Bit of a strange one, which I could do with some assistance on.

My car has covered approx 1,400 miles. Ever since Ive had the car, I havent been convinced that the steering wheel was straight when the car was going in a straight line, I felt I was steering towards the n/s.

Spoke to the dealership, and was told to take it to a local garage for a 4 wheel laser alignment. After the 1st visit, holding the steering wheel straight, the car still drove to the o/s, 2nd visit towards to the n/s, 3rd visit towards the o/s.

Went back to the dealership, who took it for another 4 wheel laser alignment, at a different location, and I still feel it goes towards the o/s.

Every time it has been taken back, the steering wheel has been held in position, and the wheels/alignment then adjusted to suit, and at all 4 visits the alignment needed adjusting.

Ive checked the tyre pressures, and all the tyres (Dunlop Sport Max GT) are rotating the correct way.

Any ideas, or suggestions where I go next with this, as according to the dealers "they never have problems with tracking on octavias!"

if the tyres are not directional, then you can try swapping the fronts over side to side. this helped my dad with his furby.

Have you got crabs < Sorry ,that wasn't helpful>

It needs a full geo check, camber etc.. Could be something is not installed correctly, like steering rack or could be type or wheel problem. Not sure why the dealer sent you somewhere else, hope you did'nt pay!

Bit of a strange one, which I could do with some assistance on.

My car has covered approx 1,400 miles. Ever since Ive had the car, I havent been convinced that the steering wheel was straight when the car was going in a straight line, I felt I was steering towards the n/s.

Spoke to the dealership, and was told to take it to a local garage for a 4 wheel laser alignment. After the 1st visit, holding the steering wheel straight, the car still drove to the o/s, 2nd visit towards to the n/s, 3rd visit towards the o/s.

Went back to the dealership, who took it for another 4 wheel laser alignment, at a different location, and I still feel it goes towards the o/s.

Every time it has been taken back, the steering wheel has been held in position, and the wheels/alignment then adjusted to suit, and at all 4 visits the alignment needed adjusting.

Ive checked the tyre pressures, and all the tyres (Dunlop Sport Max GT) are rotating the correct way.

Any ideas, or suggestions where I go next with this, as according to the dealers "they never have problems with tracking on octavias!"

I've had exactly the same issue with mine...unfortunately I took it to the dealer just after Xmas and they had the excuse of all the potholes knocking the tracking out...wasn't convinced myself, but had the tracking checked and it still seems to do it....only a fraction off-centre but it is noticeable, especially when using the DSG paddles...

I've had exactly the same issue with mine...unfortunately I took it to the dealer just after Xmas and they had the excuse of all the potholes knocking the tracking out...wasn't convinced myself, but had the tracking checked and it still seems to do it....only a fraction off-centre but it is noticeable, especially when using the DSG paddles...

I agree entirely with you, it is only slightly off, but its not right!!!

Ive been back to the dealership tonight and test drove their own demo car, which in my opinion drove perfectly, held the wheel straight and the car went in a straight line. The service manager also test drove both cars and would only comment "both cars acted as he would expect them too!" and my car is "aligned within tolerances".

I went to another dealership (Rainworth, Mansfield) which refused to look at the car, I got told its Gordon Lambs problem, as Id bought it from them and they need to sort it. They did tell me, that under no circumstances should the vehicle travel towards the o/s and to go back to Gordon Lamb, via Skoda customer care. Looks like im in for a long battle!!!!

Edited 9 April, 201016 yr by Alex1980

not really its a brand new car with a problem they get paid from Skoda to look at it. I'm guessing its just aswel you didn't buy the car from them with that attatude!! Its one way of making sure you dont get a customer back through the door!

Sometimes you just have to be a pain in the ass to get anything sorted! Hope you get it sorted soon!

I get the same issue on my VRS but also found the same thing on my old leon FR as well. the only thing I've put it down to is the camber on the road. Low profile tyres seem to make it more noticeable I found.

Get a 4-wheel laser alignment done and post the results here. Sounds like caster could be out (or at limit of tolerance) on one side. I have 30+ years of driving experience including cars like BMW's. Mercedes and Impreza and in my experience my 2008 vRS is outstanding for running straight and stable. I tracks like its on rails.

Not sure where you are but Leicester 4-wheel alignment centre are very good (Mayfield Rd., Leicester). A John Bean aligner and they only charge £25 for full check and print-out plus one adjustment. Further adjustments are £15 each. I've taken loads of cars there and they are good. Only snag is they are popular, so there is often a long wait.

Interested in your comment on Rainworth's. They WOULD look at my car when my local dealer (Leicester) didn't want to know.

Get a 4-wheel laser alignment done and post the results here. Sounds like caster could be out (or at limit of tolerance) on one side. I have 30+ years of driving experience including cars like BMW's. Mercedes and Impreza and in my experience my 2008 vRS is outstanding for running straight and stable. I tracks like its on rails.

Not sure where you are but Leicester 4-wheel alignment centre are very good (Mayfield Rd., Leicester). A John Bean aligner and they only charge £25 for full check and print-out plus one adjustment. Further adjustments are £15 each. I've taken loads of cars there and they are good. Only snag is they are popular, so there is often a long wait.

