Steering wheel and travel direction out of line

[dave_ph]

Hi all,

Bit of a messy one to describe, however for some reason (only noticed it as bad over the last few days), when the steering wheel is set to straight ahead, the car steers to the left, so have to turn the wheel a little bit right to be able to steer in a straight line...

The car has always pulled to the left a bit, but never had to steer against it like this. Its happening all the time so isn't the camber on the road. Any ideas?

In the photo, the car was going straight, so you can see the amount of turn on the wheel.

The car hasn't been kerbed or taken any impact of any kind. The only thing I can think of is it wheel spinning (before ESP kicked in) on ice.

Cheers
Dave

 

[AntneeUK]

I'm told on here that pulling to the left is normal because the cars were set up for LHD where the camber of the road has the car favouring the right slightly and they were never corrected for the UK, but that is way off

 

[dave_ph]

yea its always had a slight pull to the left, but this is something else lol

 

[LEE69]

Get it laser tracked, non of this kwik fit type adjusting.
I had mine done.
http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/

 

[dave_ph]

it only had an optical wheel alignment done at an audi dealer last month though

it was on a rolling road yesterday, and we were getting quite a lot of vibration once it was strapped down

 

[Fl@pper]

which way was the wind blowing and how hard? that pic looks like the bridge is wobbling all over the shop

mind you that looks the worst road ever for checking a cars running true - try a flat straight one

does it do it the same on normal roads at lower speed ?

 

[AntneeUK]

Lee, just took a look at that site and I see that there's a local centre to me that does this, and it says that they redeem discount vouchers. Am I missing a code somewhere to get it cheaper? How much did you pay if you don't mind me asking?

 

[dave_ph]

yea, the bridge just happened to be the straightest part of the m5 i was on at the time - its doing that at every speed no matter where i'm to at the moment - even when crawling

 

[andyj]

thanks for the traffic report on the Avon Mouth Bridge... looks quite clear... wonder if it will stay that way until tomorrow afternoon

 

[Fl@pper]

was gonna say if it's the bristol bridge by the docks i'm usually sideways going over there at that speed

 

[dave_ph]

yea its normally pretty windy there, however today its quite calm weather.

anyway lol

 

[Fl@pper]

The only thing I can think of is it wheel spinning (before ESP kicked in) on ice

did i just read that the TC lights on in the pic because it's wheel spinning when you took the photo ? or is there other things wrong with the car

 

[Ruddmeister]

yea, the bridge just happened to be the straightest part of the m5 i was on at the time - its doing that at every speed no matter where i'm to at the moment - even when crawling

80mph one handed in icy conditions with no ESP working in a car that pulls left what were you thinking?.......just about anywhere other that that accident blackspot would have been better........thinking about it the M5 has nice long straights either side of that bridge

 

[AntneeUK]

Ant, when I went to the "find my centre" bit, there's a big 5% off graphic. I assume that's what they'll redeem, just print it out and take it in?

D'oh! Observant as ever!

 

[dave_ph]

did i just read that the TC lights on in the pic because it's wheel spinning when you took the photo ? or is there other things wrong with the car

80mph one handed in icy conditions with no ESP working in a car that pulls left what were you thinking?.......just about anywhere other that that accident blackspot would have been better........thinking about it the M5 has nice long straights either side of that bridge

The ESP is working fine, the warning lights are washer fluid, and emissions.

Theres a straight after the bridge, however theres also a couple junctions along there, so decided to do it where i could, and also before i forgot. Also it was just after rush hour, so extremely unlikely any ice that would have survived a pounding of 100's vehicles on a salted road

 

[Andrewcupra TDI]

mine was on the rollers 2weeks ago , as it was first on the guy there started off slowly then stopped the car and asked if id bumped it or if its ever been in an accident ,

i replied no why ?

he said its pulling like mad ,

he then rachet strapped them all down

i keep getting my tracking done but keeps going back to the same after a few days ???

 

[dave_ph]

tyres are about a year old now, pressures all fine

 

[Funkyfin2000]

Did you sort this in the end? My steering wheel isn't quite straight either

 

[dave_ph]

yea it was when they did a wheel alignment, they apparently didnt tighten 3 bolts up properly....

 

[Funkyfin2000]

OK I am going to put mine in on Saturday I think! Its slightly off centre and not driving quite straight so just needs it doing to sort it out.

I do need new tyres mind you!