Steering wheel not straight after alignment

[BarryT82]

I had my wife take the Q5 to the dealership about a month ago to get an alignment. When I got it back I noticed that the steering wheel wasn't straight and it was pulling to the right so I took it back. They corrected the alignment, but the steering wheel was still tilted to the left when driving straight. It's annoying as hell because it has the flat-bottom S-Line steering wheel. I took it back today and they checked the alignment and they said that it's perfect. The technician drove it and said that it seems fine to him, but when driving straight the steering wheel is tilted to the left. If I hold the steering wheel straight the car goes to the right. The technician and service advisor are saying that it's fine and blaming it on the Nitto tires or uneven roads. I don't know much about alignments, but if the steering wheel isn't centered when the alignment is performed wouldn't it cause the steering wheel to be tilted to one side when driving straight? Couldn't it be adjusted with the tie rod ends?

[VroomVroom]

I'm particular about this myself. When I had my '13 lowered, the shop failed to center the steering wheel. Since I specifically asked them to do so, I was a bit dismayed. I went on the test drive with the shop owner after they fixed it, just to make sure. Obviously the pitch of the road will factor heavily - many roads have a crown in the center and may be lower by as much as 18" on each shoulder. But there should be no problem having the steering wheel centered when both wheels are facing straight ahead.

[userbbc]

iirc, the tech is supposed to straighten the steering wheel, lock it with a bar, and then proceed with the alignment. If this is still the process, there's definitely room for error. Depending on the dealership, i've taken my previous audi's back two or three times in the past to have this fixed. crowned roads definitely have an effect so make sure you're on the center lane of a highway or on some road you know to be flat when testing. In the past, i've gone so far as to line up the steering wheel with tape (two strips on the steering wheel column and one strip on the wheel - center strip from the wheel is meant to be in between the two on the column.) This may or may not help as the tech still needs to move the wheel back and forth until he estimates the wheel is in the center of the dead zone.

These days - i'm happy with close enough - or if you find a dealer that does it right the first time, stick with that dealer. To check, install a camera somewhere inside the car and leave it on when you take it to the dealer.
If you spend most of your time in the left lane and the steering is little bit to the left when going straight it's not so bad road crowning will negate the effect in the left lane.

[DanMontgomery]

Barry,

You might want to try and see if your clock spring is calibrated correctly. I had to replace my clock spring recently when doing the Adaptive Cruise retrofit. Anyway, had to do a Steering angle Calibration when I was done.

Not saying you need to redo your calibration just might want to check your steering angle. What I mean is go in you steering wheel module (16). Go to the measure Blocks, Group 032 and/or 033. Center up wheel and see if it is off. You can also drive down a flat smooth road and have someone check your steering angle too.

I DON'T suggest re-calibrating your steering wheel.

Ross Tech says the tolerance is +-1.5*

Reference

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index...el_Electronics


V/r
Dan

[BarryT82]

Thanks Dan. I'll check it out. It was fine until the alignment was done.

[BarryT82]

I checked it this morning and the steering angle is +3.13 when driving straight according to group 33.

[DanMontgomery]

Barry,

Not exactly sure, if the dealer should of checked that when he did the alignment or not.....got to do some research.

V/r
Dan

[SQive]

That is seriously unprofessional. Speak to the service manager of the dealership and tell them how disappointed you are in their level of service and professionalism. I'm sure that if you wanted this crap work, you could have it done for half the price. Then tell them you've been saving that dealership survey form for just this type of thing.

[Mrclopec]

Mr. Montgomery,

In a vehicle with the standard electromechanical power steering rack (non Dynamic Steering PR-1N8), calibrating 16-Steering Wheel will not fix a crooked steering wheel. It is in fact the 4 wheel alignment that is supposed to correct this. A common mistake made by the techs at the dealer/alignment shop is after doing their run-out compensation, they place the wheels in the forward position, or close to it, and align off of that reference point. What they should be doing is placing the steering rack in its straight position via guidance from ODIS, and then locking the steering wheel in place with the bar (NOT THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK), and then adjusting the toe of the wheels from there. If the wheel is not locked properly in a perfectly centered position, then the alignment will be completed and tuned correctly, but with the result of a crooked steering wheel. Knowing how mechanically savvy you are, you can correct the issue without having to go to the dealer by making equal but opposite adjustments of the front end tie rods in 1/8 to 1/4 turn increments until the steering wheel is straight while driving straight. It is a tedious process, but for the OCD its another stroll in the park. :-)

