My Monte Carlo is pulling to the left HELP!

[malleability]

yes it is strange that this effects the VAG Group not really heard of it with other makes. It is noticeably worse with a passenger on board. Hope this cures it as in all other areas its a fab little car! Will see how we get on, will ask the dealer to fit Pirellis.

[capriboy]

I've quickly scanned this - because low and behold my mine too pulls to the left.  Other than driving it home from the dealer Saturday (when I was v tired) I've only done one trip in it to fetch the wee one from his mums and it's def noticeable.  Will drop a message to the supplying dealer but as there 200 miles away it'll have to be rectified somewhere local.

 

Personally with matched tyres correctly fitted, inflated and undamaged I don't see how the tyre manufacturers are being blamed?

[Ootohere]

No need to return to the supplying Dealership if it is a UK car with a UK Manufacturers Warranty.

I am sure the Dealerships are well aware of the issue, including the one that supplied your car,

and it gets more surprising as time passes that the cars 'Pulling to the left' are not being picked up on at the PDI,

& when the Vehicle is driven to get fuel in, or on a proper road test before delivery.

 

Just a Local Dealership will be fine, Contact them and have the car inspected, and they get the Approval from Skoda UK.

Claim made for their Labour, Checking and Adjusting/Parts required permission required for the tyre replacement if required.

 

Only Skoda/VW blame the tyres, then the Dealerships repeat that.

& changing the tyres resolves matters where there is nothing physically wrong mechanically on the car.

Skoda/VAG never seem to look In-House, or admit to their failures.

 

http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=165

[XK140]

Case Study in Auto Express today.

Fabia Monte,owner Alan Kitching from Nuneaton (on here?)

"The Fabia was returned to Alan with a fresh set of wider Pirellli tyres on it,while the wheels were also realigned"

This was after the dealer had originally said "they all do that" and it was a safety feature.

The end result was only achieved after the intervention of Auto Express.

CONCLUSION

Is there now a service bulletin to dealers on the matter and what does it say?If not,why not?

Where do people like me stand...slight pull that I decided I could live with (but not totally happy) and with the Dunlop tyres now half worn?

Interesting.

[jrw]

Case Study in Auto Express today.

Fabia Monte,owner Alan Kitching from Nuneaton (on here?)

"The Fabia was returned to Alan with a fresh set of wider Pirellli tyres on it,while the wheels were also realigned"

This was after the dealer had originally said "they all do that" and it was a safety feature.

The end result was only achieved after the intervention of Auto Express.

CONCLUSION

Is there now a service bulletin to dealers on the matter and what does it say?If not,why not?

Where do people like me stand...slight pull that I decided I could live with (but not totally happy) and with the Dunlop tyres now half worn?

Interesting.

do you have a link to this? I've lodged my complaint with Skoda UK and awaiting a response. As it stands they aren't aware of a bulletin.

[XK140]

Sadly I don't think Skoda will make any official confession of fitting the wrong tyres,they will just do damage limitation on a case by case basis...whoever shouts the loudest,etc....after all,say 500 cars at £500 for tyres equals £250k,and it could be more!!!

The article is in Auto Express No.1300,1-7 Jan 2014,don't know if it's on the internet.

[capriboy]

I'm not happy with it pulling as correcting for it will at the least cause premature wear to the tyres and in my mind at least undue wear to the steering mechanism.

 

No need to return to the supplying Dealership if it is a UK car with a UK Manufacturers Warranty.

I am sure the Dealerships are well aware of the issue, including the one that supplied your car,

and it gets more surprising as time passes that the cars 'Pulling to the left' are not being picked up on at the PDI,

& when the Vehicle is driven to get fuel in, or on a proper road test before delivery.

 

Just a Local Dealership will be fine, Contact them and have the car inspected, and they get the Approval from Skoda UK.

Claim made for their Labour, Checking and Adjusting/Parts required permission required for the tyre replacement if required.

 

Only Skoda/VW blame the tyres, then the Dealerships repeat that.

& changing the tyres resolves matters where there is nothing physically wrong mechanically on the car.

Skoda/VAG never seem to look In-House, or admit to their failures.

 

http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=165

 

Thanks, will drop them a tinkle asap.

[malleability]

Informed today that my Monte is getting 4 new tyres. Don't know if they will be Contis or Pirellis but Skoda UK will try a warranty claim or if unsuccessful they will foot the entire cost of all the work carried out so far. The decision on which tyres to fit is apparently from Skoda and you don't get a choice. I have not experienced any issues with the dealer (White Dove, Cardiff) and am more than happy with the service provided. If it goes wrong I have every faith in Skoda to rectify the issue. Lets hope that on Saturday all is well! Cheers and a Happy New Year to all.

