I have had this problem for quite a while now that my car sometimes wants to pull to the left on certain roads. What happens is that the road is straight, & the steering is straight, but the car starts going to the left & I am having to correct it. Now some of these roads have camber, but others don't so I am finding it odd that it wants to pull left on a perfectly straight road. I have done all the checks such as tyre pressure, condition of tyres, alignment, tie rods, etc... that are recommended when the steering starts playing up. I have also had new brake discs put in so something like a sticking caliper would have been picked up on during the replacement. 

The odd thing is a while back on the same road that the car would pull to the left, it did not & it was perfectly straight. The next day it was pulling again. 

Any advice would be grateful, as I am thinking whether to get something else even though I do like my VRS. 

Have you checked the rear for binding brakes/worn suspension?

My last MOT they didn't notice a sticking caliper . Have you scanned for codes?

 

Check the pads wear pattern, it could be tapered etc giving you some clues. 

 

It could be a faulty abs sensor as when there's a problem with the abs it can also effect the power steering control and other computer controlled steering functions. 

 

I'd check caliper, guide pins sticking, piston sticking, condition of pads etc first, well after I scanned for faults.

Cheers @MicMac & @Aj77. When I had my last MOT not long ago, nothing was said about the cause of any steering pull. I am tempted to go back to the garage & tell them to have an extra look for any clues why this is happening. The thing is when I have taken it to different places they cannot see anything wrong, but I will try my luck one more time. I will keep updating on this issue. 

There are no errors on the dashboard, although I know a scan with VCDS may prove otherwise. A shame the cheap cable I have for the Fabia does not work with my Octavia, otherwise I would have done a scan already. I might be tempted to get a compatible cable for myself unless there is someone local that can help me out. 

I got one of those elm237 Bluetooth scanners and as far as I can see it does everything a more expensive one can but don't quote me on that. It cost me £5 on eBay.

That's really your best bet is too look for codes, for example that scanner tells me I have a problem with the EGR yet nothing(as far as I can remember, but not 100% sure as I've cleared the code now) shows on the dash no fault lights etc. I just happened to try it out the other day and was surprised to see the error

 

Edited 27 January, 20215 yr by Aj77

1 minute ago, Aj77 said:

I 

 

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Edited 27 January, 20215 yr by Aj77

48 minutes ago, Aj77 said:

I got one of those elm237 Bluetooth scanners and as far as I can see it does everything a more expensive one can but don't quote me on that. It cost me £5 on eBay.

That's really your best bet is too look for codes, for example that scanner tells me I have a problem with the EGR yet nothing(as far as I can remember, but not 100% sure as I've cleared the code now) shows on the dash no fault lights etc. I just happened to try it out the other day and was surprised to see the error

 

Thanks for the information. I just ordered one. Which app did you use, was it Torque or another?

28 minutes ago, sleeper77 said:

Thanks for the information. I just ordered one. Which app did you use, was it Torque or another?

 

Yeah there are a few, I've got infocar and garage pro, GP costs maybe £10 a year I think if you want the extras. Also on my car I had to physically trim the plastic around the pins on the scanner to get it to fit and even then you have to wiggle it around until it makes a decent connection with the port. After a few goes you get the hang of it, but it does disconnect randomly, it's not ideal but seeing as you only use it occasionally it's not that big a deal. Maybe the OBD2 port in your car has better access .

Cars will always pull to the side - in the direction water would flow on the camber - to some degree, however some cars are more sensitive than others.

 

I assume you've had 4 wheel alignment done
checked the balance of your tyres 
when were the lower ball joints last checked / changed 

check rear bushings 

I assume you've got standard size tyres on and matching brands (you'd be amazed at the difference compared to mix F/R)

any modifications?

you've not mentioned how many miles your cars done/ how long you've had it 

@Gissin. That I understand, although it seems to do so more than it should. 

 

- Yes

- Yes

- Not that long ago & were changed

- Yes, nothing mentioned last time I took it but I will take it to the garage again for another check if they missed out on this or something else

- Standard size tyres, different brands front & back but no difference when I had matching tyres throughout. Still same behaviour

- Yes, Whiteline RARB & WALK. Again, car pulled to the left before these mods

- 51,000 miles & over 4 years, car is 9 years old.

 

you car sounds very similar to mine if I don't set the steering absolutely perfect( I mean perfect like less than 1 degree) of if the road has any chamber at all it will drift

most cars have a slight pull left (for RHD) this is a safety design feature so if you do drift its not into incoming traffic 

 

ok so having a the uprated alk and arb will make the steering a little more sensitive could this have an effect when setting the laser alignment ? not sure on that 

 

Take some measurements between the axle lines (front to rear) and see if both sides are the same distance apart. check far chassis twist 

swap the wheels around and see if that helps. assuming not unidirectional ie L to R  see if it  pulls right 

check springs especially right at the top and bottom as slight cracks can make cars lean every so slightly one way.