Steering wheel fault?

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Deastons
Deastons Posts: 464 Forumite
in Motoring
I've noticed the steering wheel of my 2014 VW Golf turns slightly more anti-clockwise than it does clockwise.

Turning anti-clockwise it does just over 1.5 turns, but clockwise just under 1.5 turns.

I'm worried this is quite a serious fault (it's the thing you hold all the time, after all). Is this something I should get checked out? Is it likely to be the wheels themselves or the steering wheel? I'm wondering if it means the steering wheel is loose and might ultimately come off.
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  • missile
    missile Posts: 11,691 Forumite
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    Seems unlikely, but for peace of mind you might want to have it examined.
    "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
    Ride hard or stay home :iloveyou:
  • neilmcl
    neilmcl Posts: 19,460 Forumite
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    Why not ask your local VW service centre and see what they tell you. What exactly is "just under/over"?
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    Yes, it's entirely likely there's a loose nut behind the steering wheel of your car.
  • hollie.weimeraner
    hollie.weimeraner Posts: 2,147 Forumite
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    neilmcl wrote: »
    Why not ask your local VW service centre and see what they tell you. What exactly is "just under/over"?
    Because he'd sooner ask on here (Just look at his other threads started)


    If this is correct it is simply a front wheel alignment issue corrected by getting a decent company to do an alignment check.
  • neilmcl
    neilmcl Posts: 19,460 Forumite
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    AdrianC wrote: »
    Yes, it's entirely likely there's a loose nut behind the steering wheel of your car.
    :rotfl::rotfl:
  • facade
    facade Posts: 7,043 Forumite
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    hollie.weimeraner wrote: »
    If this is correct it is simply a front wheel alignment issue corrected by getting a decent company to do an alignment check.


    When you align the front wheels you are supposed to have the rack set to the centre.


    In The Olden Days (when everything was made properly, before cost cutting) there used to be a little hole covered by a dust cap that you put a peg into as you pushed the rack and it would drop into a hole in the rack, pegging it central.
    Then you set the wheel straight, and aligned the front wheels to be straight ahead too.


    Nowadays you are supposed to count the turns lock to lock and set it to the middle.


    If the lazy numpties at (insert whichever service centre you hate today) simply adjusted the tracking from one side then the wheel creeps over to make a new ahead position and there is more lock one way than the other.


    The better places set the steering wheel straight and adjust both sides to get the tracking right, if the steering wheel has been off at some point and miss placed the rack won't be central, but it is a quick way to avoid whiny customers coming back saying that the steering wheel isn't straight.
    They notice this, but rarely take the trouble to count and see if there is exactly the same movement each way.
    I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....

    (except air quality and Medical Science ;))
  • Deastons
    Deastons Posts: 464 Forumite
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    AdrianC wrote: »
    Yes, it's entirely likely there's a loose nut behind the steering wheel of your car.

    This is what I figured - I'll get it looked at. I guess I'll be using a lot of Ubers over the coming days! At least it's good to know I shouldn't be driving it.
  • neilmcl
    neilmcl Posts: 19,460 Forumite
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    Deastons wrote: »
    This is what I figured - I'll get it looked at. I guess I'll be using a lot of Ubers over the coming days! At least it's good to know I shouldn't be driving it.
    Priceless :rotfl:
  • facade
    facade Posts: 7,043 Forumite
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    edited 8 November 2018 at 4:37PM
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    I think Adrian needed to put some :D:D:D in his post ;)


    Obviously as you are worried, get it looked at, but you were merrily driving along until you noticed, so I doubt if the steering wheel will suddenly come off now that you have.


    As long as there is no looseness it should be ok to drive.
    Stick your head out of the window and look at the road wheel, (ignition off but key in so the steering lock isn't engaged) move the steering wheel left and right a fraction and then gradually a bit more until you see the road wheel just start moving. If the free movement before anything happens at the roadwheel is less than 13mm (1/2") at the rim of the steering wheel (6.5mm each way) and there are no knocks or clonks it is fine to MOT standard.







    I'm betting it is just lazy adjustment of the tracking, and then someone has pulled the steering wheel off and put it back straighter.,
    I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....

    (except air quality and Medical Science ;))
  • Scrapit
    Scrapit Posts: 2,304 Forumite
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    Deastons wrote: »
    This is what I figured - I'll get it looked at. I guess I'll be using a lot of Ubers over the coming days! At least it's good to know I shouldn't be driving it.
    Whoosh!

    Thought I'd posted this before but maybe not.
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