2014 NMS alignment pull right torque steer ?

I think your dealer is wrong, I am fairly certain alignment is covered under the "adjustments" clause for 1 year 12K miles. That is basically industry standard and I'm fairly certain I've read that on these forums too.

At this point I think everybody is looking the wrong direction. Alignments are simple and it's been on two rigs already, a third would confirm who's right like you said. But IMO, you don't have an alignment problem. Alignment problems typically manifest themselves at steady state cruising, and aren't usually magnified by throttle (except maybe if caster is out of whack). Neither will a brake issue be magnified by throttle, or by popping it into neutral. I think the problem you have is suspension related.

Couple of years ago I was at Willow Springs, they were holding drag races. This highly modified Civic Wagovan pulled up and being a unique car for drag racing, I was taking pictures of it. As I was snapping pictures I realized his front wheels would actually severely toe-out when he was on the throttle, and then snap back to straight when he went to shift gears. I asked a couple folks to look for it on his second run and they all saw it too. I think that's what you need to be looking for, something loose on one side of the car. Maybe have someone driving next to you when you apply throttle (obviously everyone needs to be careful here since we know the car wants to change lanes), and look for the passenger side wheel to turn but the driver side to keep going straight ahead. If you had easy access to a dyno it might be easy to go that way, but I know practically nobody has easy access to a dyno. Could be something like a worn out ball joint? That would be easy to check, just by putting the wheels in the air and yanking at the tires. Just something to think about.

Did you ever get this resolved? I just took delivery of a 2014 passat tdi sel a couple of days ago and I'm experiencing the same problem. Car pulls to the right cruising and gets worse the harder you accelerate. It also shakes a little bit more under acceleration that I think it should.

I shopped around for this car for a couple of weeks and drove several. None of the others I drove did this. I decided on this one immediately after driving two others on the lot. I did not test drive this one which I guess was stupid on my part.

Do I need to return this car for another or is there an easy fix for it? I traded it an a 2011 jetta 2.5 sel and it drove perfectly straight and smooth.

I have noticed that every late model VW i have driven has the steering wheel a little to the left, including my 2011 jetta sel since new.

Should be no pull right or left under hard acceleration, and absolutely no "shakes a little bit more under acceleration than I think it should." What makes you think it should shake at all? We're only talking 140 hp and 236 torque...

I know there shouldn't be or else I wouldn't post about it.

As far as the shakes, I have owned over 30 cars half or more which were FWD and all of them exhibit a little bit of shaking. That is just the nature of FWD. I feel that this one just shakes entirely too much at highway speeds and under acceleration.

ascalise: Hope your dealer is cooperative.
I've never had any "shaking", and I've had several FWD VW/Audis, and 4WD, including a chipped 1993 Audi S-4...over 300hp, plenty of torque.
With the DSG, your 2014 should not shake at all. Good luck!

I actually purchased the Car at northpark VW in san antonio and live in mcallen tx roughly 250 miles south. I am keeping in touch with my sales rep for now. I just got back with the car last night. I'd rather not deal with my local dealer but can't run back up to san antonio anytime this week. I might call the service writer at the local dealer and see what he says.

For now, i'm not concerned about the shaking yet. I am more concerned about the pulling to the right issue. It is really bad. Also, i don't think the DSG has anything to do with either of these issues.

Have you tried moving tires side to side and see if the pull follows?
If you have a bad tire it will pull or push.

I have not. Like I said, i just got home last night. This is the first thing I am going to have the dealer try. I have had this problem before on another car. Also, just ran into it last week with a friends truck that we were working on.

I just bought a 2014 Passat SE 6M and mine pulls to the right some and the steering wheel spoke is angled downwards to the left a bit as well, so this is not a one up problem. I spoke to my dealer about it when they called me to ask how the new car was and told them. The salesman got back with me about 30 minutes later and said they wanted me to drive it for 1000 miles for the suspension to break in, then will re-align it or do whatever needs to be done and it is covered by VW. So be persistent and do not let VW off the hook.

Mine pulled to the right at first, but not as severely as the OP describes by any means. At my 30-day check I mentioned it, and they said it was normal for break-in, but to let them know if it persisted. By about 60 days (~couple thousand miles), the pull was gone. Not likely the same problem as the OP, but figured I'd mention as a data point.

2013 passat tdi manual

I have a 2013 passat manual doing the same. 2 alignments from 2 different dealers and the same issue. Vw Told me to buy new tires. I said out other tires on from a new vehicle and try it and ifnt works I'll buy new tires. Have 28500 miles on the car. Stock tires or new snow tires and it still didn't fix it. vw still trying to fix. Will post what they find out.

Let's cut through the hogwash here...

We (family) either presently own or have owned a total of four NMS TDI's. Further, I've driven a loaner Wolfburg TDI over a considerable distance. None of these vehicles exhibit the slightest torque steer nor anything else, except a smooth effortless acceleration. Steering wheels are always properly positioned by the way.

