Lower control arm recall issues
 

Hey guys,

This is my first post, but I love the site and as I bought my first rotary fairly recently this site has been a huge help with problems I have had since I bought the car! So here's my issue....I took my 04 rx8 into the dealership to have the front lower control arms replaced per the recall and now the ride height on the front end has increased noticeably. My first thought was they replaced the old arms with ones of a different (shorter) length which would have changed the angle of the coilover and the steering geometry. However, after going back to the dealership and getting the old set I measured the distance from the inner bolt holes to the ball joint and the length seems to be the same as best as I can tell (as the new ones are mounted and tough to measure precisely). The shocks and springs are the same ones on the car prior to the recall fix and look to be bone stock. Has anyone else experienced this same issue or have any thoughts on how to remedy? The service manager didn't seem too interested in the issue and couldn't offer an explanation other than "they have done a lot of the recalls and he hasn't seen one do that before."
Thanks in advance!

A buddy of mine recently took his NC Miata in for a rear differential recall. Required replacement of the entire center unit. Once the install was complete he noticed a substantial ride height increase in rear along with a lean towards driver side. He too went back to the dealership only to be told that everything was fine and they didn't notice an issue.

I suggested loosening all the bolts on the rear multi link along with lower shock bolt, preload the suspension and torque back to spec. After a spirited drive with myself in the passenger seat, the car did settle some but not completely back to what it was previously.

My guess is they bound up some of the bushings by not preloading the suspension. If I had to guess they just torqued everything down while the suspension was in full droop.


Daivdd

^^ Yep, and that would be a violation of the service manual, so you have some ground to push them.

Thanks guys! I google searched ride height difference with lower control arms the other day and found a similar response, but I believe it was on a chevy suv and wasn't sure if that might be a viable option or not. I mentioned preloading the suspension to the service manager, but it seemed to go in one ear and out the other. The only response he gave me was that he would recheck the tourque on the bolts. SMH. With as many times as I've had my car at a dealership lately, I'll just see if I can handle it myself in my garage so I don't have to go another week without my car. I'm already having to try and get reimbursed for the fuel pump and o-ring recall that was supposedly fixed at the dealership in North Houston that was only half done and since they closed out the ticket, the dealership here charged me to finish the job and recommended I call the Houston dealership for reimbursement. I guess it's better than burning my car to the ground or blowing it up, but I'm not too impressed with Mazda's service at this point. :wallbash:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...650c2534c0.jpgNo changes made to rear
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...2a01d6260b.jpgFront lower control arms replaced per recall
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...ae1bc03efb.pngorigional stance
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...29751016bb.pngorigional stance
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...96fb805c88.pngorigional stance
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...6a59eae08f.pngorigional stance
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...df12caec29.pngorigional stance

Also, it might just be due to the fresh bushings in the new control arms. As the inner control arms bushings start to "sag" a little bit, the ride height might start to drop back down.

Has anyone else experienced this? Just had my control arms replaced, my front is about an inch higher then before... BS

I said something to the service writer about it and I was told its because the old control arms were wore out. Interesting because last fall I replaced the passenger side due to the socket being cracked apart. Ride height never changed...

David

im not sure about oem suspension but all the aftermarket shock/springs ive installed had to be pre loaded before you tighten everything up

Service manager doesn't know what he's talking about. Control arms don't control ride height. Ask for his manager, and the manager after him until they find someone who can read the shop manual's section on proper preload setting.