Steering wheel off centre after cruise control repair

[Mel Amine]

I have just had the indictator stalk replaced on my Octavia II under warranty (a common problem). Since then I have noticed that the steering wheel is a bit off centre when driving straight. Is it possible for the garage to have refitted it off centre?

Otherwise, I suppose it must have been like that before going in and I need an alignment check.

[ap0gee1978]

If the work's been done by anywhere half-decent, they will have marked the relative positions of the wheel and spindle with paint or marker pen and just stuck it on exactly how it came off???

[Tech1e]

Pop it back to them and asked them to refit it on straight, wont take too long.

[Tom_vRS]

15 minute job, its probably one spline off.

[Chris197]

I had the same problem with mine. It's blooming annoying:mad:

Kindly put right by vRStu:thumbup:

Take it back for correction.

[mrlapou]

There's a long stamped mark on the either side of spline which marks the centre position.

[Tech1e]

There's a long stamped mark on the either side of spline which marks the centre position.

Not on all of them, plus if its been moved before they dont always line up.

[Mel Amine]

Thanks guys.

I've just called the garage. They tell me it isn't possible for them to have misaligned the steering wheel because if it was misaligned it isn't possible to fit the indicator stalk. Apparently it has to line up with a slot in the steering wheel assembly.

Does that sound right to you? Does that mean they don't actually detatch the steering wheel? It's strange, because I don't recall the steering being off centre like this before, but it's a bit difficult to check on the road unless it is flat, without a camber.

[Tom_vRS]

Thats them being lazy, its ********. Its splined just like any other steering wheel.

[blackspaven]

If it's anything like EVERY steering wheel i've ever had off, the stalks fit on the column independently and if you so desired, you could put the steering wheel on upside down! It fits wherever you replace it on the splines... however, i've only had my car 2 months so i'm not guaranteeing it IS like that, i'd just be amazed if it wasn't!

To be honest, it's never been a tricky job. If you're any kind of grease monkey, i'd have thought you should be able to rectify it yourself if you have no faith in the garage. Normally, once the spongy centre bit is off, it's only one mutha of a nut keeping the wheel on. Get it off, then pull the wheel off and move it round a spline or two.

If anyone wants to confirm that, it'd probably help this guy out?

[Hairy Chris]

This link might help:http://briskoda.net/octavia-ii/retrofitted-multifunctional-steering-vrs-lot-pics/83624/

[Mel Amine]

I went into the garage today. Bloke at desk again told me it was impossible for them to get wrong. However, when the bloke at desk was called outside a mechanic from the back who'd overheard the conversation sneaked out and told me it was possible (normal splined shaft as you'd expect). Though he did say that they (perhaps he) shouldn't have got it wrong because there are marks on the spline and the wheel which they are supposed to line up. He said if I brought the car back later he could misalign the wheel on the shaft in order to centre the steering. I declined, feeling that if this needed to be done it was probably wise to get the tracking checked, but then I wonder if this might have been his way of rectifying the problem without admitting their error.

How easy is it for me to check the alignment of the marks? I am a bit nervous about messing with the steering wheel, given that it houses an explosive airbag.

[JonJon]

Same thing happened to me after the cruise control stalk replacement. In the end I just put up with it, mentioned it at the next service, then let them sort it out as they wanted to. It is a bit annoying though when you're on a straight road.