Leon Cupra - Veering to Left

[BRyman]

I am new to SEAT Cupra.net - Forgive me if I miss any etiquette!

I have a 3 month old Leon Cupra, and am having a few tracking problems.

The car continually veers to the left. For example, on a motorway, if it is in the outside lane, and the steering wheel is 'left loose' - with no correction - it will move to the inside lane in less than a few hundred yards (and would carry on unchecked!).

Speaking to the Dealer, they said this is the normal following of the camber in the road, to which the Leon low profile tyres are apparently extremely sensitive. They have checked the tracking several times and report no problems, and said 'I am not used to the car yet'.

I know the car will follow the camber, but is this a common problem? I drive continually 'holding' the car, with the steering wheel at a 2-3 degree clockwise angle to correct for the pull under both town and motorway conditions.

Sorry if this is a naive question, but if anyone can help I'd appreciate it!

 

[shomihaq]

My Toledo is the same - making it hard work on a long motorway drive. Tried tracking and wheel swapping to no avail.

Next step is geometry which can cost £60-£100. Camber and in-built design to play a part (as do the wider wheels), but surely not that much .....

However, about 70% of my cars have been the same - it would just be nice to have a car that drove in a straight line. Whats the point having an armrest and cruise control if you cant relax cos your fighting with the wheel all the time ...

 

[Goot]

Took my car to Kwik Fit as mine was pulling to the left.... the result -6!!! OMG, should be 0!!! £23 later, car drives in straight line


Goot

 

[sjtscott]

I'm assuming that you're in the UK?? You don't say.. and you haven't filled in the location field of your profile to give us a clue either.

Yes my Cupra follows the camber of the road which means that it will pull left.. this is normal.
I know all my tracking and alignment are spot on (they were adjusted on the correct 4 wheel alignment machine last year)

The easist and cheapest way to tell if it is following the camber is to use the wrong side of the road (where its safe to do so of course!) to check that it pulls the other way while you're on that side of the road.. if it still pulls to the left that you definately have a problem!!

 

[DU02]

Get a proper 4 wheel alignment done. Not the mickey mouse kwik fit style tracking.
Dealers spent ages telling me it was 'normal' until i took it to a proper alignment jig.
Could feel the difference straight away, been going in a straight line ever since.

 

[LCRnewbie]

my 03 leon 19000 miles has been pulling to the left....
took it to proper tyre place and had geometry checked. (only cost 20quid).. camber was real bad so they couldn't fix it... think it was caused by hitting a BIG pothole a few weeks ago.

car is at dealers today to get sorted, apparently the whole front bumper has to come off which means 3 hours labour and a 180 pound bill :-(

hopefully car will go in straight line on the way home

 

[davo171066]

have a 2003 leon cupra. Never had a problem but have had cars in past similar to yours. Doesn't seem right but getting someone to take you seriously and not patronise you is not easy. I would try other dealers or take advice from others above and get a 4 wheel check. If it is out on the 4 wheel check, get it fixed, if you're then a happier chap i would take the report paperwork and invoice back to your dealer and demand a refund from warranty.
davo

 

[LCRnewbie]

got the car back and it seems alot better.....

the dealer said it couldn't be done on warranty as this sort of this is only covered
for the first 6000 miles or 6 months.... think he called it a " optiflex adjustment "

then tried to get the used car department to pay for it but they quoted the 31 day money back deadline ,, alas i've had the car longer than 31 days.....

definitely going to be doing everything i can to avoid potholes from now on...

the joys of car ownership....... note to self "must get job with company car"

Chris

 

[davej_anderson]

got the car back and it seems alot better.....

the dealer said it couldn't be done on warranty as this sort of this is only covered
for the first 6000 miles or 6 months.... think he called it a " optiflex adjustment "

then tried to get the used car department to pay for it but they quoted the 31 day money back deadline ,, alas i've had the car longer than 31 days.....
Chris

take a photo of the pothole that did the damage and try it on with the local council/road authority?

 

[cjp]

Don't forget, incorrect tyre pressures can cause the car to pull to one side. I assume you have checked these also.

 

[gjj]

leon cambeer

hi there i have a leon cupra 01 i have just changed my spings to 40m the car was driving straight untill i lowerd it. i put it on a 4 wheel tracking it says the n/s/f is 0.08 which is in the red on the machine and the o/s/f is -40 which is in the green but the car pulls to the left. when you look at the front wheels the n/s/f is leaning in at the top and the o/s/f is straight i have tryed to adjust using the lower ball joint bolts but still cant get to spec. can any body help