KIA realigns the suspension..

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Leonidae

Leonidae

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to suit the weight of the owner.

Ummm.. okay.. That's one way to keep customer happy, but IMO, they were telling the truth. Her weight was obviously the reason for the pulling she told about. And then she has the nerve to feel shocked and humiliated? She denies her problem.. and now KIA is doing anything possible to avoid a lawsuit. what's your opinion?

besides, what was she thinking when she bought Kia Rio in a first place.. it's far beyond my understanding.
 
She should just install coil overs and raise the one on the drivers side front wheel...

What I don't understand is when they told her the truth and what the problem was she didn't like it? Would she rather have them lie and never be able to fix the problem?
 
IMO they handled it perfectly. If the tie rod sits at a downward angle (common) and it is a front-steer vehicle (as in the steering acts upon the forward part of the hub, which is common today), the vehicle will pull to the direction that is under more compression.

So it's not just the "bicycle effect", the alignment is quite literally being thrown off by her weight. Then when she gets out, it's perfect.
 
The dealership, IMHO, didn't do anything wrong. They offered a viable solution to the problem, and the customer refused to accept it.

Physics are physics... They doesn't care if you're fat or not.

(PS... She was crushed? Think of the poor seats!)
 
Proper solution. Actually, If I remember right, when you corner balance a car for the racetrack, the driver should be in it.
 
pretty smart idea imo
as much as fat people like to deny problems and jump at any chance of defending their ill health, if she accepted the truth her car would be driving perfectly!
 
Simple answer, does the car pull to the left when someone else is driving, more than likely not. Being the "skinny" person I am I suppose car manufacturers should start catering to my needs as well and give me seats that will fit more snug around my sides and hold me in better.
 
"Manufacturers should take into account our growing society"

Hang on, how about our "growing society" takes into account the number of pies they shove down themselves as opposed to expecting the rest of the world to adapt for them? Change happens at an individual level.

Kia did the right thing. She was probably lucky it was a new car and a main dealer handling it, if she thought that treatment was insensitive.

Weight obviously affects the way a car works. I don't have power steering in my car, and when I have anyone more than about ten stone in the passenger seat the steering feels noticably heavier. When the car is full I can barely park the car it's that heavy. Wouldn't be surprised if that woman weighs two and a half of my old flatmates...
 
Must be why domestic steering racks tend to be light and overboosted.

Look, darling, get yourself on The Biggest Loser or something, and get out of your sedentary lifestyle. I hope the judge tosses your case from court.
 
Heh, made me laugh. Does she constantly drive alone and is thus unaware of how much difference body weight makes?

I notice a difference just when I have my 15 stone (not fat, rugby player) mate in the front seat, let alone when I have a car full of mates. And that women has got to way atleast 17.

The engineers handled it fine, I don't see why it was an issue her sitting in it while they fiddled, surely that would give it the custom feel :sly:
 
I see no reason a solution to a purely mechanical problem could ever effect anyone emotionally. It's a machine, lady. There is a problem, and there is a solution. Your choices are: customized alignment--because this machine works only a certain way--or you lose weight. No emotions needed.

I like how Tiffany wants the manufacturers to be "more aware of our growing society". Lady, look. That's not mechanically possible, unless you want your car to come with suspension so stiff your teeth will fall out. What a fool! This is one reason many enormous people get enormous trucks--they're built to handle the weight.

Speaking of weight, my friend at the dealership had to do an alignment on an Altima the other day. He noticed the rear end was dragging ass. Apparently the owner thought it'd be okay to get the car aligned with 400 pounds of stones in the trunk...
 
Now you people have some idea of what I've had to put up with for 5 years! We've customized an alignment or two for a customer that absolutely felt the car was pulling one way or another, and we could not duplicate the issue.

(It could also be the craptasticly icy roads in the area, but that's just my opinion, not fact.)
 
Buy a McLaren F1 - Drivers seat is in the middle... Problem solved... I'm sure a Benz S-Class would solve the problem as well though..

"That made me feel like I wasn't a person"... *sigh*
 
give her a fishnet shirt, ship her to canada or alaska and let the birds have a field day with her, then the alignment issue is gone. :lol: j/k..
 
um...unless she weighs 400 lbs or more, I don't see any reason that the vehicle would need a realignment OR to tell her she's too fat for the car. and this appears to be a Canadian woman? that car should be able to handle something like that.

personally, I think this is why us Yanks luv Tanks. We're too big (weight or Height) for something made for the rest of the world...with exceptions, like myself, who finds they're too small for the big ones, and too big for the small ones.
 