Interested in your comment on Rainworth's. They WOULD look at my car when my local dealer (Leicester) didn't want to know.

I got told by John Atherton (Rainworth Owner) that under no circumstances would he consider looking at my car, as I didnt buy it from them. Even though at the time of ordering, I did give them the chance to match the offer (didnt ask them to beat it, just match it), as Id bought my 1st VRs from them. I hadnt asked them to look at the car, I was only asking their advice, but even that didnt seem to be good enough for them. I was made to feel that I was no longer welcome within their showroom as my car didnt come from them. Guess they wont be wanting mine or my brothers, or girl friends dads, or friends future servicing costs, parts, or future purchases either!!! I will now drive miles and miles out of my way, instead of giving them another penny!!!

Ive now had the car laser aligned four times, at two different centres. Gordon lamb have kept all of the print out reports, but I will try and get a copy from them and post it on here.

Leicester isnt too far from me, I just dont see why I should have to pay for an alignment, when the car hasnt been right from the day I took delivery. Im not so sure it is the alignment that is out, if Im honest. When you let go of the steering wheel, the car goes perfectly in a straight line. It is more a case of the steering wheel not being level, I have to turn the wheel slightly to the n/s for the car to go in a straight line, and when the steering wheel is straight the car goes towards the o/s.

Generally a wheel sits on a splined shaft and its not unheard of for it to be simply one spline too many to the left or the right..............

Just a thought but I've swapped wheels on vehicles before and had to revist the installation because I'd put it just that little bit too the left or right.

Like polo said, this sounds like a case where you just need to be a pain in the A to get this sorted.

An awful lot of places don't do the alignment procedure properly, there's a lot of opportunity to take shortcuts (setting the ride height, settling the suspension, order of adjustment etc.) which can mean big big savings in time & hassle for very little perceived impact to the end result.

Book a time when the foreman will be available. Show him that it's dragging on and you just want it over and done with. Have him present with you when the alignment is carried out, lookup the step by steps on the net of how the garage will action it so you know what to expect. Question any missing steps (e.g. measuring ride height), question the results of each adjustment (don't bother questioning the measurements you'll be there all day) against the expected values, there is a tolerance for each measurement but if the measured value is close to the tolerance, have them redo the adjustment.

Generally a wheel sits on a splined shaft and its not unheard of for it to be simply one spline too many to the left or the right..............

Just a thought but I've swapped wheels on vehicles before and had to revist the installation because I'd put it just that little bit too the left or right.

I was in the my local dealer a few months ago to get some parts and the mechanic was in the showroom taking the steering wheel off and then put it back on again straight away (on a new roomster). I recently fitted cruise control to my golf and had to re do the steering wheel cause it was slightly out, I ended up using a magnifying glass to make sure it was in the right location.

Apparently Eden Tyre Services (the main one) in Derby is very good as they have a Hunter Alignment system that is very accurate. I was told this by a very knowledgeable specialist.

I had this issue a few weeks ago. It was quite bad to the point where on the dual carrigeway, with the steering wheel held straight, the car would drive around left hand bends! Went into my local dealer in Exeter and they had it for a day. They called me to say it was fine, so I went down and took the mechanic out myself. It was very obvious and I showed him at least a dozen times on different roads. On each occasion he told me "well its the camber", or "looks fine to me". It got to the point where I nearly stopped the car and told him to get out and informed him to stop treating me like an idiot. Told the service manager the same too.

I then took the car to a specialized VAG mechanic who I use, Matt at Volkscraft. He had a quick drive over about 50metres, spotted the issue, completed a 4 wheel laser alignment, adjusted the front left which was a little off, took it for another drive, perfect. All done in about 30 minutes, £10 cash, sorted.

Why are the dealers so crap at identifying the problems and even worse at admitting responsibility for fixing them.

I had this issue a few weeks ago. It was quite bad to the point where on the dual carrigeway, with the steering wheel held straight, the car would drive around left hand bends! Went into my local dealer in Exeter and they had it for a day. They called me to say it was fine, so I went down and took the mechanic out myself. It was very obvious and I showed him at least a dozen times on different roads. On each occasion he told me "well its the camber", or "looks fine to me". It got to the point where I nearly stopped the car and told him to get out and informed him to stop treating me like an idiot. Told the service manager the same too.

I then took the car to a specialized VAG mechanic who I use, Matt at Volkscraft. He had a quick drive over about 50metres, spotted the issue, completed a 4 wheel laser alignment, adjusted the front left which was a little off, took it for another drive, perfect. All done in about 30 minutes, £10 cash, sorted.

Why are the dealers so crap at identifying the problems and even worse at admitting responsibility for fixing them.

The answer to your closing question may be found in the Honest John motoring column in yesterday's Telegraph " UK-franchised dealers lose their good mechanics to independent garages and end up employing young fitters who have to be put through training......for experienced, problem-solving competence you need to go independent."

The answer to your closing question may be found in the Honest John motoring column in yesterday's Telegraph " UK-franchised dealers lose their good mechanics to independent garages and end up employing young fitters who have to be put through training......for experienced, problem-solving competence you need to go independent."

Yeah, sounds about right. I certainly wont be going back to the dealer other than for warranty issues.