I've got a 2020 vRS with just over 35,000 miles on it. I've had it since May. Getting an alignment done in September, I noticed that the caster on the front right was off. 

 

Upon returning from a road trip (I know), I gave the car a thorough clean, and noticed that my wheel arch brush would squeeze betweenthe right tyre and arch, but was a much looser fit on the left. 

 

I visited my local alignment specialist and as soon as he loosened the subrame bolts, it popped back into place with a nice twang. Nothing seemed obviously out of place.

 

A full four wheel alignment was then done, with everything now being in spec. I figured it was sorted and got on with my life. Yesterday, when giving the car another (now rare) bath, I found that the same issue with the right front wheel was there, with the wheel appearing slightly pushed back. It's worth noting that the front right wheel has a pretty deep/sharp cut in the rim, however nothing even close to buckled, etc.

 

The car hasn't had any bodywork done - the main dealer went over it with a fine comb (as the car was their replacement for my Leon that turned out to have hidden crash damage!). 

 

Any ideas? I'll pop down to the alignment place again this week, but I'm a bit stumped - if everything is in spec, then how can the wheel positon be off?

 

I'm not overly bothered about tyre wear (the way I drive they'll wear down long before any uneven wear) or the handling (it handles fine, really), but more concerned something might be bent and thus weakened...

I don't think you will be able to tell unless you are under the car.  Things to check include: Sway-Bar and link and the steering rack aren't bent.  Check that the wishbones are straight/true as well.  If the car has been clobbered on one side, the force may bend the various different components which may also wear the bushings.

Just to bump/update this - 

 

Everything is within factory spec (both on Hunter and S9 Aligner) - nothing seems to be bent that we can see. Certainly, if something was bent, then it wouldn’t all line up, would it?

 

Which brings me on to the only real explanation - the wing being out. My last car turned out to be crash damaged, and this car was found by the main dealer to make amends. It was sold to me on 28k miles, and is pretty much immaculate. I’d be surprised if it’s damaged as a) they checked it over thoroughly after the last one and b) the paintwork, etc, is all far too good to be a respray.

 

It’s been suggested to me that the wing might just be a bit out - do we think this is possible? I would estimate the difference between the tyre and arch liner (see photo) on either side is about 5-10mm out. I.E. the brush squeezes into the right side but fits loosely in the left.
 

I know nothing is perfect, but surely the car wouldn’t leave Škoda with the bodywork out by this much? I can’t really see any other explanation…

 

I’m a bit worried I’m having a repeat of my last car!

 

Edited 19 December, 20241 yr by Occy245

Alignment sheet from the S9 below - 

 

Edited 19 December, 20241 yr by Occy245

19 hours ago, Occy245 said:

It’s been suggested to me that the wing might just be a bit out - do we think this is possible?

Its a possibility.  You working on the basis that if the wing/rest of the body is out, then the alignment won't be true?  Its slightly hard from the supplied photo to really comment much.  If everything "looks" okay, then it might be worth getting the car independantly verified by an assessor.  It needs to be put on ramps and checked/measured.  Its also worth doing (if you haven't done it already) - doing an HPI and vehicle damage check on the car to see if its been damaged in the past.  IMHO - dealers don't often check this (they should) so you end up with problem car.

Has the front subframe misalignment you mention in the 3rg para. of your original post returned?

You posted that the subframe 'popped back into place' when the bolts were loosened - a little concerning, I thought.

4 hours ago, varaderoguy said:

Its a possibility.  You working on the basis that if the wing/rest of the body is out, then the alignment won't be true?  Its slightly hard from the supplied photo to really comment much.  If everything "looks" okay, then it might be worth getting the car independantly verified by an assessor.  It needs to be put on ramps and checked/measured.  Its also worth doing (if you haven't done it already) - doing an HPI and vehicle damage check on the car to see if its been damaged in the past.  IMHO - dealers don't often check this (they should) so you end up with problem car.

I’m working on the basis that if the alignment is true and correct, but there is still a potential discrepancy in the spacing between tyre and arch (the photo was to show the distance I mean, rather than show it’s off), then the only other explanation can be the wing.

 

HPI is clear, everything comes back clean. After the last car, the dealer manager and I both did several separate checks on this, and the car was inspected very very thoroughly. I even went to my local VAG indie to get it checked over after I bought it. Certainly, the bodywork is pristine, and everything around the area is correctly coloured, installed, aged, etc, etc. Certainly if there was an incident that required wing work in that area, then I doubt the sill and door would be fine. The sill is pristine and has the correct blue colour under coating all over it, and the door is definitely the correct door. Basically, everything looks correct in terms of light corrosion, colouring, etc etc. If there was any alignment-affecting damage done as the result of a crash, I highly doubt the car would look like it does. I’ve had the arch liner off and everything looks perfect.

 

The alignments and inspection were done outside of Škoda - however I am now considering booking it in and getting them to look at it, if the measurement between the centre of each sides wheels is off at all. Someone on an FB group mentioned they have a jig to check everything is true.

 

@Warrior193 the alignment (caster) is still straight and true, so it can’t be out of place. The guy that did it (alignment specialist, it’s all he does) reckoned it had been ugga dugga’d back on by someone without being done carefully. Not too sure why the subframe would be removed (car has had a DSG service, VAQ service, but AFAIK that doesn’t require the subframe to be dropped?) but everything checked out underneath.

 

All in all it is a very clean car, and without my last car I wouldn’t even be bothering with this issue - it’s just that I drove that Leon around for two years with damage that I really want to make sure this one is 100%.

Do you have a matching pair of tyres on the front?

On 08/01/2025 at 18:01, Zymurgy said:

Do you have a matching pair of tyres on the front?

 

Same shoes all round, equally worn PS5s - all at the same pressure.

 

It's booked in with Skoda in a few weeks, so will see what they think. I reckon it's whacked a kerb and something is a bit bent.