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Edited 20 August, 201114 yr by adamc260

Hmm - well I guess it depends on what you have. My original Fabia vRS is going back in to Skoda again on Friday for just this very issue. Spent a small fortune on what they said where issues causing it and still the problem persists!

I know the orignal TDI suffers from a small ammount of torque steer.

You have the newer 1.2TSI do you? How bad is the problem?

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Edited 20 August, 201114 yr by adamc260

My Monte 105 tdi pulls / drifts left, but it's not just under acceleration, it's at all times. It's camber effected, only taking the slightest camber to mean having to keep pressure right to keep going straight ahead. If it's safe to drive on the right side of the road it actually feels neutral and perfectly set up, almost as though it's set for europes roads. I have complained to the dealer Jewsons in Oxford but they have no equipment to check it out, and would have to take it to a vw dealership locally, then would want to charge me £160 if nothing "wrong" is found, reading of other forum users experiences I don,t want to go through lots of pain for no result . I have posted my problem here 4weeks ago soon after my car was delivered. Good luck in getting the issue recognised by Skoda.

I realise this is slightly different, but I have a Yeti and this problem has cropped up before. Apparently it affect many VAG cars.

When I took delivery of the Yeti, the steering is angeled to the left, after several trip and discussion with a dealer, they agreed to do a full alignment and tracking on mine and it felt fine for a while, until recently (well it is after all after about 8000 miles, so could be tracking) it started to angle back to the left.

I haven't "voted" as mine might not be representable of the Fabia.

Also - adamc260, I have read your previous posts a couple of days ago, and to be honest have right VRS wheels and left Monte Carlo wheels is simply unacceptable, who knows what else they missed - bigger brakes on the VRS side? Roomster suspension. I think you should push to reject it immediately, its totally unacceptable to let you drive out of the forecourt, let alone continue to own it!

I can be in the fast lane of the motorway, let go of the wheel and i'll end up in the hard shoulder pretty quickly

Might be worth checking the tracking as VAG cars are renowned for poor set up from the factory.

You will always have some pull to the left due to road camber. When i'm driving in europe i get a slight pull to the right due to road camber

Mine does slightly to the left, but then most Skoda's I've owned do this...

Mine does slightly to the left, but then most Skoda's I've owned do this...

Most cars do on the road due to the camber. But in a car park they should not, so that is what I have based my "no" answer on.

My sisters CR1.6TDI does not pull to the left, neither does my 1422cc PD 80 Estate. If any car has got this syndrome it's normally easy to fix and is nearly always the tracking not set quite right or a tyre problem. Either way get dealer to sort don't go to a tyre shop as they work to generic settings quite often and these can make it worse. In my experience in the trade I don't think VAG cars are any more likely to pull left than any other make.

All cars pull to left slightly so that if you fall asleep at the wheel you don't head into oncoming traffic, you simple roll off the road. If it's really severe then you should get it checked out.

All cars pull to left slightly so that if you fall asleep at the wheel you don't head into oncoming traffic, you simple roll off the road. If it's really severe then you should get it checked out.

I was going to post the exact same thing. I've read it somewhere but not sure if that is true 100%

All UK cars should pull to the left slightly mainly due to road camber. This is normal. If the pulling is excessive i.e you actively have to steer right in order to maintain a neutral course it is worth getting the car checked out. In my experience drift/pull to the left is more common on cars with low profile tyres.

Interesting as that is what Skoda said to me even after they test drove my Fabia vRS SE. I had to actually take them out in it myself to prove that I was actively correcting the cars course!! Back in on Friday to get them to fix hopefully!

I was going to post the exact same thing. I've read it somewhere but not sure if that is true 100%

No it isn't true. This would increase tyre wear and isn't how cars are designed. It should be neutral on a flat even road but will of course have a tendency to ride down any camber to the left or to the right if you on the continent. That is normal.

Voted for no as depending on camber the wife's Fabia II Elegance will follow a pretty straight line. However my son's Fabia I Classic does naturally like to drift left and always has done. It's had new tyres all round the console bushes replaced along with front discs and pads and been tracked twice while he's own it but it's drift to the left has remained constant; think some Fabia's just do :wonder: Mind the current Fabia FL has a different front wishbone and bush set-up to the old Mk I.

TP

My old Mk1 16v never did or our new one now pulls to the left.

To be sure, no one's car should actively pull to the left or right. But a drift to the left or right is normal depending on how the road camber is at the time. If it pulls there's something not quite right with setup or your tyres are worn or faulty. Don't forget if you drive a high percentage of miles in an area where the roads are cambered to the left your tyres will wear a certain way as you compensate for the left drift. So then, even if you drive on a totally flat surface, the car may still exhibit a tendency to drift left. That is not a car fault or adjustment problem, that's the tyres.

Edited 10 August, 201114 yr by Estate Man

Mine does not have a drastic pull to the left. If there's a noticeable camber on the road it will follow it, but on a flat road, it tracks straight.

Mine had quite a big pull to the left when I got it, so I got the tracking fixed and now the it only pulls to the left very slightly, but it is still quite badly affected by road camber.

But then I am comparing it to a 13 year old Volvo turbo which required muscles like Popeye to turn the steering wheel......

My vRS "hunts" road camber and tramlines caused by HGVs. My 100hp did the same (but to a lesser degree).

It's a symptom of relatively large wheels with lower profile tyres on a small(ish) car. Given almost all road surfaces are rutted, damaged or poorly laid, you will find smaller cars more sensitive than something with a long wheelbase. Smaller cars that aren't set-up for comfort will magnify this sensitivity further.

I'd only really be worried if your car aggressively pulls to one side immediately after you let go of the steering wheel. If it's more of a gentle drift, and more importantly seems to disappear and come back on different surfaces and road types, then it's likely just the way the car behaves and no amount of adjustment will completely dial it out.

2004 1.4 16v absolutely no pull to the left, not even a bit, not at all!

58 plate 1.4tdi 80 estate pulls to the left. Not brutally but my wifes ten year old fiesta tracks straight and true on the same roads

Family has had seven VW era skodas - all from new - many driven to high mileages - and here is my summary.

1997 1.9 SDI Pre Face lift Felicia Estate - Pulled left slightly on typical UK motorway camber - but was great when loaded up and on French Motorways.... and still the best vehicle I've ever owned. Very cheap to buy and run. Extremely versatile (super load lugger with the back seats taken out) , quirky fun and reliable.

1999 1.3 Facelift Petrol Felicia - No probs

2002 1.9 TDI 110 Mk1 Facelift Octy Estate - No Probs under sedate driving. Frequent hard left torque steer when full power set off. Unnerving for those that weren't used to it.

2007 1.9 TDI 105 Mk2 Pre Facelift Octy Estate - No Probs

2000 1.4 Petrol Mk1 Fabia - No Probs

2006 1.2 Petrol Mk1 Fabia - No Probs

2011 1.6 TDI 105 Mk2 Fabia Monte Carlo - Sometimes pulls left on motorway cambers and surfacing - but doesn't require much correction - and can get a bit twitchy on surfacing ripples especially when being driven hard - (typical for low profile wheels / tyres). No torque steer issues. Suspect this will drive better on European roads. Loving this car so far. Persuaded the better half it would be more economical than the octy- but it hasn't because it is just so much fun to drive and has made my right foot a lot heavier. Nearest thing to my original Felcia so far - and has had more admiring comments than any other car I've owned .... even though my weekend plaything is a shiny fire breathing monster of a Nissan Skyline !