subframe misalignment

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
my 2015 new 82 mile passat tdi sel had a subframe misalignment causing castor and camber problems. dealer quoted 4000 plus to fix. Had fixed by a great VW master tech for 3900 less. Apparently this is caused by the improper chaining down on the transporter. According to him its fairly common. Now with it setup with zero toe front and rear, .01 degrees negative rear camber, its great to drive. Conti tires. You might never know you have this problem unless you put on te alignment rack because of factory toe settings, untill you have ruined a perfectally good set of tires. My 56k passal sel that I'm selling back to VW has a good 30k miles left on the conti tires because I did this setup on it.
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
P.S.
naturally as you could expect, VW wouldnt pay a dime. They still haven't learned anything.............
 

BarryT82

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Location
Charleston, WV
TDI
‘12 JSW TDI
I've owned a few new VW's with alignment issues that VW wouldn't fix. The Passat was the worst. I had it aligned multiple times and it always pulled to the right.
 

bustNfuel

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2002
Location
Raleigh, NC
TDI
Sold: 13 Passat SEL TDI
I guess I'm lucky. Just changed out the original Conti's with almost 60K for another set. They don't make 'em anymore (Continental ContiPro Contact) so I lucked out.

No significant or abnormal wear. Nice and even wear all across the tires at each corner.

Not giving this one back either. They'll have to pry it from my CDH. Love my TDi Passat.
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
I've owned a few new VW's with alignment issues that VW wouldn't fix. The Passat was the worst. I had it aligned multiple times and it always pulled to the right.
I suspect you meant "drifted" to the right? I think it's an important distinction.
 

afarfalla

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Location
sugar land tx
TDI
05 Passat sedan and 05 wagen
My 13 would travel left to right across 3 lanes in 5 seconds if I let the wheel go, bought it new, 13 Passat sel prem. I always had to steer left
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
my 2013 was spot on with the alignment figures I posted. Hands off wheel at 80 no wander. I would never have a car that isn't set up to drive properly, cause it so simple to correct the problem.
 

afarfalla

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Location
sugar land tx
TDI
05 Passat sedan and 05 wagen
[. I would never have a car that isn't set up to drive properly, cause it so simple to correct the problem.[/QUOTE]

VW could never fix this problem, replaced brakes and rotors, speed balanced the tires, the alignment printout was perfect, car still pulled right? Never did find the problem car was crushed 2 months after I bought it
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
I would recommend to anyone to take your car to a front end specialist for proper alignment rather than a vw dealer. They understand the importance of proper serup. This applies to any make of car, not just VW. There is nothing wrong with the Passat chassis design and construction which precludes having it right.
 

pdq import repair

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Location
idaho
TDI
09 Jetta
I have seen cars that suffered some sort of trauma that knocked the alignment out get fixed by merely loosening the subframe mounting bolts and jiggling it around a little to allow everything to relax back to normal. Some cars like many Japanese have no other adjustment than toe, but I have seen numbers come back to normal with a settling procedure.

I have seen the same effect on engine vibration due to binding mounts, where you loosen all the mounts and shake the engine around a little and retighten.

May not be the cure, but at the very least a first step in alignment.
 

BarryT82

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Location
Charleston, WV
TDI
‘12 JSW TDI
My 13 would travel left to right across 3 lanes in 5 seconds if I let the wheel go, bought it new, 13 Passat sel prem. I always had to steer left
Mine was a 2013 SEL TDI and did the same thing. I had it aligned at the dealership and independent shops, but it always had the issue.
 

BarryT82

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Location
Charleston, WV
TDI
‘12 JSW TDI
I suspect you meant "drifted" to the right? I think it's an important distinction.
No. It wasn't drifting. I had to keep the steering wheel tilted to the left or it would take off to the right. There was a post a while back ago about the factory specs being incorrect and a TSB to do something with the tires and balancing.
 

thundershorts

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Location
west chester pa
TDI
2015 passat tdi sel premium 2015 golf s tdi gls tdi b5.5, 2002 eurovan,Peugeot 505 td,Citroen cx25 prestige
pdq has it right, my misalignment of subframe probably was caused by how and where it was chained down on the transporter.
 
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