File in Section:
Bulletin No.:

Service Bulletin

Date:

03 - Suspension
05-03-07-009F
May, 2013

WARRANTY ADMINISTRATION
Subject:

Wheel Alignment Specifications, Requirements and Recommendations for GM
Vehicles

Models:

2014 and Prior GM Passenger Cars and Light Duty Trucks

This bulletin is being revised to add the 2014 model year and update the Labor Operations.
Please discard Corporate Bulletin Number 05-03-07-009E (Section 03 – Suspension).

Purpose
The purpose of this bulletin is to provide retail,
wholesale and fleet personnel with General Motors’
warranty service requirements and recommendations
for customer concerns related to wheel alignment. For
your convenience, this bulletin updates and centralizes
all of GM's Standard Wheel Alignment Service
Procedures, Policy Guidelines and bulletins on wheel
alignment warranty service.
Important: PLEASE FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH
THESE UPDATES BEFORE PERFORMING YOUR
NEXT GM WHEEL ALIGNMENT SERVICE.
The following five (5) key steps are a summary of this
bulletin and are REQUIRED in completing a successful
wheel alignment service.
1. Verify the vehicle is in an Original Equipment
condition for curb weight, tires, wheels,
suspension and steering configurations. Vehicles
modified in any of these areas are not covered for
wheel alignment warranty.
2. Review the customer concern relative to
“Normal Operation” definitions.
3. Verify that the vehicle is within the “Mileage
Policy” range.
4. Document wheel alignment warranty claims
appropriately for labor operations 8070012 and
8070032.

Copyright 2013 General Motors LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The following information must be documented or
attached to the repair order (R.O.):
• Customer concern in detail.
• What corrected the customer concern?
• If a wheel alignment is performed:
– Consult SI for proper specifications.
– Document the “Before” AND “After” wheel
alignment measurements/settings.
• Completed “Wheel Alignment Repair Order
Questionnaire” (form attached to this bulletin)
5. Use the proper wheel alignment equipment
(preferred with print-out capability), process and
the appropriate calibration maintenance
schedules.
Important: If it is determined that a wheel alignment is
necessary under warranty, use the proper labor code
for the repair. 8070012 for Steering Wheel Angle and/or
Front Toe set or 8070032 for Wheel Alignment Check/
Adjust includes Caster, Camber and Toe set (Wheel
alignment labor time for other component repairs is to
be charged to the component that causes a wheel
alignment operation).
The following flowchart is to help summarize the
information detailed in this bulletin and should be used
whenever a wheel alignment is performed.

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May, 2013

Bulletin No.: 05-03-07-009F

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Verify Original Equipment Condition of
the Vehicle
•
•
•

Verify that Original Equipment Tires and Wheels
or Official GM Accessory Tires and Wheels are on
the vehicle.
Verify that aftermarket suspension “Lift” or
“Lowering” Kits or other suspension alterations
have NOT been done to the vehicle.
Check for accidental damage to the vehicle; for
example, severe pothole or curb impacts, collision
damage that may have affected the wheel
alignment of the vehicle; e.g., engine cradles,
suspension control arms, axles, wheels, wheel
covers, tires may show evidence of damage/
impact.

•

•

Check to be sure vehicle has seen “Normal Use”
rather than abuse; e.g., very aggressive driving
may show up by looking at the tires and condition
of the vehicle.
Check for other additional equipment items that
may significantly affect vehicle mass such as large
tool boxes, campers, snow plow packages
(without the snowplow RPO), etc., especially in
trucks and cutaway/incomplete vehicles.
Significant additional mass can affect trim height
and wheel alignment of the vehicle and may
necessitate a customer pay wheel alignment when
placed semi-permanently in the vehicle (Upfitter
instructions are to realign the vehicle after
placement of these types of items. (This typically
applies to trucks and incomplete vehicles that can
be upfit with equipment such as the above.)

