This is doing my head in, bought the car about 2 months ago private, ive had the tracking done 4 times, 3 times at autocare (they re-did at twice a week after the 1st time) and 1 time at a vw dealer, i also have 3 brand new tyres on and the back right is nearly new (2 tyres at the front are avon, back 2 are different)
The reading from the VW dealer told me that i have a slightly bent rear axle as the reading said it was pointing about 1.17 degrees to the left, would this be the actual cause of it, as i know you'll never get 0 degrees, and it does it at any speed.
Also the steering feels a little lumpy, when you turn the wheel sometimes, its feels like the wheel drags. Ive checked the bearings in the wheels as well, but no joy. The thing is a new rear axle is £600 !!!
any ideas much appreciated
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I seem to remember MKIVs pulling to the left as being a constant problem that most dealers are aware of - some people were accused of crash damage, others were told that it was a design feature. Not sure what the outcomes were though.
The Top Gear site has reader feedback on most cars, and the MKIV section is full of extremely annoyed owners, many of whom conplain about that very issue (along with broken coils, windows falling in, engine management going for a burton, faulty locks, blah, blah....)
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Whereabouts on the topgear site, ive looked at car reviews etc but i cant find what your talking about
but from what you say its a common fault, maybe i'll just ring around some vw specialists to see if they know anything, but it is a pain in the butt, its just not a nice drive
thanks anyway
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They all do it. My Wife's Golf 1.6 Mk IV did it from new..drove me bonkers..had the tracking laser-aligned by VW and independants.
Then VW took me to an empty and newly asphalted car park that was billiard-table flat; they took all their Golf Mk IV with pulling-left complaints customers there. And hey presto- it steered straight and you could accelerate/brake hard with both hand off the wheel and it would handle straight.
So this is a design issue; some Golfs are worse than others. But once I drove back on the normal road again the pulling-left problem came back. But VAG will just blag about the state of UK roads and all that B*&^%$£!
Would I buy another: No.
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The Golf pulling to the left has been mentioned before.
My Octavia (same suspension) slightly pulls to the left in England and slightly pulls to the right in France! ie it is very sensitive to cambers.
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So, there are a few people that have this, well i suppose its a little more comforting in a way to know im not the only one, and its not the fractionally bent rear axle that VW tried to flog me a replacement for !!!!
But it makes me more annoyed on the other hand that VW never said anything, they must have known about it
So has anyone heard of any fix that could be provided by a VW specialist, or does anyone know the exact cause. I must admit that my car does excatly the same as what everyone else has said, i.e. fine on a dead straight road, but the slightest camber and hey ho......
does anyone have the occasionally lumpy stearing as well when they are turning one way and then bring it back and it feels like there\'s a slight drag on the wheels ??
must admit, i always used to want a golf gti, and now i have one, whoopedo !!
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Ahh, sorry about that - its not the site that runs under the BBC one, I should have said :)
You can find the bit I was talking about here;
www.topgear.com/content/my_topgear/duffers/volkswa.../
although there are quite a few more places on that site with similar information.
Kuang, I changed the way you referenced the link. If you simply put in the address without tags it will show as a link just the same, but it will automatically spawn an additional window rather than taking someone out of this site without warning. Thanks. M.
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My wife's Golf 'Driver' does the same but then it does a lot of strange things and not only when she's driving. It's H reg. 1.6L. code EZ can someone tell me what Mk Golf this equivalent to?
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For the avoidance of doubt, that's 2 in Roman numerals and not eleven.
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For the avoidance of doubt, that's 2 in Roman numerals and not eleven.
Gorrit, Cheers.
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Coo, you learn something new every day! :)
Thanks for the info, and many apologies for the confusion :)
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1.17 degrees on the back axle is not significant. Many cars will be a couple of degrees out one way or the other (compliance in the rubber bushes is more than this).
Sounds like the car has very little castor on the front wheels - makes it sensitive to camber (and sidewinds I should think). Will also reduce steering 'self centering' coming out of corners and could account for the strange steering 'feel' you describe.
Its true that UK roads are bad - most German roads are very smooth (in the West at least) and I guess VW design cars for Germany.
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Thanks for the view
do u know a fix for this castor \'problem\' ???
i find it particularly sad that VW dont say about it, and complete strangers say a lot more, i guess thats what we have to deal with as consumers.
Also you seem to be coming from a general car point of view, u just talking physics to me ???
A
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Don't really understand your last sentence.
Castor is not generally adjustable - its set at the design and manufacture stage.
Castor angle is the amount by which the steering axis is inclined back from the vertical. More castor = stronger self-centering action and greater tendancy to 'run straight'. Less castor reduces self centering action, but steering is lighter and has a sharper 'turn in'. Bascially it down to the chassis engineers to get it right. On heavily cambered roads (like many UK roads) a car with small castor angle is more likely to try to drift to the left.
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Try this site www.uk-mkivs.net Lots of info about MKIV Golfs/Boras etc. Very friendly site.
link ammended. DD
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