Hi All,

Thanks for reading.

My 3 week old 800 mile VRS estate has (from new) had an off-centre steering wheel, its slightly to the left. So when straight car goes right.

The wheels are aligned and it drives straight, so no pulling. I obviously want this correcting, the service dept at Marshalls Skoda are going to have a look, and I heard someone in the background say "just adjust track rod ends". Is this issue that simple ? or will it need a full ADAS recalibration to sort the issue, clearly the dealership do not have this level of equipment.

Thanks

Baz

Couple of things. Firstly, the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist Systems) is completely irrelevant - that's stuff like braking assist, blind spot assist, lane keep, etc. None of that will have a bearing on the alignment of the vehicle. For example, I recently replaced my control arms, and while the steering was all over the place, on the way to the alignment place the lane assist (as an experiment) had no issue keeping me straight. Secondly, the dealership should be able to do an ADAS recalibration - I'm not sure where else you'd really want to go to have one done.

A PDI (pre delivery inspection) does not usually involve an alignment, so while the car should come straight and true, it's not uncommon for it not to. That being said, it's entirely possible for the suspension system of a car to be aligned and true, while the steering system is a bit wonky. It's not ideal, but it can happen - usually if the tie roads are replaced. In this case I'm not too sure, maybe someone slipped up on the assembly line - the car is usually aligned as it is built.

The track rod ends/tie rods are the final link between the steering wheel and the wheels - by lengthening or shortening them, you adjust the angle of the wheel, relative to the rest of the rack. So yes, adjusting the track rod ends should sort this issue. That said, I personally don't think a car can be aligned, if the steering is off-centre.

I would get them to sort the steering (tracking), which will also involve a full four wheel alignment. Sorted. Even on a brand new car, nothing will ever be perfect - within factory tolerances is all you're after. It's a brand new car though, so make sure they do everything - caster, rear wheels, thrust angle, the lot. An issue with the caster on my car is how I realised the front subframe wasn't in the right place.

OK Great, I shall mention this to them when dropping off. They said they need it for 2-3 hrs so maybe they're already considering a check like you mentioned ?

I'd double check that they're doing it all, however the tech would have to be pretty special to try and sort the tracking and not the alignment. It's all done on the same machine, as part of the same process.

Aside from that, hope you enjoy the car! Mine is a few years older, but I absolutely love it.

56 minutes ago, OccyVRS said:

Ein paar Dinge. Erstens sind die Fahrerassistenzsysteme (ADAS) völlig irrelevant – das sind Dinge wie Bremsassistent, Toter-Winkel-Assistent, Spurhalteassistent usw. Nichts davon hat Einfluss auf die Spureinstellung des Fahrzeugs. Ich habe zum Beispiel kürzlich meine Querlenker ausgetauscht, und obwohl die Lenkung völlig ungleichmäßig war, konnte mich der Spurhalteassistent (versuchsweise) auf dem Weg zur Achsvermessung problemlos gerade halten. Zweitens sollte der Händler in der Lage sein, eine ADAS-Neukalibrierung durchzuführen – ich bin mir nicht sicher, wo Sie sonst wirklich hingehen sollten, um das durchführen zu lassen.

Bei einer PDI (Pre Delivery Inspection) wird in der Regel keine Achsvermessung durchgeführt. Obwohl das Auto eigentlich gerade und spurtreu sein sollte, kommt es nicht selten vor, dass dies nicht der Fall ist. Dennoch ist es durchaus möglich, dass das Fahrwerk eines Autos spurtreu und spurtreu ist, die Lenkung aber etwas wackelig ist. Das ist nicht ideal, kann aber vorkommen – meist beim Austausch der Spurstangen. In diesem Fall bin ich mir nicht ganz sicher, vielleicht hat jemand am Fließband einen Fehler gemacht – das Auto wird normalerweise beim Bau spurtreu ausgerichtet.

Die Spurstangenköpfe sind die letzte Verbindung zwischen Lenkrad und Rädern. Durch Verlängern oder Verkürzen wird der Winkel des Lenkrads im Verhältnis zur restlichen Lenkung angepasst. Das Einstellen der Spurstangenköpfe sollte dieses Problem also lösen. Allerdings glaube ich persönlich nicht, dass ein Auto ausgerichtet werden kann, wenn die Lenkung nicht mittig steht.

Ich würde die Lenkung (Spureinstellung) überprüfen lassen, was auch eine komplette Achsvermessung der vier Räder beinhaltet. Geschafft. Selbst bei einem brandneuen Auto ist nichts perfekt – die Werkstoleranzen sind alles, was zählt. Es ist aber ein brandneues Auto, also stellen Sie sicher, dass sie alles überprüfen – Nachlauf, Hinterräder, Schubwinkel, alles. Ein Problem mit dem Nachlauf meines Autos führte dazu, dass ich merkte, dass der vordere Hilfsrahmen nicht richtig saß.

You Know the Instruktion from the Factory?

Generally it's the supplying dealership that performs a PDI. AFAIK, with VW, the car is aligned as it is built. Some manufacturers do a brief check at the end, but generally it's done as they go.

BTW @Ootohere any idea if this is a thing? I don't really see how it holds water, but you never know.

VWROC - VW R Owners Club

All alignment must be done by VW due to ACC Calibration.

I spoke to a technician in VW today who explained to me that any wheels alignments must now be done by VW, as they will also need to incorporate the alignment of the ACC. Aligning the wheels withou...

Edited 7 August, 20257 Aug by OccyVRS

Odis S, the tool that authorized dealers must use, calibrates an A5 camera (camera in the windshield) only in direct combination with the chassis measurement system.

2 minutes ago, Cairus said:

Odis S, the tool that authorized dealers must use, calibrates an A5 camera (camera in the windshield) only in direct combination with the chassis measurement system.

Which makes sense, but is there really a need to calibrate the system (camera) every time the alignment/tracking is adjusted? I can't imagine it's cheap.

Sheet of paper and reality are always two different things 😜

For example, if the camera has lost its home position, you can enter it yourself 😉

Many Vehicles, VW Group / fleet / lease etc are PDI,d at Distribution Centres in the UK and not at Dealerships.