Tech Tips
Date: November 8, 2013

TT 44-13-03
2012-2016 All Models-Four Wheel Alignments

January 8, 2016: Update to model year applicability.

This Tech Tip provides an overview of vehicle four wheel alignment, and important steps that should be
followed when performing four wheel alignments.
Note:
Email a scanned copy of the before and after alignment measurements to VWGoA.Chassis@vw.com, and
file the printed copy with the Repair Order. If a Volkswagen Technical Assistance (VTA) ticket was opened,
the alignment before and after measurements should be attached, before the VTA is closed. This is
required for all alignment check or repairs performed under warranty.
Email must include the following information:
•

VIN

•

Repair Order (RO) Number

•

Mileage (from RO)

•

Dealer Code

The alignment data must be a legible scanned copy of the original print or screen capture (picture). The
recommended formats are PDF or JPEG.

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information
Below are examples of acceptable attachments:

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information
Section 1. Alignment Overview

TOE ‐ The amount the tires point inwards or
outwards when viewing the car from above.
Figure 1
Positive toe (red line) or Toe‐in: The tires
point inwards towards the center of the
vehicle.

Negative toe (blue line) or Toe‐out: The
tires point outwards away from the center of
the vehicle
Figure 1

CAMBER ‐ Angle between the vertical axis of the wheel and the
vertical axis of the vehicle when viewed from the front or rear.
Positive (red line): The upper sidewall of the tire is tilted
outwards away from the center of the vehicle.
Negative (blue line): The upper sidewall of the tire is tilted
towards the center of the vehicle.

Figure 2

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information

Figure 3

CASTER ‐ When viewing a car from the side, the angle of the vehicle’s steering axis is defined by drawing
a line through the upper and lower ball joints (for a double wishbone front suspension), or through the strut
tower mount and the lower ball joint.
Positive (red line): The line leans towards the rear of the car.
Negative (blue line): The line leans towards the front of the car.

Tip:
For additional information on wheel alignment see Self Study Program (SSP) 860103 – Wheel Alignment –
Basics.

Toe adjustment
Front and rear toe adjustment procedures are located in the repair manual under, Repair Manual >
Chassis > Suspension, Wheel, Steering > 44 Wheels, Tires, Wheel Alignment > General Information.
Note:
When performing wheel alignment, the steering column must be adjusted to the center tilt position.
This is due to steering wheel off set of up to 1.2 degrees from center tilt position of the steering
column to the full up or the full down tilt position.
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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information
Camber adjustment
Camber adjustments should be made based on the information in the repair manual.
Note:
For all Volkswagen models EXCEPT Touareg, front camber is NOT an adjustable angle for normal
four wheel alignment. The procedures in the repair manual to adjust camber are for body collision
only (See note in repair manual). If the sub-frame bolts are loosened, tightened or removed for ANY
reason, the bolts MUST be replaced with new bolts. Sub-frame bolts are torque to yield and should
never be re-used after they are loosened.

Caster Measurement
Caster is not an adjustable angle for all models EXCEPT Touareg.
When performing alignment using the Hunter equipment, after the initial “Before” measurements is
displayed, additional steps are required to read the correct caster measurement.Without these additional
steps, the equipment may display caster measurements that are out of specification. Please follow the
steps below to obtain the correct caster measurements.

Step 1
When the initial “Before” measurements are displayed, scroll down
to make additional measurements.

Figure 4

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information
Step 2
Press K3 to select > Make Additional Measurement.

Figure 5

Step 3
Scroll down to select > Frame Angle > Press K4 to select OK.
Tip:
An electronic level (Inclinometer) can be used to measure vehicle
frame angle. If a tool is not available, measure the vehicle ride
height (Standing height), and if within specification per the repair
manual, enter 0.4° for the left and right frame angle.

Figure 6

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information
Step 4
Measure the vehicle frame angle at the door sills using an
electronic level (Inclinometer).
Tip:
The frame angle for the car in figure 7 measures 0.9°, where the
rear is higher than the front. The nominal frame angle is 0.4° by
design and must be subtracted from the measured frame angles.
For example 0.9° ‐ 0.4° = 0.5°
Figure 7

If an electronic level (inclinometer) is not available, measure the
vehicle standing height (ride height), and if within specification per
repair manual, enter 0.4° for the left and right frame angle

Step 5
Enter the angles in the left and right frame angle fields > press K4
to select OK.
The caster measurement will now read correct. Please note that
cross caster measurement will remain the same.

Figure 8

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information
Measuring Vehicle Standing Height and Axle Symmetry (Set Back)
Vehicle ride height and symmetry measurement (Set back) are very important when diagnosing vehicle
suspension or drifting/pulling concerns. To make these measurement and have them display in the
alignment summary, select K3 > Make Additional Measurement and scroll down to select these
measurements.

Standing Height

Measure standing height “a” as shown in figure 9 and
enter the values in the alignment tool to have the values
displayed in the alignment summary.
Tip:
If the alignment equipment body target accessories are
available the vehicle standing height can be
automatically captured by the alignment equipment.
Please see the equipment manual for details of
operation.

Figure 9

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information
Axle Symmetry (Set Back)

Step 1
After selecting “Make Additional Measurements”, scroll
down and select > Symmetry Measurements/Set Back
> Press K4 for OK.

Figure 10

Step 2
Center the front wheels as shown on the monitor. >
Press K4 for Ready.

Figure 11

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information
Step 3
The axle symmetry/ set back will be displayed in
angles. To show angles as Distances > Press K2.
Enter the Rim Width.
Use tire balancer rim width caliper (example shown in
figure 13) to measure rim width.

Figure 13
Figure 12
Step 4
Ensure that the correct box is checked depending on
the type of wheel clamp spade that is used > Press K4
for OK.
Step 5
Steer the wheels straight ahead as instructed > Press
K4 for Ready.

Figure 14

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Service Information
Step 6
Track and wheelbase screen is displayed > Press K4
for OK.

Figure 15

Step 7
The axle symmetry measurement (set back) will now
display in distances. Press K3 to print the alignment
summary page.

Figure 16

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© 2016 Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual
property rights of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these
materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.