Steering Wheel is off centre

If the van won’t drive in a straight line then something is out somewhere, it can only be tyres/alignment/suspension related really.
Was it straight when you got it ?
Have you boffed any kerbs etc ?

If you had a proper alignment done you should have got a printout showing all the angles of the wheels are they all in tolerance (normally highlighted green)


Hi Pauly,

How do you recalibrate the steering if its been changed?
 
It’s possible to recalibrate the steering angle sensor but if something’s out you should be adjusting the tracking/alignment to straighten the wheels up
 
It’s possible to recalibrate the steering angle sensor but if something’s out you should be adjusting the tracking/alignment to straighten the wheels up


It was just because i changed the steering wheel on the van, didn't know if it was something had to do due to changing it
 
OK,

Just adding my 2 penneth here. I bought our Elvis Gen Six last November, didn't drive him before we went to collect him but I asked the dealer to fit the VAG lowered springs. Anyway, picked him up & sure enough like the first poster, on the 250 mile drive home the steering wheel was to the right & he drifted left if you let go of it.

So, into my local VAG dealer up here who tracked him up to factory spec, all within tolerances. Got him back, & exactly the same so went back in mid Jan. They did adjust the rear toe ever so slightly but again got him back & no difference.

So, 3rd visit to my local dealer who went to town, slackened stuff off, realigned etc etc, they drove him & you guessed it, exactly the same!! WTF :-( Back into the workshop, get a call that night & they have sussed the issue. It would appear when the dealer fitted the springs they had unknowingly fitted the revision without the 'A', now my T6 has front axle weight of 1610, whereas the springs fitted were rated at 1550 I believe.

Just collected him today & only done a short journey, but steering is much more precise, rides better, but more importantly steering wheel seems bang on & now only follows road camber, not just left as he did.

Wonder how many other vans have the wrong springs as changing these were the fix for me. I wouldn't have thought a lower rated spring could cause this, but believe me, it did :-(
 
Glad you got it sorted.
My t6 is on bilstein b14s and the wheel is to the right, it was also to the right on the standard t30 suspension when I picked it up.
I’ve had it tracked 3 times on a Hunter and still does it
 
Bugger for you @JonB

I still cant figure out in my little noggin why incorrect strength springs would cause it to do what mine did. The ride height was equal across the axle so wasn't like it was listing one way or the other.

Is it a crazy idea to have yours corner weighted to at least equal the cross axle load up? Not sure what adjustment you have with the Billy's
 
Hi All, could do with some advise. I have recently (last week) had 4 wheel alignment carried out on my T6. Since this was done my steering wheel is slightly off centre when driving in a strait line (see photo attached) the steering wheel was replaced for an upgraded wheel by the previous owner. Being a flat bottom steering wheel its driving me nuts being off centre. I have spoken to my local mechanic to see if its possible to remove the wheel and move it a couple of teeth to the left on the spline to make it strait and he has advised me that if I do that then the wheel will pull the other way. I'm struggling to accept that if the wheels are aligned then why would the steering wheel pull the other way if slightly moved on the spline?

I am guessing that the steering wheel was slightly fitted incorrectly and then when I got the vehicle aligned its made the steering wheel off centre.

is it an easy job to just remove the wheel and align it strait on the spline? bit concerned with airbag safety. Or, is there another way without removing the steering wheel?

any help and advise would be helpful (see photo below of the wheel when driving strait)

thanks in advance

Steering Wheel T6.png
 
It is an easy enough job to take the wheel off the spline - I don’t understand how taking it off would pull it out of line. The only issue would be that you need to rotate the wheel in order to get to the screws, so you’d need to ensure that the steering angle is bang on.
Check out the MFSW threads for a how-to guide, like this one.
 
I think that's lazy from the place that did the alignment. They should really be making sure that the steering wheel is straight when you're driving straight. I would go back to them and ask them to correct it.
 
Ye this is the way I'm leaning to be honest. Don't really wanna be removing the wheel. Think I'm done with the place i took it to so going to try another place and explain what the issue is.
 
The steering wheel was probably not in line when the tracking was done so slightly out. We’ve had this a couple of times with flat bottom steering wheels, the clamp doesn’t seem to like them and can move slightly when adjusting the wheels, however you notice this on the test drive and correct it. I’d suggest contacting the guys who did this for you and I am sure they will correct it without fuss.

Rgds,

Ian
 
Take it back to the tracking place and politely ask them to do it properly...

As above they have done it with the wheel wonky, ... it should have been straight.

2nd option is to get someone to refit the mfsw a spline or two anti clockwise.
 
Thanks all for the replies. Was confirmed yesterday that no matter which way it was tracked the steering wheel would never be strait. The steering wheel is now to be removed and moved a couple of teeth on the spline and re-tracked. I’m guessing the previous owner didn’t put the new wheel on strait and when it was aligned it pushed the wheel more to the right. I’ll post back
Once it’s all done
 
All re aligned and steering wheel as straight as it can be. The wheel is fractionally out but not enough to annoy me. Aligner recons it may be due to the fact that its not a genuine wheel which may be preventing it from being perfectly strait.

Strange!!

anyways, thanks all again for the posts much appreciated :)
 
If it's just out a fraction, it might be the slight amount of right hand steering you naturally need to apply to counteract the camber in the road.
 
All re aligned and steering wheel as straight as it can be. The wheel is fractionally out but not enough to annoy me. Aligner recons it may be due to the fact that its not a genuine wheel which may be preventing it from being perfectly strait.

Strange!!

anyways, thanks all again for the posts much appreciated :)
It's a genuine VW wheel, I'd bet my wife on it so that's not to blame. They can get it straight, the trouble is being straight on their machine might not equate to straight on a cambered road.
 
Anyone manchester or near wanna take off and move my steering wheel for me?.
 
You can’t just take it off and move it mate, if it’s in its original position then your road wheels are out not the steering wheel

If you move the steering wheel you will get lots of errors and will require the steering wheel angle sensor recalibrating to reset them
 
I've had the alignment done and the garage havent put the wheel straight. Its out one spline by the looks of it.
 
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