Isuzu Ute Australia has confirmed it has revised the steering alignment of its D-Max ute and MU-X SUV to fix the bump steer issue causing premature and uneven tyre wear on customers’ vehicles.
The company is offering a free fix under warranty to rectify the issue if your vehicle has been affected. Depending on the circumstances, Isuzu Ute Australia will go as far as replacing the tyres that have premature and uneven wear due to bump steer.
“In response to local feedback, the recommended steering geometry settings (alignment) has been revised to maximise tyre life through a wider range of operating conditions across the varying terrain and surfaces found locally,” said an Isuzu Ute Australia spokesperson.
“Owners with concerns of uneven tyre wear on their vehicle should contact their local authorised Isuzu Ute dealership for more information.
“Dependent on verification and if uneven wear is apparent, a wheel alignment will be carried out and dependent on the remaining tread depth and tyre life, the wheels either rotated or tyres replaced, at no cost to the owner.”
An Isuzu Ute Australia spokesperson confirmed the steering alignment change started to be rolled out in November 2023 and was fully rolled out by January this year.
This means all Isuzu D-Max and MU-X vehicles delivered from January 2024 onwards have the revised steering alignment settings.
Mazda Australia has confirmed it has mirrored the specification change to the steering alignment with its related BT-50 ute. At this stage it’s unclear if the company is providing a fix for examples that have already been delivered to customers.
Bump steer is when your wheels steer themselves without any input from the steering wheel. As the name suggests, it typically occurs when a vehicle hits a bump in the road.
In track racing settings bump steer can sometimes be used to your advantage, though excessive bump steer can cause premature and uneven tyre wear.
Bump steer is also typically made worse when you add a suspension lift to a vehicle. This is a common modification for off-road-focused vehicles like the Isuzu D-Max and MU-X.
This excessive bump steer issue with the Isuzu D-Max and MU-X has been called out numerous times on Facebook owner’s groups ever since the current-generation models arrived locally in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
We’ll have a detailed review of the 2024 Isuzu MU-X on our site on April 19, plus one on the 2024 Isuzu D-Max on May 1.
Also stay tuned as full price and spec details for the 2024 Isuzu D-Max will go live on April 26.
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