6R Polo GTI steering pull problem

[rschmutt]

Hi Guys,

Obviously a new member her but have been reading your posts for quite a while now.

I have read many many posts about the 6R Polo pulling but there never seems to be a solution mentioned that will stop it. I have had my 6R GTI for about 3 months now and its pulled since day 1. Ive had multiple wheel alignments and the subframe adjusted but there seems to be no difference in the pulling.

Ive been back and forth with the dealer etc but it seems that there is no solution and its something I have to live with.

Can anyone offer some advice?

Is this simply a characteristic or are some 6R's made a bit crooked?

I dont want to void warranties so aftermarket parts are out of the question


Thanks!

[brad]

If you are driving on a flat road (say a motorway doing 80kmh) with the car driving straight & take your hands off the steering wheel, how many seconds can you leave them off before you feel compelled to grab the steering wheel again?

What camber / caster & toe settings (F & R) is it reading?

Are the tyres directional. If they are not directional, has anyone tried swapping the front tyres from side to side?

[rschmutt]

Purchased mid April
Now had 7 wheel alignments from 3 different tyre shops, all readings are "normal"
Asymmetric tyres but have been swapped left to right already
Subframe removed and re-bolted by dealer
Car has just clicked over 8000kms and problem is still as bad as ever

If im driving on a flat road and remove my hands from the wheel at 100km/h I would have to grab the wheel again after about 1-2 seconds. Anything after that and im literally in the next lane or off the road.

Dealer advises that this is a characteristic of the Polo model and nothing more can be done (even after them trying to repair it multiple times) They explained to me that its due to the hydraulic power steering in this model and nothing is actually wrong with my car, it should pull like this apparently...

What do you guys think?

[brad]

Did they mention anything about where the "thrustline" was pointing?

Readings as "normal" don't really mean anything if the car is drifting. What it means is you have to set the vehicle outside of "normal". It is entirely possible to set up a car within specifications & it will still drift or wear tyres (as you are proving).

Assuming you are in Brisbane I'd recomend you try Fulcrum Suspension or Accurate Suspension.

The other thing that might be worth pushing for is to get the dealer's panel beater to check the chassis on their chassis align table & see where the datum points are compared to "the book". This is a long shot but it wouldn't be the first time a car has been put together weird & the chassis is bent like a banana.

[rschmutt]

Hey Brad,

No mention of the thrustline, ive never heard of this before.

They have all driven the car and confirmed the pulling, they just cant fix it and now are telling me its supposed to be like that (whcih I highly doubt)

Id love to get the chassis checked, I think there has to be more going on here than the hydraulic power steering to cause this.

[readerr0r]

Purchased mid April
Now had 7 wheel alignments from 3 different tyre shops, all readings are "normal"
Asymmetric tyres but have been swapped left to right already
Subframe removed and re-bolted by dealer
Car has just clicked over 8000kms and problem is still as bad as ever

If im driving on a flat road and remove my hands from the wheel at 100km/h I would have to grab the wheel again after about 1-2 seconds. Anything after that and im literally in the next lane or off the road.

Dealer advises that this is a characteristic of the Polo model and nothing more can be done (even after them trying to repair it multiple times) They explained to me that its due to the hydraulic power steering in this model and nothing is actually wrong with my car, it should pull like this apparently...

What do you guys think?

Except the Polo has electric steering...

[rschmutt]

Thats what I thought too!

Is there evidence of what type of steering it has somewhere?
I would love some documentation on this

[nomadx38]

It's actually hydraulic-electric power steering. So a electronic motor moves a hydraulic pump which pumps power steering fluid into the rack and pinion.

The pump is located in the very front right of the engine bay, just behind the horns / right foglight.

[gavs]

6R Polo GTI steering pull problem

Hey Brad,

No mention of the thrustline, ive never heard of this before.

They have all driven the car and confirmed the pulling, they just cant fix it and now are telling me its supposed to be like that (whcih I highly doubt)

Id love to get the chassis checked, I think there has to be more going on here than the hydraulic power steering to cause this.

Thrust line is the measurement of how the front axle aligns to the rear axle. If one is out, the wheel alignment settings might be perfectly fine and still result in the car pulling.

[rschmutt]

I just dug up one of the wheel alignment reports and the Thrust angle is -0º05'

[pologti18t]

Could it be one of the front brakes dragging?

[kaanage]

Dealer advises that this is a characteristic of the Polo model and nothing more can be done (even after them trying to repair it multiple times) They explained to me that its due to the hydraulic power steering in this model and nothing is actually wrong with my car, it should pull like this apparently...

What do you guys think?

I think you should drive one of the dealer's demo Polos and check if they pull like yours...

[ill0gitech]

6R Polo GTI steering pull problem

What way is it pulling? Left or right?

Keep in mind that roads often have camber too (even ones that look flat), to drive water off the road, so "some drift" to the left should be expected (or slightly right from the right lanes of a dual carriage way)
Not sure 1-2 seconds would normally see you into a guard rail though, unless you were already close. Is it just slightly moving, or jerking the wheel/car?

[brad]

I'll be honest. We didn't have machines that measured thrust lines when I was doing them (didn't even have a 4 wheel system). That figure doesn't sound terrible though.

What were the other figures on the alignment report please? L&R caster, camber & toe. If you can scan it & post, even better.

The others have mentioned road camber but I'm assuming you know a few relatively flat roads & have had other vehicles that drove relatively straight?

I a;so agree about taking a dealer demo for a drive.

edit: My mate has a 6R Polo. It took the guy we go to 45mins & 3 goes on the aligner to get it right.

[rschmutt]

Hi Again,

Firstly thanks everyone for replying... Its been difficult getting answers or help so far from the dealer...

My previous car was a 2011 118TSI Golf and had many cars before that. All previous cars drove straight on the local roads and up and down the M1 from Gold Coast to Brisbane.
This one jerks as soon as you let go of the wheel, not like a normal car where it drifts slowly.. Its really quite dramatic and the 2 independent shops I have taken it to agree.

I have a scanned copy of the wheel alignment report, can I email it to you Brad?

it pulls to the left. I have driven another demo model and it pulled also.. Not as bad as mine though but why the dealer is suggesting that its a characteristic... Could be out of the same batch with the same issue?

Does anyone else have this problem with a Polo GTI?