Anything less than the above is cause for complaint. In this day and age a suspension and associated components do not break in. They may wear over time, but they do not break in! So they're either right or wrong and there's no middle ground in a new vehicle.

A pulling problem that disappears? Only four components touch the road. In a brand new vehicle it might be logical to suspect most changes to be a result of something within the tires.

My experience: car pulled right, no vibration. I believed it was normal (because I hear about in this forum) untiñ I saw uneven wear in the front tires, 21kmiles (good the dealer din not rotate the tires at 10k). Paid for an alignmet in a nearby NTB, car now drives straight as rails!. Do not settle for a pulling car, if the dealer cant fix it after trying multiple times, try in an alignment place before taking drastic decisions. Dealer do not necesarily perform alignments every day, the tire shops do that for living. My 2cnts...

+1 to the previous 2 posts. I've driven several NMS Passats, and every one tracked perfectly.
Exception: My 2012, purchased with 600 miles on the odo, needed to be tweaked, not for pulling, but for wandering. Once I dialed in the right tire pressure on the Hankooks, wandering went away (this is different from the pull many have mentioned).

nord said:

Let's cut through the hogwash here...

We (family) either presently own or have owned a total of four NMS TDI's. Further, I've driven a loaner Wolfburg TDI over a considerable distance. None of these vehicles exhibit the slightest torque steer nor anything else, except a smooth effortless acceleration.

Click to expand...

Nord is right on!
YOur car should go straight in neutral or under accel. All of our VW and other brand cars do and did.
Torque steer exist but not like the OP describes it.
Here it goes.. most front wheel drive cars have a toe out- wheels pointing outward slightly
real wheel drive toe-in.
Front wheel drive or powered wheels tend to move inward under acceleration. Non powered wheels move outward.
What makes a car pull one way?
road crown, grossly misloaded vehicle- loaded suspension making the car leaning to one side.
bad tire, mismatched tires , mismatched inflation of tire <-(tire diameter), damaged tire <- broken belt or internal reinforcement inside the tire.
Tire rotate should rule out those.
Toe adjust usually will not make the car pull it is camber or caster adjust out of spec.
pulling under accel usually means worn suspension part, A arm bushing, ball joints, upper strut mounting, tierod, idler arm (not applicable on steering racks)
Check this! --> loose steering rack mounting bolts, loose sub frame!
This car also have an electronically controlled /assisted steering rack, it could be the rack it self, but unlikely.
That is all I can think of at 1 am.

Just bought a Passat ('14) TDI SE, and it is definitely pulling to the right only when accelerating. not fun and not safe. Called dealer, who wants to check alignment. If so many people are having this problem (I did not have it with my '09 Jetta TDI), should there be a way of alering VW USA directly?

Very nicely ask your dealer for name and number of their district rep. As your issue seems to be common to some vehicles, there must be a logical answer and a logical fix.

Once again... Good enough is not good enough! You paid for perfect. Insist on perfect.

TDI Passaat Seeting to the right

Well, this is a revolting development. I tested a used 2012 Passat Tdi it steered to the right and I mentioned it to the salesman who said the curve of the road can do that. I then tested the 2014 and bought it without much thought and now discovered it too steers to the right. They alternated the front tires but it continues to be a problem. Is this an inherent problem with the Passat TDI's? Can it be fixed or not?
Thanx

My dealer tried unsuccessfully multiple times to correct this, even replacing a tire free of charge, but it continued to pull to the right, even when I drove in the incoming lane where it slopes to the left. I finally took it to my local tire shop and they fixed it without issue.

I have owned my 2014 TDI Passat for approximately (8) days. I noticed that the car pulled to the right during the test drive and mentioned it. I was told it is an alignment issue (no big deal). Took the car back to the dealer ship for a free (4) wheel alignment. They called me told me the problem had been fixed, I drove the car home did not notice anything. Drove the car on the high way the next morning and the car started to pull hard to the right again.
I drove to the dealer the next morning told them the car is still pulling to the right there response (it's the crown on the high way) I almost lost it. I then left the dealer drove to an independent shop had an alignment inspection, car was within factory tolerance but the shop validated that the car pulls to the right.
Any luck on your end ?

I've posted before, when new, both my 2012 and 2014 wandered to the right. Both straightened out around 10k miles, w/o any adjustment.
With the 2012, I had them check the alignment, and it was within specs. when I traded it at 40k, it had never had an alignment done.
calisanjuantdi: Double-check tire inflation. I keep mine between 36-38. Any higher, and there are tracking issues, at least with both of mine.

VW has a TSB for alignment issues with the NMS Passat.
Click the red "multimedia" button below then click the same button on the opening page to view the TSB. Good luck with your getting your car to drive straight.