A vehicle with dynamic steering (nothing to do with drive select) does not have a permanent link in the steering rack. It is electronically variable and speed dependent. Thus, the steering wheel's physical angle can be corrected electronically if the wheel is crooked, but a standard alignment shop cannot do this. Only a dealer or someone with VCDS who REALLY KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

[BarryT82]

I finally took the car to another shop to get the alignment checked. The technician that did the alignment walked into the waiting area and said, "hey, did you know that your steering wheel turned far to the left?". I took the printout of the corrections to the Audi dealership down the street and explained it to the service advisor. He got a little upset and kind of laughed at me when I told him I want a refund on the alignment. He said that I should have brought it back to him for a fifth time because their alignments come with a 12 month warranty. When I told him that I had an alignment in Dec 2015 and another a few months ago I asked why he charged me if it was covered under the warranty. He couldn't tell me. He said that the service manager would have to call me tomorrow and that they could possibly refund what I paid the shop for the alignment today. That was $86. I want my $160 back from the alignment that he charged me for when it should have been covered under the 12 month warranty. I'm looking forward to the service manager calling me tomorrow.

[SQive]

Sounds like you need to find a new stealership.

[BarryT82]

Sounds like you need to find a new stealership.

It's the only Audi stealership within 125 miles. The service advisor is a nice guy, but this pissed me off. If I paid $160 for an alignment in December that comes with a 12 month warranty I shouldn't have been charged for it again and I shouldn't have to take it to an independent shop down the street to get a proper alignment. I could pay that for a lifetime alignment at my local Firestone and get better service.

[Jaisah]

Mr. Montgomery,

In a vehicle with the standard electromechanical power steering rack (non Dynamic Steering PR-1N8), calibrating 16-Steering Wheel will not fix a crooked steering wheel. It is in fact the 4 wheel alignment that is supposed to correct this. A common mistake made by the techs at the dealer/alignment shop is after doing their run-out compensation, they place the wheels in the forward position, or close to it, and align off of that reference point. What they should be doing is placing the steering rack in its straight position via guidance from ODIS, and then locking the steering wheel in place with the bar (NOT THE STEERING COLUMN LOCK), and then adjusting the toe of the wheels from there. If the wheel is not locked properly in a perfectly centered position, then the alignment will be completed and tuned correctly, but with the result of a crooked steering wheel. Knowing how mechanically savvy you are, you can correct the issue without having to go to the dealer by making equal but opposite adjustments of the front end tie rods in 1/8 to 1/4 turn increments until the steering wheel is straight while driving straight. It is a tedious process, but for the OCD its another stroll in the park. :-)

A vehicle with dynamic steering (nothing to do with drive select) does not have a permanent link in the steering rack. It is electronically variable and speed dependent. Thus, the steering wheel's physical angle can be corrected electronically if the wheel is crooked, but a standard alignment shop cannot do this. Only a dealer or someone with VCDS who REALLY KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

Hey bro I just stumbled upon your comment and it sounds like you know a lot about this so I was hoping I could pick your brains? I had an alignment done a couple of days ago and when I got it back, not only is the wheel a little crooked, but the car is throwing errors for the steering as well. The shop said they tried to clear the codes but they kept coming back. My car has dynamic steering. Do you know how to realign it with the VCDS? Once the wheel is aligned will the steering fault go away? Does a cat with dynamic steering still have a clock spring or does it use the dynamic steering unit to measure steering angle?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

[Norskie]

Hey bro I just stumbled upon your comment and it sounds like you know a lot about this so I was hoping I could pick your brains? I had an alignment done a couple of days ago and when I got it back, not only is the wheel a little crooked, but the car is throwing errors for the steering as well. The shop said they tried to clear the codes but they kept coming back. My car has dynamic steering. Do you know how to realign it with the VCDS? Once the wheel is aligned will the steering fault go away? Does a cat with dynamic steering still have a clock spring or does it use the dynamic steering unit to measure steering angle?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

You're replying to a post five years old, Mrclopec may have moved on to other vehicles ... I haven't seen his involvement here in the past year that I've been paying attention.

But anyway, I had my SQ5 (also with dynamic steering) aligned twice last year and there is a steering angle sensor which must be calibrated after an alignment. If the shop you took it to doesn't know about this they may not be qualified to so perform alignments on these vehicles (and the crooked steering wheel further points to that).

Good luck!