 

Paul

[malleability]

Picked the Monte up this afternoon and it has been fitted with 4 new Pirelli tyres and had an alignment and it drives strait as a die!

I have had a loan car for the 16 days it has been in the dealers (holiday time etc) and have had all remedial work carried out for free.

Full marks to the dealer (White Dove) who have been nothing but professional throughout. Skoda have also carried out their obligations and have gone a long way to retaining my custom in the future.

[jrw]

Just picked the VRS up and it has had some Continental SC5 tyres fitted. There appears to be a slight pull still there but the roads were busy and couldn't properly test it.

 

It took a lot of arguing with Skoda UK to get this sorted.  The castor on the front nearside was out by 1.3 degree.  Because of this Skoda wouldn't authorise the tyres until this was sorted but the caster doesn't have that much adjustment apparently so until common sense kicked in it went back and forth between the dealer and SUK.  This was even after the dealer went back to them with a VRS with 190miles on the clock with the same issue and same readouts as mine.

 

Even though SUK wouldn't admit it was a known problem they advised which brand of tyres resolves the issue (go figure?!).  As the Pirelli's were on back order the Contis were ordered.

 

I have since found out that this is a known issue on this platform throughout the VAG range and the problem is in fact to do with the rear axle being the incorrect one.  Apparently there is a LHD and RHD version and if the LHD is fitted this problem becomes apparent, more so depending on the tyres.  SUK will not admit this though, nor will they come up with a solution besides changing the tyres.

 

I will update this when i have done a few more miles on quieter roads.

 

Thanks to everyone involved who helps with details to help my case.

[marky]

 

Just picked the VRS up and it has had some Continental SC5 tyres fitted. There appears to be a slight pull still there but the roads were busy and couldn't properly test it.

 

It took a lot of arguing with Skoda UK to get this sorted.  The castor on the front nearside was out by 1.3 degree.  Because of this Skoda wouldn't authorise the tyres until this was sorted but the caster doesn't have that much adjustment apparently so until common sense kicked in it went back and forth between the dealer and SUK.  This was even after the dealer went back to them with a VRS with 190miles on the clock with the same issue and same readouts as mine.

 

Even though SUK wouldn't admit it was a known problem they advised which brand of tyres resolves the issue (go figure?!).  As the Pirelli's were on back order the Contis were ordered.

 

I have since found out that this is a known issue on this platform throughout the VAG range and the problem is in fact to do with the rear axle being the incorrect one.  Apparently there is a LHD and RHD version and if the LHD is fitted this problem becomes apparent, more so depending on the tyres.  SUK will not admit this though, nor will they come up with a solution besides changing the tyres.

 

I will update this when i have done a few more miles on quieter roads.

 

Thanks to everyone involved who helps with details to help my case.

 

Can I ask where you found the information with regards to the rear axle?

 

My car has had the tyres changed and has had several alignments (one of which I paid to have done independantly) and the car still experiences the pulling to the left.

The car was back in on Friday for another go at fixing the problme but it is still there.

I have given them since september (a week after I picked up the car) to fix the problem and it still isn't fixed.

I am at the point now where I want to give them the car back and get my money back.

[jrw]

From a Milton Keynes master tech via the dealer.

Good luck as they will flatly deny it but reject your car, you might find a penny dropping somewhere.

Can I ask where you found the information with regards to the rear axle?

My car has had the tyres changed and has had several alignments (one of which I paid to have done independantly) and the car still experiences the pulling to the left.

The car was back in on Friday for another go at fixing the problme but it is still there.

I have given them since september (a week after I picked up the car) to fix the problem and it still isn't fixed.

I am at the point now where I want to give them the car back and get my money back.

[S2ABY]

Sorry for the thread resurrection, but I didn't see the point of a new thread as I'd just end up getting referred to this thread anyway.

 

Id like to share my experiences with my monte carlo.

 

I bought it new, factory ordered last year, arrived in end of November. I noticed It had a tendency to pull to the left on straight roads, so I got in touch with the dealer and got the usual let the car run in a few miles and let things settle. So I ignored it for a while and then I found this thread and the well documented issues.

 

January, approx 1400miles covered, I rang the dealership and explained the problem and the first thing I was asked was does it have dunlop tyres fitted? Yes, it did, so I was expecting them to do the alignment check, swap the tyres and Id be sorted. I also asked them to look at the gear linkage as selecting reverse was very difficult at times.