AJM said:

VW has a TSB for alignment issues with the NMS Passat.
Click the red "multimedia" button below then click the same button on the opening page to view the TSB. Good luck with your getting your car to drive straight.

Click to expand...

Here is a link directly to the upside-down PDF: http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/529/20130920094617248.pdf

original OP , problem returned after 10K maintenance

All,

I'm the original OP posting this tread last December when my NMS Passat was brand new. the car drove straight and pleasant for 9,400 miles since the "alignment was fixed" at around the 600 mile market from the dealer i bought the car from. Because the car drove well for 9,400 miles i forgot i ever had this issue.

last Thursday i brought car to a different VW dealer for my initial 10K maintenance. a day later when i was on the interstate for 1st time since maintenance i realized the issue had returned 100% same way as when the car was new. the dealer did a tire rotation as part of the 10k mile maintenance.

taking car back to shop this week to attempt to get fixed. i'm very frustrated to say the least, is this what i can expect every time i get a tire change or rotation? there must be an underlying issue with the NMS suspension or other system creating this issue.

ill keep this thread posted.

thanks,
james

If it went away but came back after a rotation I would bet there is a problem with one of the tires. Otherwise just rotating the tires would not have brought the problem back.

I had a right bias pull when I first bought mine. Took it back for the 30 day 'check-up' or 'check-in' as I would call it, since they made several calls and emails reminding me about it. I was gone for 2 weeks during the first 30 days on vacation so not as much miles on it as I would normally have. BUT, the right side pull wasn't fixed - "everything within spec's, no problem found" I was told. I was waiting for the "survey" to detail my experience, but then I got the call from a nice lady who asked if I was satisfied with my recent visit. When I told her no, and explained why I didn't complain at the time (service writers typically have no power to get things done), she set it up for me to meet the Service Manager. I did, he drove the car with me, saw the problem and said it might be the tires and sometimes switching the fronts from side to side will make a difference. I just sat there thinking that if it did, wouldn't it pull to the left then? But I let them work on it for about 45 min and we drove it again, this time with me driving and it was fixed. I'm wondering now if they did something else to fix it...... I have a long 1,200 mile trip coming up this week, and with my regular driving, the 10k service should be coming up before year end. We'll see what happens then.

BTW - just a thought: Whenever I've had Michelin tires on any of my vehicles, of course with an alignment when first installed, I've never experienced any right/left side pull, or 'out of round' (General brand tires), or anything else. Is it because they make some of the best tires out there? Hmmmm

My car pulls to the right as well if that helps.

drjable said:

All,

I'm the original OP posting this tread last December when my NMS Passat was brand new. the car drove straight and pleasant for 9,400 miles since the "alignment was fixed" at around the 600 mile market from the dealer i bought the car from. Because the car drove well for 9,400 miles i forgot i ever had this issue.

last Thursday i brought car to a different VW dealer for my initial 10K maintenance. a day later when i was on the interstate for 1st time since maintenance i realized the issue had returned 100% same way as when the car was new. the dealer did a tire rotation as part of the 10k mile maintenance.

taking car back to shop this week to attempt to get fixed. i'm very frustrated to say the least, is this what i can expect every time i get a tire change or rotation? there must be an underlying issue with the NMS suspension or other system creating this issue.

ill keep this thread posted.

thanks,
james

Click to expand...

I just went through this last month. Took my car to the dealer i bought it from 250 miles away for the 10k service left there and the problem was back. Ended up going right back and spending most of the day there.. Two new front tires and various balancing, rotating, etc and still no fix. I'm assuming the tires wear in a certain way and when you rotate all hell breaks loose. I would like to know how they fixed it the first time though. Pisses me off.

ascalise said:

I just went through this last month. Took my car to the dealer i bought it from 250 miles away for the 10k service left there and the problem was back. Ended up going right back and spending most of the day there.. Two new front tires and various balancing, rotating, etc and still no fix. I'm assuming the tires wear in a certain way and when you rotate all hell breaks loose. I would like to know how they fixed it the first time though. Pisses me off.

Click to expand...

I'm coming up on my 10k service in a week or two - I'm at 9200 miles already. I had my right pull fixed early on - they said they swapped the front tires from side to side. Hopefully it won't come back if they just rotate the tires from front to back. 12 years ago, I bought new tires for my Infiniti at the time, and it had a slight right pull from the get go - couldn't get it fixed. But when they rotated the tires, it would then have a slight pull to the left. So it was the tires - should have taken them back but didn't. I know when I replace the Conti's currently on my TDI, I'm going with Michelin's - never had a problem with them as their quality always seems to be consistent.

is this "pull" (probably more correctly a "drift") happening with ALL OEM tires? Hankook, Conti, and Bridgeston?
Is it happening on 16", 17" and 18" tires?

Someone who is affected by this issue should start a simple poll, maybe there's a pattern here.