S3 Tracking to the left!

[ZACK]

when i am the car tracks to the left, infact pulls to the left, have had geometry check at Audi Specialist, said all ok at zero degrees. He changed rear to front as wheels are dircetional, felt ok for a few days. On the motorway the pull to the left is quite pronounced...
Its a 52 plate S3, 225 bhp, 28k miles done full Audi service history, still under Audi's 12 month warranty (had one previous owner)
Help! is this pulling common and what can be done about it.........advice
Audi in Bristol want to charge me £230 just to have a look at it.

 

[j4jon]

The S3 has been known to drift towards the left, but if it is a definate pull then it could be a sticky brake caliper that is causing it.
If it still under warranty then Audi should look at it for free. You try a different dealer if there are any near you.

 

[madvw]

If it still under warranty then Audi should look at it for free. You try a different dealer if there are any near you.

99% of S3's are now out of manufacturers warranty, so it'll just be an extended if anything... And the small print in Audi's warranty states that "diagnosis" is not included in the warranty (although most don't charge for it).

All said though, there was a recent thread on this already, and there were a lot of people whose S3 pulls to the left, mine also being one of them. It doesn't do it all the time, so it's definitely due to road camber.

 

[jonS3]

my local Audi dealer have never charged me for diagnosing problems on my S3, best off taking it somewhere else mate

 

[JohnS3]

Mine too pulls to the left, always has done. Had everything checked and all is OK. There is another thread about this, certainly worth a read if you are worried.

Regards, John,

 

[mattyboy199]

mine pulls to the left as well, had wheel alignment done & although it was out it still pulls to the left.

 

[ZACK]

Thanks for the advice, have been told that Audi Bristol will charge me just to look at is so will definately take it elsewhere.
Will get local Audi specialist to have a look at the sticky brake calipers this week.
Could this be anything to do with the drive system?

 

[marmite]

hi there
they normally always track to the left slightly and are worse when fitted with 18's they follow the road even more..TT is the same
All depends on the road but they follow the chamber of the road

 

[S3 AJU]

I've just bought an S3 2002 and mine does that as well, was a bit worried at first but it only does it occasionally

 

[Tallpaul]

Did Audi check the Caster, Camber and Toe on the Fronts and the Camber and Toe on the rear?

Do you have a printout of the angles?

A common(ish) problem is damage to the stub-axle on the near-side rear wheel caused by reversing into kerbs etc; Of course the S3 is 4wd so it'll be a proper driveshaft and gubbins that could be bent.

Not sure that the simple tracking checks that most garages use would spot this. Proper 4-wheel laser alignment will give you a print-out of each wheels position both horizontally and vertically and hence is easier to spot where the problem lies.

 

[Speedo]

I have an A3 (97) and i have noticed that my car pulls to the left, i got the tracking aligned (it was not much out) and had to change both front tyres (left was worn out much more than the right), however still it pulls - is there anything else that may cause this, i.e. perhaps the bushes etc.. any help appreciated.