 

Picked the car up, they had done exactly that, alignment in spec so swapped tyres for new Pirelli P-zero neros. Lovely.

 

On the drive home I noticed the car still had a pull to the left, even though I was told the car had been road tested after tyre fitting before I picked the car up. The car was still cold and there was no mileage showing on the trip computer so I don't think they took the car for a proper drive....

 

I rung them a few days later and explained the problem was still there. They invited me to bring the car in and go for a test drive with the service manager. I did so, and he drove the car, very sedately, not going over 50 despite a few miles of dual carriageway on one of the worst rutted roads in sheffield with practically no straight sections for an accurate test. 

 

He said there was no problem, and everything was as it should be. I dissagreed and had pointed out to him several times during the drive that the steering wheel was falling to the left and the car drifting across to the left. He wrote it off as just following the camber of the road. When I questioned why the fabia estate courtesy car they had given me drove straight as an arrow on the same roads he tried to fob me off saying the montecarlo had a completely different suspension set-up. I quietly accepted and he drove back to the dealership.

 

When we got back to the dealership I quizzed him about how the suspension on the estate could be so different to to monte, it is the same setup, struts at the front and a rear beam, nothing fancy at all.

 

We then talked about camber, toe, castor and all the alignment details after I explained I wasn't just average Joe punter off the street. Im a qualified and licenced aircraft maintenance engineer and have done lots and lots of work on my own cars so I wouldn't be silenced with dealer science and magic.

 

He changed his tune, and said that as the adjustment on the car is pretty limited all they can do is get it into spec. If the castor is out there is no adjustment, not even moving the subframe fore/aft as i suggested. He mentioned a last resort of bending the inner wings, but I dont know what that would achieve really.

 

And he told me there Is no adjustment on the rear beam, which is where I suspect the problem lies.

 

I took the car back, and I went to amercia for a month and forgot about it.

 

On returning, I did a few longer journeys in the car and the pulling is really annoying and a nuisance now. It gets tiring having to put constant pressure on the wheel to hold it straight and has made my fingers numb on occasion.

 

I rang another dealer local to where I work and explained the situation and that I disagreed with the previous dealers opinion. They agreed to take it on, and when I dropped the car off they said they drove it and agreed it pulled more than following the camber of the road. Great news I thought. This was a friday afternoon.

 

They had originally said I would be able to collect the car the following day, but rung me saturday lunchtime saying their alignment machine was out of actioned and would be getting repaired/calibrated on the monday. Fair enough I thought, I could make plans for alternative transport and I was happy the car was being looked at.

 

I got a call monday lunchtime expecting it to be to come and collect the car and they had done the work the said they would. I was told by the service department that because the issue had been worked on and "rectified" by a previous dealership under warranty that they would not be able to carry out the work on warranty and would have to charge me to carry out the wheel alignment check. They said the only way it would be covered under warranty would be if the previous dealership had made a mistake, so requested that I get a copy of the report for them to look over.

 

Very annoying for 2 reasons, first the last dealership had not rectified the fault obviously as I had reported it to them as still being an issue, and 2 they could have told me this friday afternoon or saturday and I would not have lost my car for the full weekend.

 

So I collected my car monday, annoyed and went to work.

 

I called the dealership that had done the alignment (dealer A) and requested the report, and had it faxed to the other dealers as they had requested.

 

I also called Skoda customer care and they have opened a case with the issue.

 

 

This morning I got a call from dealer B saying skoda had agreed to cover the cost of the alignment and asked me to bring the car in next monday, so the car is booked in for them to collect.

 

I also got a call a few minutes later from the case manager saying the same, and added that if there was no fault with the alignment then they would not be any further action and the case would be closed as they could not change anything else on the car.

 

 

 

Now, i'm pretty sure the wheel alignment will check out fine as the car has always felt the same, but I'm not happy to accept the car as it is, especially as this dealer has confirmed there is a fault with the car pulling more than is normal.

 

 

I'll report back next week, but has anybody else got this far, I'm very interested in more details of people having the rear beam replaced as was mentioned a while back in this thread.

 

 

Cheers,

 

Kieron.

[Ootohere]

Good to see your experience and how they dealt with it.

 

It looks like you will have to have a Specialist Engineers Inspection and report done.

Maybe Contact your Local Trading Standards to see about having this done.

Let Skoda UK Customer services know thats what you are going to be required to do,

and you will be Invoicing them for all expenses incurred.

 

Amazing after the Auto Express Article that Customers are being forced to that sort of actions.

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/310003-fabia-vrs-in-for-replacement-tyres

[marky]

Kieron: Has the problem with the reverse gear selection been fixed?

