Poor driving performance is a general term for symptoms that cause a car to not run as expected, such as problems with acceleration, straight-line driving, vibration, and shock when starting.
Symptom diagnosis guide
- Comprehensive guide to abnormal noise diagnosis | Causes, repair costs, and urgency
- If the warning light comes on
- Causes of poor running performance and how to deal with it
- A comprehensive summary of causes of air conditioner breakdowns and malfunctions
“The car won’t drive straight.”
“Acceleration is slow/doesn’t move forward.”
“Feels unsteady and unstable.”
“The steering wheel shakes at high speeds.
” “The car jerks when starting or slowing down.”
This “uncomfortable driving” feeling is one of the most common complaints from VW owners.
However, the causes of poor driving performance are diverse, including the engine, DSG, suspension, sensors, and tires , making it difficult to determine the cause based on symptoms alone.
Therefore, in this article, we have classified poor driving conditions into five subjective symptoms and
structured them so that readers can quickly find the cause.
From this comprehensive guide, please go to the page that best suits your symptoms.
▼Driving problem diagnosis guide▼
Shocks when starting and decelerating
Feeling unsteady or lightheaded
👉Comprehensive summary of causes of poor running
- Classification of driving problems into five symptoms (start here)
- Multiple causes of driving problems tend to occur simultaneously
- First check you can do yourself (check in 5 minutes)
- What happens if you leave it alone? (Danger level)
- Estimated repair costs (by category)
- Related Links
- Details of defects by vehicle type
Classification of driving problems into five symptoms (start here)
The discomfort you may experience while driving can be roughly categorized into these five categories .
① Does not run straight (decreased straight-line stability)
Symptoms
- The handle can be pulled to the left or right
- Cars drifting due to ruts on the road
- Wobbling at high speeds
- Something strange happened after changing the tires
The main causes of this symptom are alignment, suspension bushings, tires, and EPS .
→ For details, here’s a summary of the reasons why your car won’t run straight | Checkpoints and solutions when your car is pulled left or right
→ Details of this symptom are explained in more detail in the subcategory.
- What causes a car to slide due to suspension wear?
- Causes of steering wheel getting caught on steps
- Why does the steering wheel wobble at high speeds?
- What causes the steering wheel to drift to the right (left)?
- Causes and solutions for getting stuck in road ruts
- What causes your car to not run straight and make strange noises?
- Causes of increased steering play
- Why can’t I drive straight after changing tires?
- Straight running becomes unstable due to deterioration of the suspension bushings
- Symptoms when EPS compensation is not working
② Not accelerating/slow (not moving forward)
Symptoms
- I don’t move forward even when I step on the accelerator
- No strength on slopes
- The rotation speed just increases and the car doesn’t keep up.
- I’m scared of merging onto highways
- There is a rattling noise when accelerating
The causes range from the engine/turbo/sensors/DSG/fuel system .
→ For details, here’s a summary of the causes of slow acceleration : Checkpoints and solutions when your car won’t move forward or is sluggish
→ Details of this symptom are explained in more detail in the subcategory.
- Causes of heavy starting or not moving forward even when stepping on the accelerator
- Why you can run normally on flat ground but lose power on slopes
- Causes of slow acceleration and strange noises
- When you feel a lack of power when merging onto the highway
- The reason why the rotation speed increases but the car does not keep up
- Causes of shortness of breath or jerking when accelerating suddenly
- Checkpoints when acceleration is slow when overtaking
- What causes slow acceleration when starting to move even though idling is normal?
- Cause of momentary hesitation when stepping on the pedal
- Causes of vibration during acceleration
- Why does acceleration change depending on temperature and humidity?
3) The car is unsteady (fluffy or swaying from side to side)
Symptoms
- A floating sensation at high speed
- Being shaken from side to side by steps
- Bulging outwards on curves
- Vulnerable to crosswinds
- I get carsick easily
The key to wobbling is the compatibility of the suspension, rear area, bushings, tires, and height-adjustable suspension .
→ For more details, see Summary of causes of car wobbling | What causes the wobbling feeling and sideways swaying and how to deal with it
→ Details of this symptom are explained in more detail in the subcategory.
- Causes of vehicle body shaking at high speeds
- Causes of swaying from side to side on uneven surfaces
- Causes of the feeling of bulging outwards when turning
- Causes of car’s weakness in wind
- Causes of wobbling and strange noises
- Causes of wobbling and heavy (light) steering
- Causes of large rear sway
- Car-related causes of car sickness
- If your car is unsteady after installing an aftermarket suspension
- Causes of wobbling due to tire pressure and uneven wear
④ High-speed vibration (steering wheel/body shaking)
Symptoms
- The steering wheel shakes at 80-100km/h
- The car body is shaking
- Vibration and buzzing sound occur simultaneously
- Sudden vibrations after changing tires
- The faster the speed, the stronger the shaking
The main causes of vibration are
wheel balance, uneven tire wear, looseness in the suspension, and hub bearings .
