A Story You May Not Want to Read
08-24-2006, 09:45 PM
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A Story You May Not Want to Read
My 2000 TTQ just hit the 50,000 mile mark. Yeah, that's only 7k a year. I don't drive it in the winter. Warranty on this car is 48k (I understand the 4-year thing, but the true measure of a car's life is the mileage.)
So, last week I was driving down the street and my back right wheel just fell off my car. Yeah, that's right. The control arm snapped (no, I didn't hit anything) and my right wheel collapsed into the vehicle. Right as this happened I was 15 feet from the entrance to a well-respected repair shop. I pulled in, as the wheel began rubbing the wheel well and I stopped. He ended up fixing it (after 4 days) and telling me if I was driving faster than the 20 mph I was going, I'd be dead. No question. Great. He also stated clearly that the control arm that was on my vehicle (never been touched by anyone) was "defective." He had NO explanation for how this happened.
He fixes it and 4 days later, it happens again. Same control arm, same side. Faulty install? I doubt it. The mechanic explained to me he's worked on TT's before, but he can't explain how this would happen a second time. PLUS, he said installation on the control arms is really simple.
I called Audi corporate and told them about this. I was mad and getting madder. After contacting an attorney to find out my rights, and telling Audi this, they actually said they would pay for the replacement cost of the first arm. Nice of them, BUT, I haven't seen a check yet. Hmmm...The car's suspension is making the noise that sounds like 2 balloons rubbing together and I know that at any minute the other side is going to snap as well. Audi said they would tow it into their shop and they did. No charge. They said they had "a guy from corporate" look at the vehicle and he said the whole suspension is fine." That makes me laugh as it doesn't take a mechanic to know that suspension is about to break, front and back. And that's when I get paid. The mechanic at the dealership (Fletcher-Jones in Chicago) said he can't diagnose anything because the car isn't driveable. What? So, their only kind of maintenance occurs AFTER something nasty happens? What ever happened to preventative maintenance? Luxury car, huh? Shoulda bought Japanese. (I know that statement will **** some people off).
Anyway, here's my question - I need to replace the entire suspension of this car, front and back. This includes the control arms, the bushings, etc. The whole nine. Does anyone know a NON-AUDI aftermarket replacement suspension that I could buy? I want to sell this car ASAP, but it's 3 months from being paid off and I don't want another car payment so I'll cross my fingers and play russian roulette everytime I drive to work.
I will NOT give the Volkswagen company any more of my money for their second-rate parts. I've had 3 mechanics who know Audis very well look at my vehicle and all 3 of them don't understand how the suspension on that vehicle doesn't snap/break off more often. They laugh at the design.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
So, last week I was driving down the street and my back right wheel just fell off my car. Yeah, that's right. The control arm snapped (no, I didn't hit anything) and my right wheel collapsed into the vehicle. Right as this happened I was 15 feet from the entrance to a well-respected repair shop. I pulled in, as the wheel began rubbing the wheel well and I stopped. He ended up fixing it (after 4 days) and telling me if I was driving faster than the 20 mph I was going, I'd be dead. No question. Great. He also stated clearly that the control arm that was on my vehicle (never been touched by anyone) was "defective." He had NO explanation for how this happened.
He fixes it and 4 days later, it happens again. Same control arm, same side. Faulty install? I doubt it. The mechanic explained to me he's worked on TT's before, but he can't explain how this would happen a second time. PLUS, he said installation on the control arms is really simple.
I called Audi corporate and told them about this. I was mad and getting madder. After contacting an attorney to find out my rights, and telling Audi this, they actually said they would pay for the replacement cost of the first arm. Nice of them, BUT, I haven't seen a check yet. Hmmm...The car's suspension is making the noise that sounds like 2 balloons rubbing together and I know that at any minute the other side is going to snap as well. Audi said they would tow it into their shop and they did. No charge. They said they had "a guy from corporate" look at the vehicle and he said the whole suspension is fine." That makes me laugh as it doesn't take a mechanic to know that suspension is about to break, front and back. And that's when I get paid. The mechanic at the dealership (Fletcher-Jones in Chicago) said he can't diagnose anything because the car isn't driveable. What? So, their only kind of maintenance occurs AFTER something nasty happens? What ever happened to preventative maintenance? Luxury car, huh? Shoulda bought Japanese. (I know that statement will **** some people off).
Anyway, here's my question - I need to replace the entire suspension of this car, front and back. This includes the control arms, the bushings, etc. The whole nine. Does anyone know a NON-AUDI aftermarket replacement suspension that I could buy? I want to sell this car ASAP, but it's 3 months from being paid off and I don't want another car payment so I'll cross my fingers and play russian roulette everytime I drive to work.
I will NOT give the Volkswagen company any more of my money for their second-rate parts. I've had 3 mechanics who know Audis very well look at my vehicle and all 3 of them don't understand how the suspension on that vehicle doesn't snap/break off more often. They laugh at the design.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
08-24-2006, 10:12 PM
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Did you ever have the recall work done on the rear arms?
