Altezza Diary 4 - Tyre Shop

After some time driving my Toyota Altezza, I still had the problem of my rim scraping the anti-roll bar. It is really inconvenient for me as I have to make u-turns every day on my way back from work. Since it was not caused by the suspension, the only other factor I could think of was the wheels department. So, I drove to a nearby tyre shop that I frequently go to check on my Altezza. While removing my wheels, they noticed that the tyres were not in good shape. I asked for the cheapest tyres available because I do not plan to own the Altezza for the long term. They recommended a Vietnam brand called Jinyu which according to them, is cheap and good. Even their BMW customer uses this brand. In the process, balancing and alignment will be done as well. I told them about the problem with u-turns and hope that they could do something about it. They found out that the steering wheel had been removed before but was not aligned when re-installed. When the front tyres are straight, it is possible to turn 2.5 times to the left but only 1.5 times to the right. It should be the same amount on both sides and because the left is turning more than it should, it is scrapping. The remedy is to realign the steering wheel. Now the turning is around 1.75 times on both side and immediately solved my problem.

 

While I was happy driving for a few weeks, another issue rose up and I was annoyed. I started hearing a vibrating, knocking sound whenever I shift hard. What I meant by shifting hard is when I release the clutch pedal and press the accelerator at the same time. However, It does not happen when I release the clutch first and press the accelerator a few seconds later. The sound was coming from under the center console near the handbrake. At first I thought it could be something loose under the console and I removed the center console but there was nothing. I drove a distance without the console to see if the sound is still present. It was still there and I brought the Altezza back to the nearby tyre shop because they also have a mechanic division. The mechanic raised my car up and found out that the screw to the clasp of the driveshaft was missing. The driveshaft is located in between the exhaust mid-pipe and chassis, and without the clasp, the driveshaft will bounce and hit either the exhaust or chassis. It is causing the knocking sound and is very dangerous. The driveshaft could be damaged or bent and cause the car to be unable to drive. If this happened while I was driving, the car could spin and cause an accident. I do not know how the screw could be missing but I am glad it was not a big problem. They just screw the clasp and did not cost me anything. Very good of the shop to not charge me. 

My last trip to the same tyre shop was when my aircon stop working. I was driving one day and suddenly hot air was coming out of the vent. It was super unbearable because of the hot weather in Malaysia. At first, the shop checked on the pressure of aircon gas inside the aircon circulation. The result was low gas content and luckily not something major. So, my Altezza was hooked up to an aircon gas machine and it started to pump gas into the circulation. It took around 15 minutes and it was done. I was told to drive for a few days to see if any part was leaking and also that the compressor might fail soon. After a few days, the aircon was still cold and I was relieved but I was still worried about the compressor. As I mentioned before, the price of Altezza parts are cheap and I quickly found someone selling a used unit. I bought the used unit, just in case my compressor fails. If it does not fail, I could give the new owner when I sell the Altezza. Overall, I am happy with what this shop can do and it helped me a lot. Although the main business is tyres, they have a mechanic, an aircon and also a car spa department. I do recommend this place to my friends.