→ For details, see the causes of vibration at high speeds | Checkpoints and solutions when the steering wheel or vehicle body shakes
→ Details of this symptom are explained in more detail in the subcategory.
- Why does the steering wheel shake at 100km/h?
- What causes the car to shake at speeds between 80 and 100 km/h?
- Symptoms of shaking at high speeds and instability when driving straight
- Causes of stronger vibrations when accelerating
- How to tell if vibrations and strange noises (gurgling noises) are occurring
- The difference between poor wheel balance and poor suspension
- Cases where road noise and vibrations are easily mistaken
- Causes of vibration at high speeds after changing tires
- If vibration occurs at high speeds immediately after vehicle inspection
- Wheel distortion and vibrations after driving over a curb
⑤ Jerking when starting and stopping (low-speed shock)
Symptoms
- Jump forward when stopping and starting
- D → R is a big shock
- There is a sudden jerk just before the train stops.
- Creep is unstable
- I feel awkward only in the morning
This is an area where the low-speed control of the DSG (DQ200/DQ250) and the mount brakes have a large impact.
→ For details, see the summary of causes of jerks when starting | What to do when you experience shocks when stopping, starting, or slowing down
→ Details of this symptom are explained in more detail in the subcategory.
- Cause of the symptom of the car lurching forward when stopping and starting
- Causes of jerky noise when decelerating
- Check points when jerking at low speeds
- Why does the car lurch forward when you brake?
- Causes of a large shock when D→R (R→D) occurs
- What causes the car to jerk just before stopping?
- Causes of strong vibration when starting
- Causes of jerky driving when slowing down on a downhill slope
- Characteristics of cold weather that causes sluggishness only in the morning
- Causes of creep instability
Multiple causes of driving problems tend to occur simultaneously
The key point is that discomfort while driving
is often caused by a combination of multiple factors rather than a single malfunction .
for example:
- Alignment + Uneven tire wear
- Deterioration of suspension bushings + wobbling at high speeds
- Ignition system stuttering + no acceleration
- Clutch wear + D→R shock
- Wheel imbalance + vibration at 100km/h
Even if there appears to be one symptom, in many cases fixing one symptom does not fix the problem, so
it is important to check all symptoms together.
First check you can do yourself (check in 5 minutes)
Steering center position
If your steering wheel is tilted slightly even when you are driving straight,
this is an important sign of misalignment or looseness in the suspension.
air pressure
30 to 40 percent of driving problems are related to tire pressure.
Tire wear (outside wear/inside wear)
Uneven wear is the biggest cause of poor straight-line running, vibration, and wobble.
Is there any abnormal noise?
Growling, rattling, and whining sounds can provide clues to the diagnosis.
Cold vs. warm
Only bad in the morning → Possibly hardened transmission mount grease.
Do the symptoms change depending on the speed range?
Note the differences between 40km/h, 80km/h and 100km/h.
What happens if you leave it alone? (Danger level)
- Abnormal tire wear
- Hub bearing damage
- Broken bushing → whole suspension unstable
- Accelerated wear of DSG clutches
- Deterioration in fuel economy
- Significantly reduced safety at high speeds
Leaving it unattended can result in repair costs multiplying several times later .
Estimated repair costs (by category)
- Alignment : 12,000 to 22,000 yen
- Suspension inspection : 5,000 to 20,000 yen
- Hub bearing replacement : 25,000 to 45,000 yen
- DSG-related inspection and learning value reset : 5,000 to 15,000 yen
- Clutch/mount/bush : 20,000 to 100,000 yen
- Ignition system refresh : 15,000 to 40,000 yen
Costs vary depending on the condition, so please check the details for each condition using the related links below.
👉 Summary of maintenance and customization costs and work days at VW specialty store Nile Plus
▼List of individual pages about suspension repair and maintenance▼
You can scroll
▼ List of individual pages about engine and drivetrain repair and maintenance ▼
You can scroll
Related Links
- Summary of reasons why your car won’t run straight | Checkpoints and solutions when your steering wheel gets pulled left or right
- Summary of causes of slow acceleration | Checkpoints and solutions when your car won’t move forward or is slow to accelerate
- Summary of causes of car wobbling | What causes the wobbling feeling and sideways swaying and how to deal with it
- Summary of causes of vibration at high speeds | Checkpoints and solutions when the steering wheel or vehicle body shakes
- Summary of causes of jerks when starting | What to do when you experience shocks when starting or slowing down from a stop
Details of defects by vehicle type
Even if the “way” of the malfunction is similar, “which model has the most common problems” differs slightly depending on the model.
The following page summarizes the trends by model and common malfunction cases among other owners.
You can scroll
コメント