See my comments on the similar thread.

I recommend you go to an independant garage with a Hunter machine and you will get a print out of all your front and rear suspension geometry settings.You will then have proper documented evidence to discuss with Skoda.

My local garage does this for £35.

So I bought a different Monte than the one I test drove & experienced a strong pull to left.

I took the one I purchased for a test drive for a good 30mins checking for pull to the left - it wears full Conti's and has 3500 miles on clock.

It only really pulled with camber of road so I was reasonably happy to go with the sale.

Drove the car back last night and below 50 all is good but I must admit on motorway it does feel like it's pulling now :-(

I want to test the car like for like against my Q3 today on sane stretch of roads.

But it didn't feel right on motorway at 70.... Bit annoyed now tbh, don't think I've got a really bad car but something is a miss

Only saving grace is car will spend most of its life around town ~5k miles/ year, but I want it to be right.

No noticeable pulling on my 2014 tech after 3,000 miles and I'm on Dunlops, so obviously not the tyres! As others have implied, think it may well have been an underlying problem that Skoda tried mask with changing the tyres but have now fixed.

 

Would be interested to know whether any owners of late 2013 and 2014 Montes have had any issues with pulling to the left?

 

Shouldn't we be wary of buying used Montes with Continental or Pirelli tyres as this may mean they've had a problem pulling to the left?

Edited 10 May, 201412 yr by solomongrumpy

No noticeable pulling on my 2014 tech after 3,000 miles and I'm on Dunlops, so obviously not the tyres! As others have implied, think it may well have been an underlying problem that Skoda tried mask with changing the tyres but have now fixed.

Would be interested to know whether any owners of late 2013 and 2014 Montes have had any issues with pulling to the left?

Shouldn't we be wary of buying used Montes with Continental or Pirelli tyres as this may mean they've had a problem pulling to the left?

No, all that proves is that your car either doesn't have faulty Dunlops or doesn't experience the other fault as yet undiagnosed that people experience with Dunlops.

All vag cars, in particular this platform experience pull to the left ever so slightly. Roads and tyres also amplify this fact. My 03 polo did exactly the same. If you find a quiet road and drive on the wrong side of the road this will rule out camber issues as if the alignment is right it will go straight or to the right. This is how I proved to skoda that the fabia was totally wrong on the Dunlop tyres.

Now on the continental tyres it pulls ever so slightly to the left just the same as my octavia, my dad's mk5 golf, my mother in laws mk 6 golf and my brother in laws touran. My octavia wears Michelin tyres and the pull to the left is less pronounced than when it's wearing it's Avon ice touring winter rubber.

It's even less pronounced driving on France's beautifully crafted roads.

Also my fabia came with Dunlops and the reg ends zph. My friends fabia was bought at the same time. Same wheels and a factory order ending in zpd and that came with continentals. This was June last year. So no you shouldn't be wary buying one second hand.

"All VAG cars, in particular this platform experience a slight pull to the left. ever so slightly."

 

Not correct,

but i take it you mean Right Hand Drive Cars in the UK.

 

Do all left Hand Drive VAG  cars particularly on this platform experience a slight pull to the left, ie towards the other lane,

or do they Pull to they all pull ever so slightly to the right ?

 

If a car is set up for the type of camber for the country it is to be driven in or exported to,

it is still supposed to be safe to drive.

& they can be taken to another country or Continent and not be unsafe.

 

A 'Pulling to the left' to a degree that can be dangerous, on a new or used vehicle in the UK is an issue that needs investigating and rectifying,

& if you are happy that a Tyre Brand Change is enough, then that is a personal choice.

 

It is not a guarantee that the vehicles inherent fault has been resolved or correctly dealt with.

I never followed this up from my last post. Had the alignment rr checked and they adjusted the front toe slightly but was all in spec except the rear lh wheel has too much toe in, a little out of spec. The first alignment I had done when they swapped the tyres for pirellis was fine and in spec so they are now saying that the car pulling to the left is due to some sort of impact damage and won't carry out any more work on my car.

Sweet.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Will the Dealership not do any more,  

or Skoda that you have the Warranty with have said 'Enough!'  & they will pay for no more & to have 

the vehicle handling correctly and safely! ?

