i30 GD Diesel hatch rear wheel alignment query

Question

I've got a 2014 Hyundai i30 GD Active Hatch, 1.6l diesel manual, just had the 15000km service done.

As part of the service I got a report from the dealer that the front alignment was 0 mm and 6 mm toe in at the rear. They indicated that the rear aligment was not ideal but that there was nothing they could do about it as there was no adjustment on the rear.

There has been a minor vibration problem since new that checks and aligments by the dealer and a tyre place have not improved. I am now wondering if this rear alignment issue may be the cause.

There are a couple of questions I'm hoping you can help me with:

Is there really no way to adjust the rear alignment on the current i30 ? (I thought this sounded very strange for a modern car)?

Is the 6mm toe in at the rear significant and would this be likely to cause vibration or uneven tyre wear?

Answer 1

I know this vehicle has an Elantra GT.

The only adjustment provided is the front toe setting. All the other adjustments would require parts replacement or other significant interventions. Assuming that the 6mm refers to the difference of the tread center measured from the front and back of the tires (tyres) Calculating the toe angle gives a measurement of approximate 1/4 degree. This assumes that each wheel is off by the same amount, which is not a safe assumption, it is within the published specifications. The specification is per wheel and needs to measured and reported as such. The rear toe spec is + .05 to .50 degrees, note that is not given in mm. If the alignment was performed on a newer machine a complete report with all the angles should be available. This is required for a proper evaluation of this issue. In my experience settings at the high angle (.50) could result in faster tire wear. Vibration is not a common symptom of toe misalignment.

The report you were given is a consumer version that is not particularly helpful.