Steering Wheel is off centre
- Thread starter 3shedz
- Start date
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)
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)
3shedz
Member
Had the van from new from race line. It's been lowered with bigger alloys. But all this was done by raceline aka custom vanz.
I've had a hunter alignment done twice and both printouts have shown green. They set it up with the steering wheel straight but as soon as I start driving the wheel is slightly to the right.
I've rang custom vanz and they have told me they have never came across it before. But I hear alot of stories with this problem . The van as only covered 2500 miles from new . It's driving me nuts. All I do is look at the wheel . I must be suffering from OCD
I've had a hunter alignment done twice and both printouts have shown green. They set it up with the steering wheel straight but as soon as I start driving the wheel is slightly to the right.
I've rang custom vanz and they have told me they have never came across it before. But I hear alot of stories with this problem . The van as only covered 2500 miles from new . It's driving me nuts. All I do is look at the wheel . I must be suffering from OCD
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The steering angle sensors are very sensitive on our vans, mine was out a little while back and wheel was pointing left when going in a straight line and after driving it for a few days the dash lit up and shut down my abs/esp etc etc
Took it for alignment and had to do it a few times as it only got 70/80% better each time, I have a sneaky suspicion they put the wheel slightly past centre the last time they aligned it to get it straight (fed up with me coming back after 5 minutes) and everything reset after a couple miles driving with a straight wheel
I used quick fit this time and although it was £100 which is expensive I can go back an unlimited amount of times for 2 years to get it redone for free and as I am swapping wheels and suspension soon the price worked out a good deal for me so may be worth considering if you are having on going issues ?
Took it for alignment and had to do it a few times as it only got 70/80% better each time, I have a sneaky suspicion they put the wheel slightly past centre the last time they aligned it to get it straight (fed up with me coming back after 5 minutes) and everything reset after a couple miles driving with a straight wheel
I used quick fit this time and although it was £100 which is expensive I can go back an unlimited amount of times for 2 years to get it redone for free and as I am swapping wheels and suspension soon the price worked out a good deal for me so may be worth considering if you are having on going issues ?
3shedz
Member
When I first had the van back in January I drove it from custom vanz to the midlands and noticed then it was out. I rang custom vanz and they told me to move the wheel one notch to the left.
I didnt take there advice and just got it aligned.
They then centred the wheel but when driving it don't stay centred.
The guys at the alignment place have suggested I switch front wheels over ?
I didnt take there advice and just got it aligned.
They then centred the wheel but when driving it don't stay centred.
The guys at the alignment place have suggested I switch front wheels over ?
Mark Prinsloo
Member
I had this after having the van lowered. Got vw assistance out who took wheel off and re centered it. It was ok for a few thousand miles led but The wonky steering has come back a bit now not as bad as it was.
Mark Prinsloo
Member
Yes they did a recalibration at the time
Just out of interest. Who did your Hunter alignment after your wheel change and lowering ?? Are they very experienced specifically with T6's post alloy and suspension change??
Most roads have a camber (the centre line is the highest part and both sides drop away) so that the water runs to the side and into the gutter so it's not unusual to be steering right slightly to work against this camber. The suspension geometry has a big effect between different vehicles so it affects them slightly differently; tyre profile due to wear has an effect too. The time to get worried is when your vehicle pulls to the right (in the UK) as something is wrong then.
3shedz
Member
Yeah understand what your saying , but I've had many of vehicles in my time and not one as been like this . I had an M3 that I had supercharged when I got it back steering was out , due to engine being removed. Had a 4 wheel alignment done , no problems . Even my vivaro with alloys on ran straight . Maybe I'm being picky I dunno
The reason I mention it is that, I sat in on my Hunter alignment and the very first set-up screen that came up stumped the Technician and me .... not confidence inspiring !!!
Were you asked, or did they know which of these options was you ?? Clearly fundamental to getting even a remotely correct alignment done. The Technician said to me, most wouldn't bother asking the customer and just click on any old option to get the job done and billed.
Once I had cracked this one with them (30 mins on phone to VW - the correct code is on your vehicle data sticker on the inside front cover of your Owners Manual). The next screen asks for the changed (correct) alignment data for your new set-up (suspension, wheels and tyres) to be input. Of course, with the gazillions of modified wheel, suspension and tyre options we all run, nobody knows this and the data is not available. Ridiculous
As a compromise, we decided to run the test using the standard T6 set-up data for my model's suspension under the no load option ( I carry 2 bikes at most).
It came in green apart from passenger rear Castor (can't change without changing bushes) which was borderline anyway. A bit of a surprise as I have changed suspension and wheels. It drives perfectly fine. Haven't done enough miles to assess alignment against tyre wear yet.
I don't know if all T6 alignments are frigged this way. My guess is they are, as the required alignment data is not available for each of our individual set-ups.
Perhaps the answer to your issue lies somewhere in this fiasco. Make sure the settings on the Hunter are correct and try what I did, aligning against the correct but standard set-up data for your van (as per screen above).
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A line in Dudley??
If so they did mine and it's absolutely perfect. Seemed very knowledgeable in 4motion and t6 in particular.
I've taken all my vehicles there from new and you'd be suprised how off the settings are after leaving the factory.
3shedz
Member
Yeah a line Dudley. Your right they are a good bunch of lads. Very helpful. I took a BMW there a few years back after having a 4 wheel alignment done at kford tyres. When A lign did it they had to heat one of the bolts up as it was seized and said noway could kford tyres have done it . I watched them heat it up to get the nut undone. I never use kford tyres now .
