Bad tie rod ends dangerous? What are the symptoms?
 

Auto Gallery in Woodland Hills diagnosed my tie rod ends as being "bad". If this is indeed true (and who knows if it is, since this was my first out of warranty service and, coincidentally, they found all sorts of stuff to charge me for fixing), what are the symptoms and should I be concerned about the car being dangerous to drive.

As an aside, I'm never taking my car there for routine service again. ~$600 for routine 64k service. My ass hurts.

What do people think of Ingolstadt West, pretty good?

well---
 

I heard a tale of one car that had one break---needless to say the car became unmanagable quickly since the tires were both towed out! I had one fail on my A4 but it didnt break akk the way--gave me pause for thought however!

If it feels like you're drunk @ the wheel & your clearly not, it's time to replace 'em. (m)...
 

Since they get bad over time, one tends not to notice, but rather, *adjusts* their driving. If you've noticed your car darting around for no apparent reason, they're probably beat. Simply jack up one side, grab the wheel @ 9 & 3, & give it a push/pull. If it's *loose* & knocks around, that end is toast. Repeat on the opposite side. Get the HD ends from ECS - they're cheap enough. Anyone w/ 1/2 a brain & a cheap tool set can swap 'em. Get it aligned immediately. Good luck.

i wonder what it would feel like if you were actually drunk and had bad tie rods....
 

btw, i think mine are bad too :(

you can feel the steering loose a bit
 

with the car runing rock the steering left and right fast and you may hear a knocking noise , also check the actual rubber boots on the tierod ends and see if it's torn.

i think its one of those 2 bad things make a right...Andretti status!