Steering pulling to the left

Faults and Technical chat for the Volvo XC40
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Norton
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:29 pm

Post by Norton »

I have now had my new XC40 Inscription pro for a month. I am getting to know the vehicle and am happy with it apart from one niggle. When driving on straight roads, the steering pulls very slightly to the left. To keep the steering wheel straight and hold a straight line on the road I need to apply a gentle downwards pressure to the steering wheel with my right hand. On twisty roads this is not a big deal but I find it irksome on longer journeys on fast straight roads.

The wheel alignment has been checked by the Volvo dealer and I was told it is correctly aligned – no adjustment needed. Before I go back to the dealer and ask them to investigate further I thought I would ask other XC40 owners to share their experiences.

I think the slight steering pull to the left is caused by the car responding to the road camber. It seems that there is more pull to the left where there is more camber. If I drive in the centre of the road (straddling the white line) there is no pull to the left. BUT my previous vehicles (BMW and Nissan) have all driven dead straight regardless of camber – like they were on tramlines. It is as if the steering in the XC40 is much more sensitive (or responsive) to the road surface. I am wondering if my XC40 has a fault or if this is a characteristic of Volvo steering that I will have to get used to.

Does your XC40 drive dead straight or do you too have a slight pull to the left dependent on the camber?

lfpcorreia
Posts: 99
Joined: Thu Aug 01, 2019 11:53 am

Post by lfpcorreia »

Mine is also “inclined” to go left
T5 Twin-engine Momentum Plus
MoosePT
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Sep 26, 2019 2:50 pm
Location: Portugal

Post by MoosePT »

Hello Norton,

Had a similar issue with mine, pulling to the right. After checking pressure and align all wheels on a specialized shop, it persisted.
After that, the tyre technician as suggested to just rotate the right side tyre with the left side one and it seems that the issue is now gone.
Can't tell you why... but give it a try.

Cheers,
João
Inscription T5 TwEn in Onyx Black - Business Pro Pack, Park Assist Pack, Fog Lights - Order placed: September 2019 // Delivery Date: April 3rd 2020
eugen61
Posts: 1210
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 7:33 am

Post by eugen61 »

If wheel alignment is correct, than usually tires or rims are to blame. Sometimes wheels need to be balanced under load in order to mimic road driving conditions with a machine that puts weight on the wheel while spinning as such better identifying tire and rim imperfections that cause vibrations or side pulling. This video is explanatory https://youtu.be/4OvcOX74wh0

Find a tire service equipped with an under-load balancer and your problem should be identified and fixed.
Salmonfisher
Posts: 152
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2019 4:58 pm

Post by Salmonfisher »

No problem in my D4 R design but I have had a similar problem on other cars in past. either a tyre issue as stated above or steering wheel not quite centred. Keep complaining it should be resolved.
Gnomeface
Posts: 62
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:15 pm

Post by Gnomeface »

I've had this issue on a previous car (Jaguar X-Type 3.0), along with excess wear on the outer front tyre edges, and solved it. Jaguar and a tyre specialist both stated that the front wheel alignment (toe setting) was within tolerance - but I found that the specified tolerance band was far too wide (in my view, as an engineer). The car was set to near to the maximum allowed toe-in, and I set it myself toward the other end of the allowed range (actually dead ahead, which is OK for a 4-wheel drive car). Result was no more uneven tyre wear and no pull on the steering when on a cambered road.
Family car - XC40 T5 Inscription Pro, Glacier Silver, charcoal leather, Intellisafe Pro and Xenium packs. Dog guard and mud flaps added since.
Fun car - Mercedes SLC
Perky
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Oct 30, 2019 11:41 pm

Post by Perky »

How did you realign the front wheels yourself?
T4 AWD Oct 2019
Gnomeface
Posts: 62
Joined: Sat Oct 05, 2019 8:15 pm

Post by Gnomeface »

Perky wrote: Fri Oct 23, 2020 3:20 pm How did you realign the front wheels yourself?
The method I used is quite complicated to explain in detail, but basically involves setting up a pair of fixed reference points (one on either side of the car, at the same height as the wheel centres and a couple of inches clear of the wheels) and measuring the gap in mm between a point on each of these and the front edge of the relevant wheel rim. Taking care not to move the reference points, the car is then wheeled gently forward about 18" until the rear edge of the wheel rim is opposite the same reference point and the gaps measured again.
The sum of the first pair of readings is taken from the sum of the second set to give the toe-in in mm, and some basic trigonometry based on the wheel diameter at the rim gives the overall toe-in angle. I always repeated the whole process with the car rolled a bit further forward until the wheels were a half-turn further on from where I started, and averaged the two sets of toe-in results to eliminate any irregularity in the wheels.

It sounds complicated but it actually is not, and if done with care on a flat level surface is quite quick and has proved to be accurate, confirmed by the reports I also had occasionally from tyre dealer's systems over the 40-odd years I've used this method. I use a stainless steel rule for measurements (callipers would be better) and axle stands to provide the reference points. It's then fairly easy to adjust the track rods by loosening the locking nuts and screwing the rods in or out as usual - a bit "trial and re-measure" at first to see what effect a half turn (say) of the rod is. Deciding which side to adjust is a dark art - one method I've used is to set the steering wheel central and then sight from the front wheels to the back to see which wheel looks more out of alignment, and then adjust that side.
Family car - XC40 T5 Inscription Pro, Glacier Silver, charcoal leather, Intellisafe Pro and Xenium packs. Dog guard and mud flaps added since.
Fun car - Mercedes SLC
Peter8642
Posts: 56
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:22 pm

Post by Peter8642 »

If you habitually drive a bit close to the centre line, the steering assist will try to ease you away from it. When on a road with a white line on the kerb side, drive close to that and it will ease you over to the right. You can turn this driver aid off in the settings if you don’t like it, but that would defeat the object😀
2021 XC40 Inscription T5 Recharge, Denim Blue + Blond.
Driver Assist, Lounge, Versatility, Towbar, Spare Wheel and Jack.
Norton
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2020 6:29 pm

Post by Norton »

I was the OP with concerns about my steering pulling to the left. Good advice from Salmonfisher further up the thread: " Keep complaining, it should be resolved." I did keep on complaining and eventually the dealer acknowledged that the steering wasn't set up correctly, some adjustments were made and it was indeed resolved. Initially I was given the impression they felt I was being overly fussy and a bit of nuisance but I held my ground. The driving experience is now much improved.
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