6R Polo GTI steering pull problem

[brad]

Just post it up here as there are plenty of knowledgeable folk that can help. Gavs knows his stuff even though we disagree on some aspects of wheel alignments. It's always better to have somebody thinking differently.

Use photobucket or flickr or similar to host the image. Give it a whirl

[rschmutt]

Here we go, see if this works!

[mrkris]

Dealer advises that this is a characteristic of the Polo model and nothing more can be done

i dont usually like to start trouble but i hate reading stuff like this. that's a cop out and they know it. did they give you that in writing? id be complaining to VAG / Consumer Affairs.

[rschmutt]

[brad]

There is more caster on the R than the L. This will make it drift to the L.

At a guess, they need to skew the subframe (if possible). Pull the L forward & the R backward. Try & maintain the camber difference (preferably a bit more difference) so that the LHS has about 0.5 degree more than the RHS.

Pull the toe back to about 1mm total.


At the back, I would undo the bolts where the rear axle assy bolts to the chassis & try & bring the RHS forward & the LHS back (I think that's the direction) & try & even up the toe as I believe the greter toe on the LH wheel will make the back track to the right while the front is trying to go left.

As I said earlier, try Fulcrum or Accurate. They are among the better operators up there (so my mates in BNE tell me). I realise you shouldn't have to chase this yourself but if the dealer won't come to the party & VW AU won't listen (have you tried them?)....

[rabbitz]

Had a similar problem with a MY13.5 6R Trendline. Picked up the car in May on the way home the car was severely pulling to the left.

When I got home I did a complete check of the car and found tyre pressures varied by up to 10psi with the left front the worse being very low. Tyre pressures were corrected and I thought it would be OK but no.... still trying to put me in the bushes on the left side of the road. Going around a LH corner wasn't too bad but RH corners had the steering wheel snapping back. Basically couldn't take for hands off the steering wheel for any period of time as it would immediately drift.

Next step was a wheel alignment and the original setting had all but castor in spec. The toe in was at the upper range being 0.1mm so was changed to the middle of the range at 1.9mm. There was a slight improvement in tracking on cambered roads but RH corners were still a problem. I looked at the possibility of changing tyres from the Continental supplied but no guarantee that it would fix the issue.

After a couple of weeks I checked the power steering fluid and was found to be well below min (no leaks). Had it topped up and the car is no longer dangerous but only tracks slightly on cambered roads, no longer needs a death grip on the steering wheel and RH corners no longer try and rip my fingers off. I'm sure better tyres would help more but it is now satisfactory.

The Manual has no mention of checking the power steering fluid and only located this when I bought the service manual.

This may or may not help but it's on record as may help someone in the future.

[ill0gitech]

6R Polo GTI steering pull problem

i dont usually like to start trouble but i hate reading stuff like this. that's a cop out and they know it. did they give you that in writing? id be complaining to VAG / Consumer Affairs.

They often put that exact wording on service reports

[gavs]

6R Polo GTI steering pull problem

I dont have this issue with a GTI so that's solved that one. First off, I've double, triple and quadruple checked the figures and you're all in spec, which is a good and a bad thing I guess

Just check with the alignment place though if they compensated for transverse inclination. If you have a dsg you suddenly have an extra 30kgs above the left front axle over a manual. You have to check your axle-to-arch heights, then balance them out so they are all the same. Front should be (after transverse inclination compensation) 366mm (+/-10mm) for a TSI, rear 382mm(+/-10mm). The tolerance however is a measurement of the vehicle height, not variance between the wheels, they both need to be within a mm or so of each other.

[pologti18t]

My Monte Carlo is pulling to the left HELP! - Skoda Fabia II - BRISKODA.net - The Skoda Forum and Community

What tyres are fitted to the problem car? Dunlops?

[rschmutt]

Hey sorry its ben a few days since I replied...

Its written on my service reports that its a characteristic and i have an email that says there is now nothing more they can do for me.

Gavs, if everything on the alignment report check out, what else could it be? Is it possible that its structural? A twisted chassis maybe?


I dont really know where to go from here and am left with a car that pulls to the left and chews tyres

[brad]

chews tyres

First time you mentioned this.
definatly something wrong

[gavs]

6R Polo GTI steering pull problem

Did you get the car new or second hand? Did they compensate for transverse inclination?

First off, try and get in contact with someone else on here that you can meet up with so you can compare cars. I'm sure there are plenty of people that would like to help you out. Drive over some know roads. See if there's is the same, better or worse. If its the same, then your car is fine. If its different, start negotiating with the dealership to fix the car...

[mitchr6]

If you can't find anyone on the gold coast with one to test drive then let me know and i can come down for a road trip. I have a 6R polo Gti and i don't notice any pulling from mine.

[rschmutt]

Hey Mitchr6, it would be cool to catch up and drive each others cars...

I'm up in Brisbane quite a bit so we should be able to arrange something pretty easy.

Gavs, the car was new. Delivered with 100km on the clock.

[roniiich]

Having the same steering pull problem. Anyone in Melb could help me out?