jedblack

rear passenger side. uninstalled, put on ground, a coupe minutes later.. BOOM! Nearly took a foot off. I've never heard/seen of something like that happening. Then again, I've never seen a strut that rotted through, amazing it didn't fail while mounted. Perhaps it was the torquing of pulling the strut out that weaken it further. I guess they don't call struts "widow makers" for nothing. And to think if this occurred while doing 65mph... yikes. Thank you lady luck.

I replaced them with Blau struts, seem good so far, little stiffer than OE, but I kind of like that so far.

Also, the springs are pretty rusted and probably don't have much left in them(didn't really catch it before hand). If anyone has a decent pair of rear OE springs(used) for a 2000 A6 Avant -- I'll trade you cash for them.

Cheers.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Stuts go boom. Wow. But I guess any component can rust/corrode.
Where the heck do you live, by the seashore? Saltcity Ohio?

Complain to NHTSA…makes as much sense as some of the vehicle suspension components that corrode and are subject to vehicle recall. It certainly seems like a safety issue.

jedblack

The car spent most of its life in CT, the last 3 years in NYC. Those parts were most certainly defective, and would probably fall under a recall status. I replaced the front struts as well, they were OEM, and had zero rust.

Moncho

Wow! Glad you didn't get hurt, certainly a close call. All that salt that's used on the roads in the NE may have something to do with that failure? Seems like the strut had a weak point as well.

Airbag

wow that is amazing ... and a lesson to everyone to be very very careful.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Weld failure. Bad stick or poor wire choice at the fab.

jcman

Looks like a lot of rust thinned that metal, of course the prep and paint play a role too. Makes one wonder about quality control when a part is made at that time.