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My dealership had a broken alignment machine when I got new winter tires. I went elsewhere the next day to get an alignment and I'm told "there's a stuck alignment bolt that won't move".

I'm not sure how to translate the french report to camber, caster, toe readings, but I've got this report (with text in french, but useful angles and colours).

enter image description here

What I mean to ask is can I drive on this for 6 months without:

  • big issues on handling
  • extra wear and tear to my new tires
  • other potential problems

For context, this is a Toyota Highlander, 2015, with AWD.

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  • Probably going to have reluctance of people to answer these specific questions, almost liability like in nature. So, this said, keep in mind I am internet person, and you should take it with a pinch of salt. My exp, front misalignment worse than rear. The right side is camber so not a biggy. The left rear is toed, you will get extra ware on this tire. You could mitigate this by rotating tires 4 times during that 6 months if you really must wait. Or get a mechanic to loosen the alignment up for you with heat and tools. Alignment only guys will not attempt to uncease
    – Chris
    Dec 5, 2022 at 19:53
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    @Chris rotating tyres does not prevent wear, but spreads it more evenly among the tyres. Add to that the cost of rotating. What is worse is that when swapped the "high points" will wear quickly until the ground contact is flat, so in a way, rotating adds to the wear.
    – Weather Vane
    Dec 5, 2022 at 20:18
  • I did use the word 'mitigate', not 'prevent'. Not refuting the exhortation to get it fixed, only the implication that I had said that rotation would 'prevent' wear.
    – Chris
    Dec 5, 2022 at 22:20

2 Answers 2

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  1. Carrossage = Camber Angle
  2. Pincement = Toe-in

So it looks like your rear camber is slightly off. But more concerning is that your toe-in is WAY off. This is going to cause rapid tire wear and probably difficult handling since the rear of the car is going to want to push to the left.

No, I would not drive it this way. Take it to a shop that is more competent and have them align it properly.

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What you are showing in the image appears there is probably some amount of damage to the rear suspension on the left side. This and since you most likely cannot have it adjusted leads me to believe you need to take it somewhere to have some work done on it. The reason I said it most likely cannot be adjusted is because most cars, unless they are performance oriented, do not have the ability to adjust the alignment in the rear. Since you didn't specify what type of car this is, I have to assume your vehicle is one of the majority.

Not only would I not drive on it, I'd be looking to get it fixed.

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