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Wheel Alignment./.steering problem

I have a 200 VW Polo (1.4TDi). About a week ago the steering warning light came on and the steering became very 'light'. I swithced off the engine, started it up again and everything was normal.

As it was due for it's annual service, I mentioned it to the VW Garage where I bought it from (new). The Diagnostics equipment said there had been a fault logged, but the error code was unknown - even to VW HQ? But no faults were showing. The Garage kept the car for a few days and found nothing. They als checked the steering rack, whell alignment and did the annual service.

This week I had new tyres fitted at Kwiw-Fit (2 Pirelli P6000 on the front, after 18,000 miles on the originals).

Kwik-Fit also checked the tracking/alignment and said it was out by 3 degrees. Now between VW checking it and Kwik-fit was only a week. Who is right.

btw, the tyres taken off were worn, but evenly.

Thanks

Clive

Reply to
Clive
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They will always say it was out, you could go to a different branch tomorrow and it would be out. Plus the likes of KF would not know the correct setting or how it should be checked. I suggest you get it re-checked by a VW dealer.

Reply to
MrCheerful

Never trust Kwik-Fit to track a car - ever.

Glad I have manual steering. That electronic s**te sounds dangerous.

Reply to
Conor

And the new tyres should have been fitted to the rear, this is now in accordance with a code of practice that tyre places should adhere to.

Reply to
MrCheerful

The guys (chimps?) at Kwik-fit couldn't even be bothered to put a gasket in when they fitted an exhaust part to my car - I only found out when I removed it and ripped both faces of the flanges as a result.

What on earth makes you think they could do steering alignment? 3 degrees is a HUGE error in the alignment ... I doubt they even know the difference between degrees, minutes and seconds.

The fault with the steering is going to have nothing to do with the alignment, but will be an elecro-mechanical issue with the ECU/power steering system. Or maybe even a firmware problem on the ECU!

Reply to
Andy

I'd suspect your steering angle sensor is on the way out. Skoda Fabias of a similar age have had similar issues.

Oh, and never allow those idiots at kwik fit to touch your alignment (or preferably, anything at all). Go back to the dealer and get it set properly before it wrecks your tyres. If the tyres were evenly worn, then it was OK.

Even better, go to a better dealer who knows how to work the diag equipment, or a good independent.

Reply to
Chris Bartram

Yep, as Chris mentions the Steering Angle Sensor on the steering rack fails & lights up the steering wheel symbol on the dash.

One of our Fabia's had this fault last year along with the steering going heavy & it hasn't reg'd a fault code nor re-appeared since

The Part number: 6Q2 423 291 AX (Exchange) are £73.13 Inc VAT from VW or £52.49 on eBay (Item number: 120126926503)

Reply to
A C

Thanks for the Advice. I have it booked into the main VW dealer that sold it tommorow. Interesting informartion about the steering sensor - possibly that is what caused the ECU fault to be logged in the first place.

To be fair to VW dealer, then said they had stripped down all the connections and checked everything. I suppose with computers they can crash for no reason and then never giver problems anymore.

Clive

Reply to
Clive

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "MrCheerful" saying something like:

Oh, here we go again...

Popcorn, anyone?

Reply to
Grimly Curmudgeon

Clive ( snipped-for-privacy@cs.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Main Dealer. Kwik-Fit. Main Dealer. Kwik-Fit.

Fuck, that's difficult.

Almost certainly the correct answer is "neither".

Reply to
Adrian

I was just mentioning it to demonstrate kf incompetence.

Mrcheerful

Reply to
MrCheerful

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