 

If the car is wrong and you know there was no impact damage while in your ownership,

just get onto Skoda UK Customer Services and say you will commission a 'Specialist Motor Vehicle Engineers Inspection Report' 

on the Vehicle,  (Trading Standards can help arrange that, as the faults are commonly known now)

& that you will be Invoicing them for the cost if the vehicle is faulty.

or

Offer them the opportunity for them to have the vehicle 'Professional Inspected by an Expert'

& then for them to rectify the faults correctly.

 

george

Can anyone say whether the rear suspension on the Fabia can be corrected?

 

My Dad's last Fabia (his current one is a couple of years old, so would have been 08 or so) pulled and he was told (bear with me, it was a while ago and from what Dad said, to paraphrase): 

 

"the rear suspension cannot be adjusted on a Fabia, you're better off shot of it".  I can't remember if that was a Skoda dealer or a tyre dealership having done an alignment test.  He had not spanked the car on anything.

 

Does anyone know if that sounds right and if it could be contributing to some of the posters' problems - a chassis fault that cannot be fixed (too much rear suspension "twist"?) and what could be done?

 

Or is there a tree that I'm barking up?

 

Or is

Found this on the net - interesting, and makes a sensible suggestion for those afflicted to consider. Good luck to all Vrs and Monte owners with this problem.

My many years in the Motor trade says this is well worth a go - seriously.

 

 

My car pulls to the left…

 

I was always happy though until recently where on the TT (and a Fabia we have) a pull to the left was never fixed. You could see even though all the specs were in tolerance the settings were not perfectly symmetrical. Things like camber were always different side to side and despite the other places saying it was fine I always thought it was causing it.

Anyway to cut a long story short I found a company in Leeds called ABC Car Service and after about 15 minutes on the phone it became obvious this was not your normal ‘get the car in and out fast’ company but one with the same sort of OCD as me and would get the car not just in spec, but as close to perfect as possible.

I took the Fabia (which had the worse pulling), he test drove the car first and then got it on the machine. Before even getting it on he said what would be wrong and he was right. The cambers and castor were out and this was caused by work that had been done on some bushes in the past. He undid the subframe, let it fall exactly where it should be and tightened it all up. The cambers were then perfect, as was castor. He adjusted the toe and we went for a test drive again. The car was now spot on!!!! He had managed to achieve what the others could either never be bothered with, or just didn’t know how to fix.

Very interesting 2nd Skoda.

 

 

I Posted this on 03 May 2013 - 23:11

"I'm getting the feeling its not an alignment problem.
Some thing else is causing this.
Time to think out of the box.
Could be that the steering rack and s/ shaft needs centralising and checking.
Modern cars should just not do this."

 

I'm back in on Monday I'll keep you posted. 7th time now.

CD

Hi everyone,

 

How are you all doing?

I'm sorry to say I don't have my beautiful Skoda anymore. I got rid of it as I couldn't cope with the stress of trying to get it fixed anymore and the dealer told me I would have to pay for a new alloy & potentially new suspension! They basically blamed me for the car pulling to the left..

However my friend told me of an article in autoexpress about a guy with the same problem as me and they complained and got new wheels and tyres under warrenty.

 I am absolutely appaled and devastated and am writing a massive complaint letter.

I never wanted to get rid of my car and now I can't get him back.

I'm not letting this drop.

 

Does anyone have any information that will help me in my complaint letter.

 

Thanks a lot

Vickey! 

Pm sent.

Apologies for the double-post (I just posted here:             #14            )

 

 

Basically I'm hoping someone has arrived at a solution that isn't either:

1) go back to the dealers and be fobbed off with tyres that mask the problem (been there, done that)

2) buy a new car (this IS my new car to replace my dodgy VRS with faulty gearbox and engine!!)

 

Anyone?

