6R Polo GTI steering pull problem

[pologti18t]

Could it be one of the front brakes dragging?

[kaanage]

Dealer advises that this is a characteristic of the Polo model and nothing more can be done (even after them trying to repair it multiple times) They explained to me that its due to the hydraulic power steering in this model and nothing is actually wrong with my car, it should pull like this apparently...

What do you guys think?

I think you should drive one of the dealer's demo Polos and check if they pull like yours...

[ill0gitech]

What way is it pulling? Left or right?

Keep in mind that roads often have camber too (even ones that look flat), to drive water off the road, so "some drift" to the left should be expected (or slightly right from the right lanes of a dual carriage way)
Not sure 1-2 seconds would normally see you into a guard rail though, unless you were already close. Is it just slightly moving, or jerking the wheel/car?

[brad]

I'll be honest. We didn't have machines that measured thrust lines when I was doing them (didn't even have a 4 wheel system). That figure doesn't sound terrible though.

What were the other figures on the alignment report please? L&R caster, camber & toe. If you can scan it & post, even better.

The others have mentioned road camber but I'm assuming you know a few relatively flat roads & have had other vehicles that drove relatively straight?

I a;so agree about taking a dealer demo for a drive.

edit: My mate has a 6R Polo. It took the guy we go to 45mins & 3 goes on the aligner to get it right.

[rschmutt]

Hi Again,

Firstly thanks everyone for replying... Its been difficult getting answers or help so far from the dealer...

My previous car was a 2011 118TSI Golf and had many cars before that. All previous cars drove straight on the local roads and up and down the M1 from Gold Coast to Brisbane.
This one jerks as soon as you let go of the wheel, not like a normal car where it drifts slowly.. Its really quite dramatic and the 2 independent shops I have taken it to agree.

I have a scanned copy of the wheel alignment report, can I email it to you Brad?

it pulls to the left. I have driven another demo model and it pulled also.. Not as bad as mine though but why the dealer is suggesting that its a characteristic... Could be out of the same batch with the same issue?

Does anyone else have this problem with a Polo GTI?

[brad]

Just post it up here as there are plenty of knowledgeable folk that can help. Gavs knows his stuff even though we disagree on some aspects of wheel alignments. It's always better to have somebody thinking differently.

Use photobucket or flickr or similar to host the image. Give it a whirl

[rschmutt]

Here we go, see if this works!

[mrkris]

Dealer advises that this is a characteristic of the Polo model and nothing more can be done

i dont usually like to start trouble but i hate reading stuff like this. that's a cop out and they know it. did they give you that in writing? id be complaining to VAG / Consumer Affairs.

[rschmutt]

[brad]

There is more caster on the R than the L. This will make it drift to the L.

At a guess, they need to skew the subframe (if possible). Pull the L forward & the R backward. Try & maintain the camber difference (preferably a bit more difference) so that the LHS has about 0.5 degree more than the RHS.

Pull the toe back to about 1mm total.


At the back, I would undo the bolts where the rear axle assy bolts to the chassis & try & bring the RHS forward & the LHS back (I think that's the direction) & try & even up the toe as I believe the greter toe on the LH wheel will make the back track to the right while the front is trying to go left.

As I said earlier, try Fulcrum or Accurate. They are among the better operators up there (so my mates in BNE tell me). I realise you shouldn't have to chase this yourself but if the dealer won't come to the party & VW AU won't listen (have you tried them?)....