Look at Scwhing's post in the following thread ...<ul><li><a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/tt/msgs/1155261.phtml">https://forums.audiworld.com/tt/msgs/1155261.phtml</a></li></ul>
08-25-2006, 03:41 AM
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i just read this at wak-tt.com last night
How interesting...I just read this last night and was thinking how I haven't heard of anyone on AW reporting a similar issue:
http://www.wak-tt.com/tt/brokencontrolarm.htm
I'm glad you're ok!!
http://www.wak-tt.com/tt/brokencontrolarm.htm
I'm glad you're ok!!
08-25-2006, 03:50 AM
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Was this ever an issue for the 2001 225QCs?
according the the recall info on autoweb, there is a recall, but i'm not sure if it's the same one; sounds similar...
: Suspension: Rear
Defect Summary: VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. MOISTURE COULD ENTER THE REAR TRACK CONTROL ARM'S MOUNTING BUSHING AND BOLT COMBINATION AND CAUSE CORROSION.
Consequence Summary: CORROSION COULD IMPEDE THE FREE MOVEMENT OF THE CONTROL ARM.
Corrective Summary: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TRACK CONTROL ARMS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN APRIL 12, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT AUDI AT 1-800-822-2834.
: Suspension: Rear
Defect Summary: VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. MOISTURE COULD ENTER THE REAR TRACK CONTROL ARM'S MOUNTING BUSHING AND BOLT COMBINATION AND CAUSE CORROSION.
Consequence Summary: CORROSION COULD IMPEDE THE FREE MOVEMENT OF THE CONTROL ARM.
Corrective Summary: DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TRACK CONTROL ARMS. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN APRIL 12, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT AUDI AT 1-800-822-2834.
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08-25-2006, 05:05 AM
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Re: A Story You May Not Want to Read
Don't give up the ship! Other manufacturers have had anomalies happen to their products...this is not a common occurrance...I would bet that Audi will stand with you in this...failures like this which are safety related scare major companies...I, too, wish German car companies (including Mercedes) could achieve Japanese reliability because I love the look, feel and heritage of German cars....Eventually I believe all companies will have to equal the Japanese in quality - or leave the marketplace. GOOD LUCK!
08-25-2006, 05:14 AM
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Buy Japanese, thats why Toyota is thinking about delaying their entire line of cars 6 months
due to quality and recall issues. Yep, it's only German cars that have problems.
Something is missing from the story here. If the original control arms were subject to a recall why wasn't that recall done? If the control arm was replaced why did it break again when the recall was due to corrosion issues? And why would 3 mechanics who know Audi's really well be looking at your suspension and wondering why it doesn't break more often, hadn't they seen this suspension before since they are so knowledgable about Audi's? And what about the millions of cars that have the same suspension setup that go 100's of thousands of miles without an issue? Especially when these cars see track and auto-x time and your's doesn't?
Sucks you had to go through this. Glad you came out unhurt. But there's a lot of emotion and very little facts here to go on. Was this balloon on balloon sound there before? Did the second control arm break exactly the same as the first? And if it was a design flaw why did it take 50k to show up, but then showed up again in 4 days on the same side? And why aren't we hearing more stories like this?
Please keep us updated and let us know the facts as they come out.
Trent
Something is missing from the story here. If the original control arms were subject to a recall why wasn't that recall done? If the control arm was replaced why did it break again when the recall was due to corrosion issues? And why would 3 mechanics who know Audi's really well be looking at your suspension and wondering why it doesn't break more often, hadn't they seen this suspension before since they are so knowledgable about Audi's? And what about the millions of cars that have the same suspension setup that go 100's of thousands of miles without an issue? Especially when these cars see track and auto-x time and your's doesn't?
Sucks you had to go through this. Glad you came out unhurt. But there's a lot of emotion and very little facts here to go on. Was this balloon on balloon sound there before? Did the second control arm break exactly the same as the first? And if it was a design flaw why did it take 50k to show up, but then showed up again in 4 days on the same side? And why aren't we hearing more stories like this?
Please keep us updated and let us know the facts as they come out.
Trent
08-25-2006, 05:18 AM
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Thanks for the support, everyone!
I did have the recall put on the car at 14,000 miles right after I bought the car. The first thing that popped into my head after this happened was the dealership mst've told me they put the "newer" suspension on, but didn't. I can't believe they'd do that, but I thought that. If that was the case I'd be enjoying the next few years in Aruba on the Volkswagen Corp. The newer suspension IS on the vehicle, but the crazy thing is, if you read the recall, what happened to my car is EXACTLY what the recalled suspension was supposed to have fixed. I don't get it.
Either way, I just wanted to make everyone aware of this. I wanted to drive this car into the ground, i.e. keep it forever, but if it's in this kind of shape at 50k, who knows where it will be at 65k. BTW - my check engine light has been on since 35k and no one, including the dealership, knows why. Lovely, huh.
Either way, I just wanted to make everyone aware of this. I wanted to drive this car into the ground, i.e. keep it forever, but if it's in this kind of shape at 50k, who knows where it will be at 65k. BTW - my check engine light has been on since 35k and no one, including the dealership, knows why. Lovely, huh.