2012 Jetta TDI wanders at high speed

[candlink]

Anyone out there with the late model Jetta finding that the car wanders excessively, as though being affected by the wake of an 18-wheeler, even if there's not one around?

I have my 2012 in the shop right now to have them troubleshoot it and the service rep tells me that everything is to spec, but because of the effort VW has made to make the car "economically competitive," there were some things that were changed in chassis, etc., that have resulted in the car needing a lot of attention when driving on the highway, just to keep it in the lane. The service guy even went so far as to admit that he doesn't like that "feature" to the point where he was honest that he wouldn't buy one.

Has anyone else noticed this and tried to deal with it? I basically told the guy that I'll return the car if they can't eliminate that "feature." My 2010 JSW TDI with 88,500 miles on it is ROCK SOLID, but a brand new car with 3200 miles is all over the road.... BY DESIGN.

 

[Ol'Rattler]

IIRC you have Electro- mechanical steering that is very easy to over steer/over correct without realizing it.

I did the over-steer thing sometimes on my A5 and what I would do to correct my bad habit is to very briefly, let go of the steering and then grab a hold of the wheel again. I might do this several times with in a 10 second period.

On my A5 anyway, the car wasn't wandering but was being given to much drivers input.

 

[candlink]

I have actually thought of that and did a little experiment with no traffic around me when I was on the interstate one day. Had the cruise control on and keeping a respectable speed (i.e., not fast enough for a cop to care if I came upon one!). It wasn't overly windy. I drove a little bit holding the steering wheel as dead-nutz straight and immobile as I possibly could. Car wandered. So then I released my grip and just "covered" the wheel to respond if I needed to, but wasn't actually holding it. Same thing. This isn't just a little jiggle around from time to time... This is constant changing of the track of the car with slight-to-no driver input at all, but much driver input required to recapture the track in my lane.

 

[tdidieselbobny]

Are these the same roads you traveled w/ your JSW? The road is level? If it's heavily traveled by semis, the road may be worn to the path of the semis-there's a section of road near my work that is severely indented like this,so much so that it pulls you one side to the other.

 

[40X40]

I have actually thought of that and did a little experiment with no traffic around me when I was on the interstate one day. Had the cruise control on and keeping a respectable speed (i.e., not fast enough for a cop to care if I came upon one!). It wasn't overly windy. I drove a little bit holding the steering wheel as dead-nutz straight and immobile as I possibly could. Car wandered. So then I released my grip and just "covered" the wheel to respond if I needed to, but wasn't actually holding it. Same thing. This isn't just a little jiggle around from time to time... This is constant changing of the track of the car with slight-to-no driver input at all, but much driver input required to recapture the track in my lane.

You did a good job of diagnosis/confirmation. Call VW customer care and tell them you want it fixed or a different (new)car and do not take no for answer. Be prepared to take time off and go for a drive with everyone from the dealer and VW that shows any interest. Establish a test route very near the dealer that makes the behavior very pronounced and drive them over that route.

Tell them that if they can make the car drive acceptably well on that route, you will deem it fixed. (That gives them a goal..)

Good luck!

Bill

 

[Grievous Angel]

I have a 2012 that is rock solid.

Maybe a tire issue?

 

[740GLE]

alignment? vw won't care if the alignment is done after 6K and wont do anything claiming you hit something but I think there have been one or two members having aligment issues on the mk6 rear solid beam that the shops couldn't help.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=321947&highlight=aligment

 

[jnmarshall]

My guess would be tires. I had the stock hankooks, car tracked straight. Upgraded to 17" wheels with the P6. Car did what you described. Felt like it was being pushed side to side. Got new tires last week. Car feels stable and straight again. I did notice those P6's had like a 91 or 93 sidewall. New tires are 97 which should be stiffer. Don't know if that would make the difference, or just that the P6 were cr@p to begin with.

 

[candlink]

Update: Had them check it out and they said the alignment is good and everything is proper torque, etc. No apparent issues with the tires. Even though they "did nothing" the car seems at least a little bit more stable now. Still notice the weirdness, but there's less of it, or so it seems. Interestingly, the service rep that I was working with told me he sees this in all these MKVI cars and he wouldn't buy one because of it. I guess it's something I might be stuck with. Certainly not going to put brand new tires on a brand new car with already brand new tires on it. Same tires were on my JSW when I got it and didn't have that problem with it.

Thanks all for your input. Right now, I'm more focused on the issue of my other post about the exhaust odor. No excuse for a clean diesel car to smell like a box truck!

 

[RickD]

Candlink,What's your tire pressure ?

What brand of tire do you have ?

My 2011 TDI with Continentals,is rock solid.

We just got a 2012 Elantra,with Continentals,and it is doing the EXACT same thing as you describe.

My tire pressure when delivered was 42 psi. I changed it to 32 as per the door sticker. It made a slight improvement.

I took it to the dealer for an alighnment check etc,and guess what...everything was within spec.

There's a fair number of guys on the Elentra site,complaining about the same thing.....could be tires !!

 

[Brewmaster]

2011 here rock solid on three different sets of tires so far, my winters, my summers and the original oem's. It certainly should not be the car causing the issue and your technicians should be driving it with you so you can show them. Your rep or tech that said he didn't like that 'feature' is nuts, these cars are a dream on the highway.

My 2 cents. Good luck.

 

[Dimon80]

I'd say it's tires. Had the same issue on stock 16". Now on summer 18" the car is rock solid on the highway.

 

[oilhammer]

If the steering angle sensor is not properly calibrated they will wander on the road.

 

[Skatch_TDI]

I have a week old 2012 MK6 that I drive for work. I have 2200km on it and it tracks great. Only time I find it wants to wander is in high winds.

If your dealer says the alignment is good, I agree with everyone that it's most likely a tire issue.

 

[740GLE]

If the steering angle sensor is not properly calibrated they will wander on the road.

can that be calibrated with VCDS? or is a trip to the dealer needed? or just sitting, turning the wheel from lock to lock recalibrates it?

 

[oilhammer]

can that be calibrated with VCDS? or is a trip to the dealer needed? or just sitting, turning the wheel from lock to lock recalibrates it?

Here:

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/VW_Golf_(1K)_Brake_Electronics_(MK60EC1)#Basic_Setting

Most platforms are similar. If it is not right, the car will drive 'loose' in a straight line at hwy speeds. GM/Opel cars are really bad for this, but VAG products will do it too.

 

[pinkertonfloyd]

I don't notice any issues with my car, it's rock solid at high speed. (Only issue I had were some out of round tires that Continental/America's Tires took care and put Extreme Contact DWS's to replace, which I'm VERY happy with) I don't know where the service adviser got his information, the only main changes was the move to a torsion-beam rear, but if anything, that would probably allow for the car to track even straighter. (As in this system, opposite forces counteract each other)

Have you had the tires checked on a Road Force Balancer?

 

[Jettagain]

The electronic assist makes it very easy to overcompensate...i'm nearing 2k and find that it is sensitive to roads with crowns and wind, but tracks solidly otherwise. My SUV i'snt affected by the wind as much as my Jetta seems to be...

 

[BarrieCommuter]

still on winters (gotta change soon i know), and the car tracks great (toyo observe G02Plus)

IIRC, the factory conti's drifted a bit, likely due to a softer sidewall. replacements when time comes might be the toyo versado line of tires.