Edited 14 July, 201411 yr by louisv6

Vickey,

Write down a dairy of what happened when exactly. Write down all your expenses incurred to date due to actions of Lookers. Write some narrative to Skoda UK, copy trading standards in and request full refund of cost incurred and a neraly new car in perfect working order for the price you paid for the original one. The way you were treated is pury evil, scandalous, demeaning and down right sexist. Aks for legal advice from Citizens Advice Burea - send that letter to them first. Try put in frazes like "I loved the car and was hoping to become a happy long time Skoda driver but was so inhumanly treated as a young female professional that I all bit lost all the faith in car selling industry. I am hoping Skoda UK wi be able to rectify the unjustice done to me by one of your dealers"-something along thise lines, you will be albe to write it much better I am sure. Depending on what CAB will tell you I think you have serious grounds for legal redress from the evil dealers!

Should it help anyone, I've fixed this on mine - posted here:             #22            

Just got 2011 Monte with 15k. Registered September 2011

Got new Dunlops on front and slightly worn Pirelli's on rear.

All tyres at 32 psi

Yes get firm ride as low profile and more road noise but motor is fun to drive, NO noticeable pulling.

Car purchased from Listers Coventry with 12 months Skoda warranty.

So maybe Skoda changed factory setup or components

Could be the previous owner did complain of pulling to explain the part worn Pirelli on the rear; they are not a factory fit tyre, more associated with warranty replacement on cars with a pull from new.

 

So by the sounds of it the previous owner then wore down the front Pirrelli enough for your Dealer to need to fit new fronts. So its interesting to note Dunlop's back on the car and no pull. In our case we were informed the Dunlop Sport Maxx were not suitable for the Monte (despite the factory churning out cars with them as standard), although I think it was a factory set-up issue more than dodgy tyres, which the dealer got on top off, possible more by luck than judgement I feel.

 

 

TP

Welcome to the Forum.

 

FabMonte,

I would suggest that since the car is 3 years old, that if it ever was pulling to the left, Skoda might have fitted the Pirelli that are on  the rear 

still when trying to sort it out.

& then with good Dunlops on the front, that is a sign of more new tyres fitted.

 

So after 15,000 miles and 3 years you certainly hope that any used car that once pulled left early in its life no longer does.

 

The Pirelli Zero Nero do give a noticeably harder ride due to the Stronger Side Walls.

& as much as i like Dunlop Sport Maxx, i have given up on using them now, due to how easily the Side Walls get damaged.

I am getting good traction from the Pirelli, good protection on bad porholed roads,

it is just the Fabia now sounds like a tin full of nails as it rattles its self to destruction due to the very Strong Sidewalls.

 

EDIT.

Was still typing as The Plumber posted.

Edited 26 September, 201411 yr by goneoffSKi

Well the son has a monte bought about a month ago and he's just said it pulls to the left! , he's on dunlops :( the car is a 62 plate with 12k on the clock , should he get it checked ?

What a palavar ! Contacted skoda UK and told them of the issue , the operator firstly said they didn't know of any "issues" with the alignment nor dunlops , well until I mentioned the forum and was told " oh I remember something now ? " strange that , she then contacted local dealer lightcliffe skoda and they said " no know issues !" Can offer no assistance but will charge me £90 for 4 wheel alignment ? , so I've escalated the issue now and they'll be back in touch , so in essence we have to fork out £90 for an alignment as warranty will not cover it ! , then they'll look into it ? Wtf ! Looks like we are going to get stuffed again by skoda

That is the problem if the previous owner never raised the issue. So check with skoda UK customer services and see if they did. Then you can also have the supplying dealer road test the car. See if the master tech feels the pull. Then ask if it pulls. Did they just ignore that before selling it.

Nothing was flagged up by skoda UK about this car , the place we bought the car bought it through a sales place I think but I may have the original owners address and contact on it , all we can do is get it laser alignment here and then just throw some Pirelli at it , the du loos have done 12k so presumably not far from being replaced , ah **** !

The Fabia does seem camber sensitive, as both ours have a natural tendency to go with the camber; loosen your grip on the steering and they will slowly wander left or right. Take the Spaceback down the same road and she will stay more naturally on a straight course.

 

Maybe its the Fabia's old hydraulic steering system that has something to do with it :wonder:

 

 

TP

Think is more of the toe in /out than camber ? Or I'm I thinking of gout , I think we aren't going to bother with skoda we will get alignment checked / sorted here in his garage and then get tyres (Pirelli) through black circles and he can fit them himself