Small Anoyance - Alignment

I am struggling with an annoyance that I am having a hard time letting a dealer correct. When I first drove the car home, the steering wheel was slightly tilted tot he left. As things have settled, it is now about 1/2" off to the left. I can see the bottom of the blinker lever and just the top of the wiper lever when looking at it to see if its level.

It also has a slight pull to the right. I am pretty sure my 2006 Jetta did the same thing. Anyone have this or is it just me?

I wish they would not have to do a full alignment on it. If it was like the F250's I would correct the wheel myself.

Lots of possible issues. Are the tyres all the same make and model and wear?

Could you be more detailed by what you mean by "the steering wheel was slightly tilted tot he left."?

The car has 2,800 miiles on it and all the tires have the same amount of air. I have checked them 4 times. All new tires.

If I put the steering wheel straing, the car would drive slightly to the right.

I would suggest Road Force balance the tires and use the tire location on the road force machine.

If that does not repair the problem then four wheel alignment is required.

I would have my local tyre dealer check the tyres and alignment. Ask your friends and neighbors for their experiences to help you find a good tyre shop. Don't assume that a nationally know name means they are a good job.

I would like to know if any other 2012 Passat guys have this issue!

18" Hankooks here. Remember that wider, 45 series tires are going to be more affected by road deviation. Keep that in mind.
I asked the dealer about the tendancy to wander (the car, not me!), as the car just wouldn't go "hands-off" while on a straight, level (minimal crown) portion of interstate. But, it didn't wander more in one direction than another. (I seem to remember this in my early miles with our JSW, but either I got used to it, or the suspension settling corrected the alignment, in a good way...53k miles, no uneven tire wear!)

Dealer put it on the alignment machine (I had to wait for the machine to be calibrated for the newer Passat?), and then I was shown only green numbers on the screen. Sorry, I didn't write them down, but they showed all measurements "within specs". The tech commented that running higher than OEM pressures might be contributing to the wandering, and recommended backing the pressure down. I chose to keep them at 40psi.

Not sure if this helps, as mine was wandering both directions, not pulling to one side or another. Also, my steering wheel is dead-center. Now, at 10k, and after a 2600 mile road trip to FL, I have to say it has settled in nicely. I can't tell if I've adjusted to it, or if the suspension settling has straightened things out.

I can be on any side of the crown and it will pull slightly and I will have to correct to the left slightly.

This seems separate from the wander issue. I am just unsure if i want the dealer to adjust the wheel a bit or not......

I had the exact problem with mine. I reported it to my dealer with 1200 miles on it because I live a 100 miles away but they put it on the machine and did an alignment for free. They told me that they did center the front end and the steering wheel was straight. Everything was alright afterwards.

Have your dealer do an alignment and stop fretting over it. There's obviously an alignment issue that needs to be corrected.

As for our car, it's a little wandery on center on the highway, but I think that's the Hankooks. Otherwise the alignment is pretty good.

VeeDubTDI said:

Have your dealer do an alignment and stop fretting over it. There's obviously an alignment issue that needs to be corrected.

As for our car, it's a little wandery on center on the highway, but I think that's the Hankooks. Otherwise the alignment is pretty good.

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Have you noticed if road surface makes any difference in the wandering?

My TDI SEL was the same. My dealer did a full alignment under warranty and now it's perfect and feels great. I also had them turn on the rain-sensing wipers and rain-sensing window closing feature.

cookeze: Did you get a look at the numbers before and after? I'd like to know what was off and needed to be changed.

Niner said:

Have you noticed if road surface makes any difference in the wandering?

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I haven't noticed yet. I'll try and pay attention next time I'm behind the wheel for an extended period of time.

I had to go through VW customer service to get anything done. Dealer said an alignment was not covered under warranty. VW stepped up and gave me the credit to get it done. Goes in tomorrow.

tdiatlast said:

cookeze: Did you get a look at the numbers before and after? I'd like to know what was off and needed to be changed.

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I didn't see the numbers but asked them to center the steering wheel and said the car pulled slightly to the right. That was enough to get the warranty coverage. I did this at the 90-day inspection. BTW, my TDI SEL was a 12/11 built car.

The slip on my car says they adjusted the front and rear tow. I shook my head as it should say toe.

I just took my car in today for the 90 day courtesy check. My car has pulled to the right from the day, I pulled out of the lot. The service tech took my car for a drive and said it was not pulling to the right. I then had the shop manager go for a ride with me and he observed the pulling to right issue. I even showed him in 5 different lanes of the interstate that crown in the road was not the issue. They did a computerized four wheel alignment and it came back that my right front and right rear toe was off a little. I drove home after the appointment and no change still pulls to the right. I will be calling the shop tomorrow to see what the next step will be. For info I have the 18' Hancocks which probably magnifies the issue.