Hello! Here's one I can't figure out...

Went to get an alignment for my 2010 MCS a few months back. The rear and front-right ended up okay, but I was told by the shop that they "couldn't align the front-left corner to spec". The machine printout they gave me showed that the front-left had a bit too much toe-out. The manager of the shop suspected that my steering knuckle is worn somehow, but I've never read about anything like that on here so I wasn't entirely convinced. I have read about worn lower control arm bushings and wondered if that might be the issue... For reference, I have been using Pilot Sport AS3+ for about 35k miles now and I drive the car hard most days, maybe the increased grip level had caused some suspension parts to wear out?

Subjectively, it does feel slightly weird leaning on the front left corner in a fast turn vs. the right - the left feels like it doesn't settle as quickly, and does a little tiny "bounce" when you load up the tire before settling and really gripping hard. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

 

One of the first things an alignment tech should do before the alignment is check all the suspension parts for movement (being worn out) before doing the alignment. Otherwise, they can't do an alignment that would be reliable. There are several parts that could cause excessive movement in a suspension. However, other than tie-rods and steering rack any other part would typically cause issues with setting all alignment points; toe, camber and caster.

Sounds like you may need to go to a different alignment shop. If the tech can't tell you which part(s) need replaced then they aren't very good at their job.