Pupik
Now you people have some idea of what I've had to put up with for 5 years! We've customized an alignment or two for a customer that absolutely felt the car was pulling one way or another, and we could not duplicate the issue.

(It could also be the craptasticly icy roads in the area, but that's just my opinion, not fact.)
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You guys at the dealerships do have to deal with some weirdos. Some of my friend's stories are just hilarious!

Like all those times he's had to correct a pull--when there wasn't a pull. The car's owner was absolutely convinced that if the steering wheel was pointing straight, the car would go straight. They made no effort to seek straight ahead--they defied a very basic trait of human nature that defines "straight". Their mind acted so primitively it was sad. What was the problem? The steering wheel was off center a little bit. A problem that a five year old could correct by--boop--turning the wheel a little bit. Going straight is really that simple, but some people are so airheaded they just can't figure it out.
 
Sniffs
um...unless she weighs 400 lbs or more, I don't see any reason that the vehicle would need a realignment OR to tell her she's too fat for the car. and this appears to be a Canadian woman? that car should be able to handle something like that.
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It's a Kia freaking RIO. Adding 350lbs to one side is going to compress the suspension enough to change where the front tire is pointing on that side hence pull.
 
I would be the first person to say that there are many different body types out there. That the govt height/ weight chart is a joke.

In fact i'd even tell you there are people who are more likely to be tall, short, fat (weightlitfters can be "heavy" as muscle weighs 3X more than fat, so lets not use that word. Weightlifters come in all sizes, sizes and creeds) etc based on their ancestry.

But at some point, you need to face reality, look around you and say "I weigh twice as much as most women my age and height. Can that be good for me/ normal?"

And I don't buy 99% of those people who claim they have a glandular/ metabolism problem that causes them to gain weight. Pretty much all of them have a "I eat/ ate a lot and don't exercise enough" problem. Colour me skewed, but i have a twin brother who is crushing my couch right now who weighs 370 to my 220. I know how much he eats and how much he exercises. And I used to be the fat one till I had to ride a bicycle to work. And I consider myself fat, but i keep telling myself i need the avoirdupois for rugby. lol. :lol:

Ask any fat person who complains about their weight "problem" and most likely you'll get a story. My brothers? "Dr said I should avoid vigorous exercise" :banghead: :dunce: :rolleyes:
 
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Fraternal.
Not that it matters in our case.


Building a background on me? Or gonna prove me wrong by telling me our genes are different.

Coz i've known the cat for all his life. And can even pinpoint the two "instances" when his weight just exploded. And when I trimmed down some.
 
So calling him your twin is completely insignificant as he may as well be your brother born at a different time from you, except he was born at the same time as you give or take a very small while.
 
Expert Witness has the advantage.

This woman is a pretty clear cut example of what is wrong with society. She feels victimized because shes hasn't bothered to take care of herself. And then with how she talks about the care, I can assume she isn't highly educated or very well informed, as a Rio is about the cheapest thing you can buy. And instead of doing some inward questioning, she just states it is the manufacturer wronging her.
 
The funny thing is... it's a Rio.

The Rio weighs about ar around 2400 pounds, more or less. That woman looks like she weighs 400 lbs.

While your common compact is balanced enough to not experience radical camber or alignment changes for drivers of up to 250 lbs, this lady weighs about 1/6th what the car does.

Now, in order to keep the Rio cheap and affordable, the mechanical specifications are such that the Rio will hold up to 1000 pounds of passengers with no problem. Properly distributed. But not 400 pounds in just one seat! To build a Rio to take that weight would make it ungodly stiff and harsh driving, and would make it more expensive.

If she wants a car that can take her weight, she really ought to get an Accord or a minivan. Or go get a Toyota Yaris (suspension is even softer) and go cry to the media when Toyota mechanics tell her there's nothing they can do about the front tire rubbing when she makes a turn... :lol:
 
casey_2005
Simple answer, does the car pull to the left when someone else is driving, more than likely not. Being the "skinny" person I am I suppose car manufacturers should start catering to my needs as well and give me seats that will fit more snug around my sides and hold me in better.
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I, for one, support the Coalition for Skinny Seats.


(Must've been a slow day in Edmonton for a story like that to get coverage...)
 
I spoke to my friend about this story, and he says he's had to deal with a similar problem before. Except he handled it differently. He had somebody else who weighs about the same sit in the car. Not the owner, but one of the guys from the shop. Basically, the owner was fat as hell so he got the fat tech guy to sit in it. The customer was pleased, there was no opportunity for humiliation, and the guys in the shop got a good laugh. Yay for ingenuity.
 

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