It’s the little things that set your teeth on edge. Like your Volkswagen gently pulling to the left every time you let go of the wheel, even when the road looks flat.
You might even question whether it’s all in your head. It’s not.
This is one of the more common issues we see at the Sunset VW service centre in Derby. Most drivers assume the problem lies with the tyres. While that’s true to some extent, the issue usually runs a little deeper and requires some specialist kit. It’s usually because the wheels aren’t pointing quite the way they should. It might be your tyre pressure, but more often it’s something called wheel alignment (or ‘tracking’). Here’s what’s going on, and how we fix it.
When the steering starts to wander
This kind of ‘pulling to the side’ can manifest itself in a few different ways, such as:
- The car drifts left or right when the steering wheel is straight
- The car drives straight when the steering wheel is slightly turned
- The steering wheel feels off-centre
- The car veers slightly when you lift your hands off the wheel
Of course, these are all different versions of the same issue. The first instinct for many drivers might be to check the tyre pressure. Good call. Uneven pressures between the left and right sides can sometimes create that side-pulling sensation. But if the pressures look fine, the next suspect, and the more likely culprit, is the wheel alignment.
In fact, the root cause is almost always a toe alignment issue. It’s a quick fix, and it’s vital to get on top of things quickly. Over time, misaligned wheels cause uneven tyre wear (we’ll explain how in the next section), increasing the very dangerous risk of a blowout.
Alignment (or tracking) consists of three angle measurements: toe, camber and caster. These decide how the wheels sit and move in relation to each other. And if any of them fall outside of factory tolerances, your car won’t drive straight.
- Toe – imagine your feet are your VW’s wheels. If your toes point inwards, that’s toe-in. If you turn them outwards, that’s toe-out. If your car is pulling to one side, toe is likely the culprit.
- Camber – if the tops of the wheels tilt in or out, that’s negative or positive camber. It changes how the tyres touch the road.
- Caster – the axis your front wheels turn on isn’t straight up and down. Instead, the steering axis leans backwards slightly. This is the caster angle. That small backwards tilt helps the steering wheel return to the centre after a turn and helps the car drive in a straight line without wandering.
This misalignment doesn’t always happen overnight. Potholes, speed bumps, kerb nudges and general wear and use slowly knock the angles out. Over time, the steering stops behaving like it should, and you end up with this ‘pulling to one side’ feeling.
Why alignment matters more than you think
Think of a bicycle’s setup. If the front wheel points slightly left but the handlebars point straight (its ‘toe angle’ is incorrect), you’ll always feel a wobble and be worried about correcting it. In the meantime, your tyre is suffering. Here’s why.
If your alignment is suffering from toe-out on a front wheel, the inside edge of the tyre is being stretched in towards the centre every time you drive straight. If you have positive camber, there’s too much weight on the outside of the tyre, so the outside edge wears down quicker than you might expect.
This means that alignment problems almost always show up in a specific wear pattern on your tyres. You’ll notice a more worn-down strip down one edge, not both sides and not down the centre. If this has reached below 1.6mm of tread, you’ll unfortunately need to replace the entire tyre.
At Sunset VW, we use laser alignment equipment that checks every adjustable angle. The process starts with a road test to feel the symptoms first-hand. Then we measure the toe, camber and caster on all four wheels and compare them to manufacturer data.
We adjust each corner of the vehicle individually, always within tolerances for your specific model. Some Volkswagen Group cars, especially performance models like the Golf GTI or Audi S3, allow finer adjustments than others. That’s where it helps to work with someone who knows the range.
Once everything lines up correctly, we take your car for a test drive to check that the steering has returned to normal and that the pulling has stopped. The car should feel more planted, especially through corners and at motorway speeds. Tyres wear evenly, and you regain confidence behind the wheel.
What causes misalignment in the first place?
Potholes are the biggest offender. Hit one at 30mph, and it’s enough to knock the tracking angle out. But even small kerb bumps, like parking misjudgements or low-speed turns into raised edges, slowly knock alignment out. In short, there’s not much you can do about these things other than having your alignment checked on a regular basis.
Suspension wear plays a role, too. Bushings crack and compress with age. Ball joints develop play. Springs sag, which changes ride height and shifts the geometry.
Even if your alignment is fine, mismatched tyres – different brands, structures (e.g., one is a runflat), or uneven wear – can still cause the car to pull. Even if the alignment is spot on, a slightly taller or flatter tyre can throw the balance off. That’s why we always inspect tyres first before adjusting the tracking, and why we always recommend changing both tyres across an axle.
In rare cases, the pulling feeling stems from something other than alignment. A sticking calliper or a worn-out steering rack bush may cause similar symptoms. Don’t worry. We check for these during the workshop inspection and road test, just in case.
And finally, it’s also worth noting that sometimes you can have badly misaligned tyres but not feel your VW pulling to one side. Say, for example, your front right wheel has toe-out by one degree (which is a lot) – but your front left wheel also has toe-out by one degree. Although each wheel is badly misaligned and pulling you left or right, they’re cancelling each other out. This isn’t common, but it’s certainly possible, and we see it sometimes. That underscores the importance of regularly checking your tyres and going for regular servicing.
Get back in a straight line with Sunset VW
We want you to be safe on the road. You shouldn’t ever have to fight the steering wheel. So, if your Volkswagen, Audi, Seat or Skoda feels like it’s pulling to one side, it’s worth booking a tracking check. You’ll save money on tyres, get better fuel efficiency and, most importantly, relax into the drive again.
We recommend having your tracking checked at least once per year, and whenever you get a new tyre or set of tyres.
At Sunset VW in Derby, we’ve done this for decades. We know the quirks of each model, and we’ve seen what the roads around Derbyshire can do to your wheel alignment. And we’ve got the kit to fix it. Book your alignment check today, and we’ll only carry out the adjustment if it needs doing. You’ll feel the difference from the first turn out of our car park.