nicros01

Had new wheels and tires (20" Continental extremecontact dws) put on my 2010 q5. The car had wheel balance problems and a lot of work done on the front wheels (rotors, brakes, etc.) just before I put these on so I'm unsure if the alignment was really off before the change.

Took it to the dealer for an alignment, but they were unable to fix a pull to the right because they say the car is aligned within spec and its the tires (brand new from Tire Rack btw) that are causing the pull.

They rotated the tires and even cross rotated the tires and it had no impact on the pull to the right. If it was the tires, wouldn't it change when they move the tires around?

Thoughts on what the dealer is telling me and what I should do?

Telate

If what they are saying is true - take the tire from the right side, put it on the left side and vice versa on both the front and back. The car should pull to the left instead of the right. This can only apply if the tires are non-directional though. Driving against the rotational direction on tires designed for it is very dangerous as the traction decrease tremendously. If the car still pulls towards the right, than there is something else wrong with it - not the tires.

nicros01

Yeah they had already cross rotated the tires and there was no change.

An update- they swapped my wheels with the wheels on their Q5 repair vehicle then called to tell me my car was no longer pulling and that the service vehicle was. Basically saying they had confirmed the problem was with my wheels. They were pretty cool about it, offering to leave the cars in that config so I could drive them and confirm.

But when I got there and drove my car it felt exactly the same, pulling to the right. The service guy in the passenger seat with me confirmed the pull. The service vehicle felt fine and didn't pull at all.

So it's not the wheels it would seem.

The dealers are at a loss as to what it could be- they swear they have aligned it 3 times and it is perfect- which leaves some other mechanical issue.

Anyone have any ideas?

Hawk12

Your first post isn't real clear on when the brakes were done, but my guess is they're dragging/sticking on the side it's pulling to.

Telate

As Hawk says, try checking for any seized calipers or seized slider pins. When in the air with the car in neutral (not sure if this would apply to the q5 as I have no idea how easy it is to turn the wheels by hand in neutral) you should be able to turn the wheels with relatively no resistance. If there is excessive resistance than check out the brakes on that side. More than likely if you can feel it pulling in the steering wheel than it is the front passenger that is the culprit. If it sort just drifts to the side then check the back.

johncaravello

Someone might want to take an infer red temp reading on the front rotors/wheels after driving. If a caliper is sticking closed the temp on that side should be considerably higher.

Parsec

These aren't as expensive as most people think. I think I got mine off Amazon for about $30 and it's come in handy for many things including checking for consistent AC/Heat temperatures coming out of my air registers in the house.

ThunderDent

I'm assuming aftermarket wheels (not hub-centric)?

If you guys have definitely ruled out the wheel issue, and the alignment is in spec, it's got to be either a caliper seized up or a severely warped rotor or something like that.

Hawk12

Could also be a wheel bearing on that side, but checking the caliper would be a first step and easier.

nicros01

Thanks all for the suggestions- I will pass this along to the dealer and see if they have checked these things.

So these are NOT aftermarket wheels, they are OEM. So hopefully those aren't the source of the problem.

And if the calipers were grabbing wouldn't the car pull less to start and then more as the rotor/pads and caliper assembly heat up and expand?

The pulling to the right is consistent, but fairly subtle- not like a heavy pull to the right at all. I would expect things to change slightly as the elements heat up, but it feels exactly the same to me when I first start driving the car as after an hour.

Also, I don't know how the Q5 quattro system works, but if you put it on a lift in neutral can you spin the tires? That should show whether a caliper is sticking or not... maybe you cant do that though.