Hi, Can anyone point me to somewhere where I can get an independent report that carries some weight on my 2023 1L TSI Auto Kamiq's steering problem. On motorway/dual carriageway driving the steering wheel sticks slightly when you put slight pressure on the wheel  as if you wish to slowly move over etc. nothing happens then it moves with a very small and faint jump and you have to bring it back. You are constantly over steering. This is with lane assist off and it is very annoying and scary at 70 mph among motorway traffic. It starts to do this when it is really warmed up and has done a few miles. It is no problem around town. Took it to the dealer under warranty and they tested it and said there was nothing wrong with it. I don't think they went far enough in it. It was a few weeks till I again went any distance in it and realized that this issue has to be resolved somehow. I am going back to the dealer but my Kamiq is now just out of warranty and am prepared to get an independent report and go from there if the dealer is not helpful. Any advice would be appreciated. hanks.

Are you sure you are not simply "fighting" the lane assist function? It does not like it if you change lanes without indication. It's not a turn off once thing you need to turn it off every time.

The other suggestion that I have is tramlines on the motorway, there are bad in some places and can cause the effect you mention.

 

 

If it's not this then try :  Find an Engineer

 

The category you require  "Mechanical Failure" 

 

Since you made the report before your warrantee lapsed you should be fine unless the independent engineer does not find anything. 

Edited 25 February, 20251 yr by Aldfort

Thank You Aldfort, The lane assist is always turned off. It is definitely the car as it is doing it all the time, mile after mile and is very tiresome regardless of the road surface.

If the car is just out of the manufacturers warranty how long have you had it for and when did it start behaving the way it is? 

39 minutes ago, TMG555 said:

Thank You Aldfort, The lane assist is always turned off. It is definitely the car as it is doing it all the time, mile after mile and is very tiresome regardless of the road surface.

So is the issue speed related? You mention in your opening post that it happens at speed or on fast roads. These are exactly the sort of roads that suffer from tramlines. 

The other thing to check is that your tyre pressures are correct but I assume you'll have done this already. Skoda recommended pressures are quite high.

 

Edited 25 February, 20251 yr by Aldfort

First checks, binding front brake caliper (is one getting hot) or another to check, wheel alignment. Oh! and a third, tyres, do they match and inflated to the correct pressures?

It's just some items to check, if all good then you have to suspect something actually wrong on a steering component, weird it's only evident at speed.

Thanks guys. I've had the car about 6 months. Never noticed anything till around xmas time but had never really went far in it before then. Around town it feels fine, braking turning etc.. It is when it's on a motorway or dual or long open road. A road that's more or less straight with gentle curves and you are doing a constant speed, doesn't have to be high speed that the problem arises. It does it at different speeds. The wheel does not move when I apply a very light turning pressure so as to gently follow a curve or move over slowly. You can feel it as if it's stuck. You can feel the resistance in your fingers then it moves with a very small jump and the car has slightly over steered and has to be corrected constantly. Tyre pressures are OK and I'll check the other things but I really think it's something mechanical in the steering. I am going to see the main dealer where I got it from tomorrow and will let you know what happens. Thanks.

One other thing to check might be the adjustable steering column. Try releasing it, moving it and then relocking it.

Also check the fluid level.

Else lets hope the dealer can fix it. Insist on going for a drive with the master tech and have him drive on a stretch of road where you feel the problem.

Do you always indicate when changing lanes? If not, try and see if it makes a difference.

3 hours ago, Routemaster1461 said:

Do you always indicate when changing lanes? If not, try and see if it makes a difference.

The OP has said he turns lane assist off and has confirmed this already. Of course it is possible it's reactivating if travel assist has been activated.

Thanks Guys. I've already tried moving the column about with no change. Just been to the Main Dealer where I got the car from. And to be fair it is a tricky fault to describe to them. The Service Manager gave me his keys to his Kamiq DSG and told me to go give it a good run as far as I wished to see if it felt  any different to mine. His was fine at all speeds and on the same roads that mine is not. They have booked it in for next week and will let me go on a long road test with their technician. Lets hope they can find something. I didn't know what to expect as I have been there before with the fault but they have been and are very good. That's why I've been going there 14 years with Octavia's, never been ripped off once to my knowledge. Lets see what next week brings. Thanks.

1 hour ago, TMG555 said:

Thanks Guys. I've already tried moving the column about with no change. Just been to the Main Dealer where I got the car from. And to be fair it is a tricky fault to describe to them. The Service Manager gave me his keys to his Kamiq DSG and told me to go give it a good run as far as I wished to see if it felt  any different to mine. His was fine at all speeds and on the same roads that mine is not. They have booked it in for next week and will let me go on a long road test with their technician. Lets hope they can find something. I didn't know what to expect as I have been there before with the fault but they have been and are very good. That's why I've been going there 14 years with Octavia's, never been ripped off once to my knowledge. Lets see what next week brings. Thanks.

This sounds very positive.  Let's hope that the dealer agrees that there is an issue. 

Completely different car but this reminds me of the way my Toyota Yaris behaved. There was no problem around town or parking but on a long straight motor way the steering behaved as described. A very slight correction seemed to make no difference so you added a bit more angle to the wheel and you got more change of direction than you wanted. I decided that the very small inputs I made when travelling on a long straight road were not enough to activate the power steering input and seemed to make no difference to the vehicle path but ever-so slightly more input triggered the power steering and the result was a bit more change of direction than you expected. It was a bit annoying because I could not make the very fine adjustments that I wanted but I never thought it was dangerous, the changes in direction were very small.

7 hours ago, SoupDragon said:

Completely different car but this reminds me of the way my Toyota Yaris behaved. There was no problem around town or parking but on a long straight motor way the steering behaved as described. A very slight correction seemed to make no difference so you added a bit more angle to the wheel and you got more change of direction than you wanted. I decided that the very small inputs I made when travelling on a long straight road were not enough to activate the power steering input and seemed to make no difference to the vehicle path but ever-so slightly more input triggered the power steering and the result was a bit more change of direction than you expected. It was a bit annoying because I could not make the very fine adjustments that I wanted but I never thought it was dangerous, the changes in direction were very small.

I've had similar feelings about a Honda Sickbrick (parents' car, driven with permission)

Thanks everyone for your input. An update. Took the car to the dealers Thurs 6th and went for a long road test with their technician, 20 plus miles in order to get it on a dual carriageway with long sections with no roundabouts, lights etc. The technician experienced the fault for himself saying that he could feel the restriction in the steering as if it was sticking. Left the car with them and later in the day they phoned to say they had found a fault and and Skoda apparently had a fix for it. They were waiting for Skoda Technical to respond to them. Left the car with them overnight as I had nobody to give me a lift availiable and the dealership is awkward to get to on public transport. Skoda still had not responded by Friday lunchtime so went and got my car back. I'm assuming it's a software fix and hopefully we will get it sorted early next week. My dealer, I think is the largest Skoda dealership in the North East and is a family run businesses with an excellent reputation so I believe they are trying their best to sort this. Thanks.

Just a follow up to my problem. Skoda got back to the dealer with a "Test Plan"? whatever that is. I took my car back in and was given a loan car until they sorted it out. They said the "Test Plan" was inconclusive and changed the the whole steering rack and column under warranty. The car seems to be fixed and I think the steering feels slightly lighter. Thanks.