Bulletin No.: 05-03-07-009F

May, 2013

Customer Concerns, “Normal
Operation” Conditions and “Mileage
Policy”
Possible Concerns
The following are typical conditions that may require
wheel alignment warranty service:
1. Lead/Pull: defined as "at a constant highway
speed on a typical straight road, the amount of
effort required at the steering wheel to maintain the
vehicle’s straight heading."
Important: Please evaluate for the condition with
hands-on the steering wheel. Follow the “Vehicle
Leads/Pulls” diagnostic tree located in SI to determine
the cause of a lead/pull concern. Lead/Pull concerns
can be due to road crown or road slope, tires, wheel
alignment or even in rare circumstances a steering gear
issue. Lead/pull concerns due to road crown are
considered “Normal Operation” and are NOT a
warrantable condition – the customer should be
advised that this is “Normal Operation.”
Important: Some customers may comment on a
“Lead/Pull” when they hold the steering wheel in a level
condition. If so, this is more likely a “steering wheel
angle” concern because the customer is “steering” the
vehicle to obtain a “level” steering wheel.

Page 3

2. Steering wheel angle to the left or right
(counter-clockwise or clockwise, respectively):
Defined as the steering wheel angle (clocking)
deviation from “level” while maintaining a straight
heading on a typical straight road.
3. Irregular or Premature tire wear: Slight to very
slight "feathering" or "edge" wear on the shoulders
of tires is NOT considered unusual and should
even out with a tire rotation; if the customer is
concerned about a “feathering” condition of the
tires, the customer could be advised to rotate the
tires earlier than the next scheduled mileage/
maintenance interval (but no later than the next
interval). Be sure to understand the customer’s
driving habits as this will also heavily influence the
tire wear performance; tire wear from aggressive or
abusive driving habits is NOT a warrantable
condition.
Important: Slight or mild feathering, cupping, edge or
heel/toe wear of tire tread shoulders is “normal” and
can show up very early in a tire/vehicle service mileage;
in fact, some new tires can show evidence of feathering
from the factory. These issues do NOT affect the overall
performance and tread life of the tire. Dealer personnel
should always check the customer’s maintenance
records to ensure that tire inflation pressure is being
maintained to placard and that the tires are being
rotated (modified-X pattern) at the proper mileage
intervals. Wheel alignments are NOT to be performed
for the types of “Normal” Tire Feathering shown in
Figures 1-4 below.

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May, 2013

Bulletin No.: 05-03-07-009F

Figure 1: Full Tread View – “NORMAL” Tire “Feathering” Wear on the Shoulder/Adjacent/Center Ribs

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May, 2013

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Figure 2: Tire Shoulder View Example 1 - “NORMAL” Tire "Feathering" Wear on the Shoulder

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Figure 3: Tire Shoulder View Example 2 “NORMAL” Tire "Feathering" Wear

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Bulletin No.: 05-03-07-009F

Figure 4: Detail Side View of Tire Shoulder Area - “NORMAL” Tire “Feathering” Wear

2538086

Important: When a wheel alignment is deemed
necessary for tire wear, be sure to document on the
repair order, in as much detail as possible, the severity
and type of tire wear (e.g., severe center wear or
severe inside or outside shoulder wear) and the
position of the tire on the vehicle (RF, LF, LR, RR).
Please note the customer’s concern with the wear such
as, noise, appearance, wear life, etc. A field product
report with pictures of the tire wear condition is
recommended. Refer to the latest version of
Corporate Bulletin Numbers 02-00-89-002
(Canada, 10-00-89-006) and 07-00-89-036.
4. Other repairs that affect wheel alignment; e.g.,
certain component replacement such as
suspension control arm replacement, engine
cradle adjustment/replace, steering gear
replacement, steering tie rod replace, suspension
strut/shock, steering knuckle, etc. may require a
wheel alignment.
Important: If other components or repairs are
identified as affecting the wheel alignment, policy calls
for the wheel alignment labor time to be charged to the
replaced/repaired component’s labor operation time
rather than the wheel alignment labor operations.
Important: Vibration type customer concerns are
generally NOT due to wheel alignment except in the
rare cases; e.g., extreme diagonal wear across the

tread. In general, wheel alignments are NOT to be
performed as an investigation/correction for vibration
concerns.

“Normal Operation” Conditions
Vehicle Lead/Pull Due to Road Crown or Slope:
As part of “Normal Operation,” vehicles will follow
side-to-side or left to right road crown or slope. Be sure
to verify from the customer the types of roads they are
driving as they may not recognize the influence of road
crown on vehicle lead/pull and steering wheel angle. If
a vehicle requires significant steering effort to prevent it
from “climbing” the road crown there may be an issue to
be looked into further.
Important: A wheel alignment will generally NOT
correct vehicles that follow the road crown since this is
within “Normal Operation.”
Trough Wander/Tramlining:
Some customers may comment about their vehicle
having a tendency to pull left or right depending on road
conditions. Typical descriptions may refer to the vehicle
not tracking properly or that the car wanders. Additional
comments may include that the car follows grooves or
inconsistencies in the road to the extent that the vehicle
must be steered or directed with additional force to
overcome these roadway characteristics.

