A method is provided for calibrating a sensor pod of a wheel alignment system, the sensor pod including a housing rotatably mounted on a spindle, and an image sensor in the housing having a viewing axis oriented in a direction substantially normal to an axis of rotation of the spindle for imaging a target affixed to an object such as a vehicle wheel. An example of the method includes mounting the pod on a fixture via the pod spindle such that the pod spindle is stationary, and positioning a target to allow imaging of the target with the pod image sensor. The pod is rotated such that its image sensor obtains images of the target in at least two rotational positions, and the images of the target at the at least two rotational positions are processed to determine the location of the axis of rotation of the spindle relative to the image sensor.