 

 

I too have a problem now and again where it is very difficult to get it out of reverse.

 

Has anyone else had a problem with reverse gear and pulling left???

 

I wonder if there is an alignment problem with something that is causing the two problems.

 

Also you can alter the castor. I had another independant alignment done this week (at a place that only does alignments) and the caster was adjusted. It looks much better now even though Skoda did it last week. I still have the pulling issue and the steering wheel is not center (off by a few degrees). The alignment specialist said that the Steering Angle Sensor needs recalibrating but he could not do that. Skoda need to do it.

[jrw]

I'll take a photo of the Auto Express Article for you and post here so you can take that in with you.  Although I don't think that will help much as you have had the tyres changed.  I had mine change to continental sc5 and although it does have a very slight pull to the left it is a 100% better (every VAG car I have owned has pulled slightly to the left).

 

I was told 'unofficially' that it was the rear beam.  I, like you was told that the castor was out and is not adjustable to get it into the specified range.

[marky]

I was told 'unofficially' that it was the rear beam.  I, like you was told that the castor was out and is not adjustable to get it into the specified range.

What is the rear beam?

[Ootohere]

JRW,

Your were told there were 'Beam axles for Left Hand Drive and Right Hand Drive Fabias'  were you not.?

&

they were fitting the wrong ones!!

 

Was this gem told Unofficially by a VW Trained Master Technician or some other Skoda/VAG Employee?

[jrw]

JRW,

Your were told there were 'Beam axles for Left Hand Drive and Right Hand Drive Fabias'  were you not.?

 

Was this gem told Unofficially by a VW Trained Master Technician or some other Skoda/VAG Employee?

Yes that's right.  It was a tech at VWUK, and the issue is apparent on the Fabia, Ibiza, Polo and A1.  Don't know whether to believe it myself but can't think of any other explanation.  He said the beams are the same on every car but depending on the suspension and tyres it can amplify the issue.

 

Here is the auto express article anyway!

[Ootohere]

Can you maybe find the part numbers to get Replacement Left or Right hand drive Fabia Beam Axles,

 it would be handy to fit when Driving in Mainland Europe.

 

You know sometimes when Skoda/VAG Employees lie, their lips move.

[marky]

What is the rear beam?

Doh daft question. Worked it out...

[marky]

Can you maybe find the part numbers to get Replacement Left or Right hand drive Fabia Beam Axles,

 it would be handy to fit when Driving in Mainland Europe.

 

You know sometimes when Skoda/VAG Employees lie, their lips move.

I was going to suggest if anyone knows the part numbers for Left and Right Hand drive.

Might even have the number stamped on the part to check. Probably not...

[Ootohere]

There is not one, that was me being sarcastic or actually taking the pith at things Technicians, Worksop Mangers, Salespeople.

Service Desk etc & worst of all, 'Skoda UK Customer services' 

tell people/customers 'Unofficially.

 

Why do they not just 'Officially; resolve the Factory Problems.?

Listen to the Customers, then check with the Skoda Technical Department, who speaks to the Factory, & get the issues resolved,

maybe within 1 year or 2 years or even 3.

 

They just let customer after customer have problems, let them get the run around and inconvenience & expense,

some problems minor and easily resolved, some are more involved and actually safety critical.

[jrw]

There is not one, that was me being sarcastic or actually taking the pith at things Technicians, Worksop Mangers, Salespeople.

Service Desk etc & worst of all, 'Skoda UK Customer services' 

tell people/customers 'Unofficially.

 

Why do the not just 'Officially; resolve the Factory Problems.?

    :zzz:

[S2ABY]

Kieron: Has the problem with the reverse gear selection been fixed?

 

 

I too have a problem now and again where it is very difficult to get it out of reverse.

 

Has anyone else had a problem with reverse gear and pulling left???

 

I wonder if there is an alignment problem with something that is causing the two problems.

 

 

 

 

Im going to wait and see what comes of it on monday regarding the alignment. But its a well documented issue and they have agreed its a fault. So if it doesnt get sorted I may look into rejecting the car. I have till the end of May I believe, (6 months old).

 

 

With the reverse, no unfortunately not. Originally they said they could not find a fault, but on the test drive I pointed it out and he said they would have to removed and strip the gearbox to see if anything was amiss. As I was leaving for america the next day I said i'd leave it for now. Its been reported so I can have the work done whenever is convenient to me. I think its a syncro or baulk issue, not sure if reverse has a syncro on these boxes.

 

Alignement and gear selection are completely unrelated, you can write that idea off.