Bulletin No.: 05-03-07-009F

May, 2013

Page 7

Trough Wander / Tramlining

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What is Tramlining?
"Tramlining" is an industry term used to describe a
vehicle's tendency to follow the longitudinal ruts and/or
grooves present in the road. (Also called “trough
wander”). The name comes from the feeling on a tram
or trolley as the vehicle follows along the tracks. Any
vehicle can exhibit tramlining due to uneven pavement
or severe rutting in the roads surface. All vehicles
tramline to some degree, however vehicles equipped
with low aspect ratio, wide tires tend to be more
sensitive to this condition (e.g. Corvette,
Camaro, CTS-V).
Vehicles experiencing this condition can feel “pulled” in
both directions depending on the positions of the tires
in the trough (ruts).
If a similarly equipped vehicle experiences the same
condition as the customer’s car, the customer’s car is
most likely experiencing tramlining, which is a normal
characteristic of a car with low aspect ratio, wide tires.
Important: It should be noted that adjusting alignment
settings will NOT improve this condition.

Mileage Policy
The following mileage policy applies for 8070032 and
8070012 labor operations:
Note: Wheel Alignment is NOT covered under the New
Vehicle Limited Warranty for Express and Savana
Cutaway vehicles as these vehicles require Upfitters to
set the wheel alignment after completing the vehicles.
•

•

0-800 km (0-500 mi): 8070012/8070032 claims
ONLY allowed with Call Center Authorization. Due
to the tie down during shipping, the vehicle's
suspension requires some time to reach normal
operating position. For this reason, new vehicles
are generally NOT to be aligned until they have
accumulated at least 800 km (500 mi). A field
product report should accompany any claim within
this mileage range.
801-12,000 km (501-7,500 mi):
• If a vehicle came from the factory with incorrect
alignment settings, any resulting off-angle
steering wheel, lead/pull characteristics or the
rare occurrence of excessive tire wear would
be apparent early in the life of the vehicle. The
following policy applies:

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May, 2013

• Vehicles 100% Factory Set/Measured for
Caster/Camber/Toe – Escalade/ESV/EXT,
Tahoe/Suburban, Yukon/XL/Denali, Silverado/
Sierra, Express/Savana, Corvette and
Colorado/Canyon:
8070012/8070032 Claims: Call Center
Authorization Required
• All Vehicles NOT 100% Factory Set/Measured
for Caster/Camber/Toe as noted above:
8070012/8070032 Claims: Dealer Service
Manager Authorization Required
• 12,001 km and beyond (7,501 miles and
beyond): During this period, customers are
responsible for the wheel alignment expense or
dealers may provide on a case-by case basis a
one-time customer enthusiasm claim up to
16,000 km (10,000 mi). In the event that a
defective component required the use of the
subject labor operations, the identified defective
component labor operation will include the
appropriate labor time for a wheel alignment as an
add condition to the component repair.
Important: Only one wheel alignment labor operation
claim (8070012 or 8070032) may be used per VIN.

Warranty Documentation Requirements
When a wheel alignment service has been deemed
necessary, the following items will need to be clearly
documented on/with the repair order:
• Customer concern in detail.
• What corrected the customer concern?
• If a wheel alignment is performed:
• Consult SI for proper specifications.
• Document the “Before” AND “After” wheel
alignment measurements/settings.
• Completed “Wheel Alignment Repair Order
Questionnaire” (form attached to this bulletin)
1. Document the customer concern in as much detail
as possible on the repair order and in the warranty
administration system. Preferred examples:
• Steering wheel is off angle in the
counterclockwise direction by approximately
x degrees or clocking position.
• Vehicle lead/pulls to the right at approximately
x-y mph. Vehicle will climb the road crown.
Severe, Moderate or Slight.
• RF and LF tires are wearing on the outside
shoulders with severe feathering.
Important: In the event of a lead/pull or steering wheel
angle concern, please note the direction of lead/pull
(left or right) or direction of steering wheel angle
(clockwise or counterclockwise) on the repair order and
within the warranty claim verbatim.