Hi everyone,

When driving in my octavia 2.0tdi if I take my hands off the steering wheel the car tracks pretty straight however the steering wheel is angled roughly 10 degrees to the right basically not centred.When I centre the wheel the car will turn a fair bit left.

If I took it to a tyre shop and got laser tracking done would this be a total waste of time or is there another fix for this?

Best regards,

Nounou

No. Take it to your dealer and ask them to put your steering wheel on straight.

how old is the car? make sure its four wheel alignment they offer.

No. Take it to your dealer and ask them to put your steering wheel on straight.

For what? So they will be saying that they want to take steering wheel of to locate it on a spine? No!!

If you had your tracking done and wheel is still of angle that mean they have done it wrong. I would be scared of visiting them to correct it but by the rules you should ask them to do so. If they will be finding stupid excuises - dont deal with them anymore as most likely they dont know what they are doing when it comes to tracking.

Straight steering wheel it should be "side effect" of properly done 4 wheel alignment/tracking. Should be adjusted on steering rods - ONLY.

Where are you based?

Its late 2005 done 92000 miles and only owned it for 2 weeks.I've only a basic level of technical knowledge.

I should have spotted it when I test drove it but maybe this was due to a lack of straight roads on the test. I have never had any tracking done on it yet and if I was going to get the tracking done it would be tyres pro in Hitchen Herts.

Edited 13 November, 201114 yr by Nounou

For what? So they will be saying that they want to take steering wheel of to locate it on a spine? No!!

If you had your tracking done and wheel is still of angle that mean they have done it wrong. I would be scared of visiting them to correct it but by the rules you should ask them to do so. If they will be finding stupid excuises - dont deal with them anymore as most likely they dont know what they are doing when it comes to tracking.

Straight steering wheel it should be "side effect" of properly done 4 wheel alignment/tracking. Should be adjusted on steering rods - ONLY.

Where are you based?

Mine wasn't on straight when I got it so the dealer took it off and put it back on straight. The tracking wasn't touched.

Its no big deal and all cars suffer from it when kerbed. Get the 4 wheel laser alignment done, then take it for a drive. If its still not straight or "floats" then pop it back. it can take 2 or 3 attempts so don't be afraid to keep doing back. Also look at the tyres, are they worn unevenly? It could be uneven tyre wear or poorly adjusted pressures so check these first.

Thanks for all the replies. Think I'll take it to a good laser tracking place I know and explain to them exactly what the problem is.

Thanks for all the replies. Think I'll take it to a good laser tracking place I know and explain to them exactly what the problem is.

Take it to Wheels in Motion in Chesham. They have all the necessary equipment and did a fantastic job on mine.

I highly recommend them!

Thanks for all the replies. Think I'll take it to a good laser tracking place I know and explain to them exactly what the problem is.

Where are you based?

For anyone saying take the wheel off and put it on straight, that fixes the problem but not the underlying cause. The issue will be that the fitter has been lazy and only adjusted one track rod end. The front alignment will be correct, but does probably not align to the rear of the car. The thrust angle will be incorrect. Any decent place that can adjust 'geometry' not tracking will be able to rectify this very easily and your steering as a result should be corrected.

Where are you based?

Looks like he's based in Herts or nearby, which is why I recommended Wheels in Motion. They have all the proper four wheel alignment gear and, when I visited, were full of properly expensive machinery.

Nounou, have a look at their website!

Looks like he's based in Herts or nearby, which is why I recommended Wheels in Motion. They have all the proper four wheel alignment gear and, when I visited, were full of properly expensive machinery.

Nounou, have a look at their website!

Correct, Tony knows his stuff.