.odyclub.com to get some more info. Good luck!