steering problems

[trux73]

Hi all, took delivery of new Polo 66TDI Comfortline with DSG in july 2011, great car but it pulls to the left & has done so since new. The dealer
had a wheel alignment done to standard specifications & swapped the wheels around but this did not fix the problem. I had the service manager take it for another drive & he has acknowleged that the car has a problem but does not know how to fix it & said VW won't want to know
about it unless he can come up with a specific fix. I have read the part about altering the camber on a Golf in the wheels & suspension section & was wondering if this also applies to the Polo or could someone recommend a wheel aligner in SA who would know how to set these vehicles up. Has anybody else had this problem?

[brad]

If they did a wheel alignment what settings did they end up with? Was it a 4 wheel thrust angle alignment & did they do it themselves or take it to a specialist? Dealership mechs rarely know how to do a decent alignment beyond setting the vehicle to factory specs. Also, the machines don't get enough use, so they are usually a bit out of wack.

Possibly the vehicle had a bump in transit - maybe get the dealer to send the car to their panel beater (they'll have at least one) & get the car on a chassis jig?

The Service Manager has the wrong end of the stick. If he's at a loss to fix it then he should be contacting the regional VW Tech Guy and asking for guidance.

Alternatively, you should contact VW direct & tell them what has been done & that the dealership has run out of ideas.

[mythik]

Hi all, took delivery of new Polo 66TDI Comfortline with DSG in july 2011, great car but it pulls to the left & has done so since new. The dealer
had a wheel alignment done to standard specifications & swapped the wheels around but this did not fix the problem. I had the service manager take it for another drive & he has acknowleged that the car has a problem but does not know how to fix it & said VW won't want to know
about it unless he can come up with a specific fix. I have read the part about altering the camber on a Golf in the wheels & suspension section & was wondering if this also applies to the Polo or could someone recommend a wheel aligner in SA who would know how to set these vehicles up. Has anybody else had this problem?

Hey trux73,

I had the exact same problem. The car was pulling to the left and it was giving me the ****s. The dealership (Burwin VW) worked with their local tyre shop to validate the alignment was spot on - it wasn't, they rectified it then swapped the front wheels around and that didn't cure it.

So how was it remedied? The back tyres were rotated to the front. The misalignment caused the front tyres to be scrubbed such that even when swapped left-right, they caused the car to pull oddly.

Solution Suggestion: Put the backs on the front, validate it's happy now, then push for two new tyres as the tyres were scrubbed by the previously screwed alignment. That said, I didn't get two new tyres.

Hope this helps.

[wai]

Sounds like an issue with the self-centering feature of the electric power assist.

Swapping wheels around and trying to fix it with a non-standard wheel alignment is only going to result in more new tyres as the wheel alignment will be out for cornering where most of the tyre wear takes place.

Just get the service department to check the self-centering system on the electric power assist. It would only have to be one tooth out to cause these issues.

After a standard wheel alignment, the steering should return to the straight ahead position with your hands off the wheel when driving. If it does not, then it is the self centering mechanism/system that needs looking at.

[trux73]

Hi Brad , Thanks for your advice, it certainly makes sense, the wheel alignment was done at the local tyre dealears. The service manager put it on the hoist to see if there was any adjustment on the rear wheels. He has now gone on two weeks leave so I guess I'll wait until he gets back as he was going to contact VW & should have an answer by then. Excuse my ignorance but what is a thrust angle wheel alignment?

[pologti18t]

Sounds like an issue with the self-centering feature of the electric power assist.

Huh? self centering is a result of the geometry of the front suspension. Not sure what the power assist has to do with it.

If it was my car I would take it to an independent wheel alignment centre and have it done again. All you can really adjust up front is the toe-in.

BTW... all cars should pull to the left slightly on a normally cambered road.

[ATYPIC]

Guys...now is a good time to read the below thread. Wheel alignments are not possible on the polo 6r.

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/forums/f128/why-you-cannot-do-wheel-alignment-6r-polo-61409.html

[wai]

Huh? self centering is a result of the geometry of the front suspension. Not sure what the power assist has to do with it.

The VW electro-mechanical steering is also referred to as Servotronic and has active return to centre. Now if the car in question does not have this, then the wheel/body alignment would be the only way to correct this as then it is only up to the alignment to do this. It is also not completely up to the front alignment as of the rear wheels are not aligned correctly, it can also cause such issues.

When I had my car in for its first courtesy servic, I was given a Nissan Navara as a loan car, and while driving out of the dealership, I almost collected one of the parked cars as the steering did not return to the centre and had to be steered back.

[brad]

Excuse my ignorance but what is a thrust angle wheel alignment?

basically, it's the direction the rear wheels are pointing. You can muck about with the front until the cows come home but if the rear is wrong then you are wasting your time.

---------- Post added at 11:45 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:41 AM ----------

Guys...now is a good time to read the below thread. Wheel alignments are not possible on the polo 6r.

http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/foru...olo-61409.html

Camber is adjustable via moving the subframe. It's suprising what else you can shift a mm or 2 if you loosen some bolts & get the big bar out.

I used to make good money doing alignments because so many other people said "it can't be done".

[PUZ213]

I rarely believe in dealer mechanics, because most of my friends that are, can't use their brain to think around things. They go by the books since they've only been taught that.

[brad]

It's more that the dealership won't give you the time to experiment because they have to have the mech on billable hours.

If your in an independant workshop, you can nut out the issue, offload some of the cost onto the client & make the rest up later when others come in with the same issue.

[gavs]

hey brad, not to go against what you're saying because from experience, I know you to be a bloody knowledgeable guy. BUT.

Not only does the factory manual say you cannot do the wheel alignment, but by moving the entire subframe alters the geometry for the whole front. That being said, very likely that is the issue if even after many attempts, it's still pulling left.

I remember checking some time back and to get any individual camber adjustment out of the front wheels, the amount available is in th eminutes and seconds worth of adjustment. Though, H&R do have some nice camber adjustable mounts around.....

[brad]

Gavs.
Refer page 128 of the linked-to manual pages. It isn't what "normal people" would do in a wheel alignment but it's an option when nothing else is available. Sure you will pull camber from one side & add to the other but it might be the solution to the problem when you've run out of options - better than telling the client they have to put up with a constant drift sideways. Yes, it might cause some caster variation but if you scribe witness marks in a few places, you should be able to keep the front/rear movement contained.

There's always a bit of slop in the bolts here & there that you can try & work with. My U13 Nissan had 0.75 (per side) camber adjustment in the front end because of the clearance in the lower strut bolts; my Gen2 Liberty was good for 0.5 in the rear for the same reason. Maybe that won't make it perfect but half a degree is better than nothing when your desperate.

I'd love to know what the OPs alignment figures are & to have a look at the tyre wear.