Tomk Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 hope you can help , again my dad has problems with his a8 following a service from audi aylesbury .. in the middle of the night lucky at 30mph he had a large bang and the car slid along the floor in to a curb , the wheel had pushed up in to the body work and the car was sliding on the floor, after 6 hours and 3 recovery vans later ( they could not move it ) it was on a flatbed being dragegd to audi , the balljoint or part of the wishbone on the passenger side front wheel had snapped throwing the drive shaft and wheel up in to the car, its damaged the bodywork as well as the wheel / underside of the car , ive attached a pic of the broken part - the guys who recoverd the car said the part was very dangerously worn and should have been picked up in a service - is this the case ? audi will NOT hold responsibility and the repair bill will be thousands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted April 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 next pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted April 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 and the last - not for the faint hearted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calm Chris Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Services warrant the work for a period after the service IIRC it's 3000 miles or 3 months. If the service included a condition report on the drive gear, wheels and suspension, then it is right that they are held to account. What was the service work? What is detailed in the handbook, inspection list, for that service routine? Things to break, but that shouldn't happen. You could seek out an independent engineering inspection, a metallurgist report and sue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted April 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 gosh how does he get a engineering inspection, and a metallurgist report ? the car had its general service - typically dad cant find the service book to see what 'should' have been done.. it think it was around 70k miles and it cost around £400 in all , just upset me as ive never heard anything like this happen before and i was in the car a few hours before on teh way back from hospital myself ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexc Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 To be honest, I don't think it's a fault of the Audi Dealer from a service point of view as they don't generaly check the structural integrity of your suspension. It's more likely to be picked up during an MOT! When was the last MOT done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencerbruntlett Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Really need an independant review before any action can be taken so you can decide if the fault was due to wear/tear, manufacturing fault, service negligence, etc. You could get an engineering report from any reputable inspection company, DVLA may be able to help as they will have approved centres for signing off kit-cars and the like. Failing this could try Citizens Advice, could be a long process though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnArtist1 Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 A bit clearer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted April 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 think MOT was done in Jan by the dealer , they have said audi UK are being no help have booked the AA to do an inspection tuesday next week so see why the part broke , its going to be very expensive , dealer said new wheel , wing, skirt, tyre, wishbone, 2x drive shafts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted April 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 oh and the aa chap that came out said it had started to crack as it was full of road crap etc, and they had cahnged a sensor on teh front wheel so they cant ahve missed it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botang Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Tom here is a link for you to look at link I assume you are talking about the 5th arm down on the pic below, which is labelled as number 7 on Sneakys diagram. The part number should be 4D0 407 151 P There was a safety recall covering the front lower arms but i dont think it covered the wishbone link that you describe. It seems odd that the arm has failed completely, your first point of investigation should be to check that this is a genuine part, obviously if it has been replaced with a lower qualiy part in the past your case has no basis to start with. Apart from that was there no creaking/groaning from the suspension? Has that wheel had any impact before in terms of kerb damage, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfer Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 I'd get my solicitor involved NOW, there is a case here to sue. Get it actioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson_R32 Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Some particular model year A4s, A6's and A8's were recalled to have checks on the Straight arm ball joints (the one thats snapped here). Technicians would check the car and if neccessary replace them. Its worth investigating whether the car has A) Was affected by this Check/Recall B) Had this check carried out C) Had the straight arm replaced under this recall. The arms are aluminium so I'd imagine any cracks would be very hard to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icedillon Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Amazing! the exact same thing happened to me in london 1 year back! Car was stuck in shoreditch for hours! my arms were original and had done 150k. Its wear and tear im afraid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botang Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 So Tom the first question is has the safety recall inspection been carried out on this car? If not why not, and even if it had you would think that a dealer service would keep an eye on a part that they know to be weak. A8 Customer services should be able to confirm if the recall has taken place I should imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SneakyMcC Posted April 28, 2006 Report Share Posted April 28, 2006 Phew! Glad the ol'mans ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted April 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2006 he is fine very shaken i asked about the saftey recal it was done , and it was only an inspectin but not of this joint unless someone else can tell me otherwise ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botang Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 As I understand it that was the arm that was under inspection, to be fair though I think it was not a problem with the arm failing but the joint on the end. Tom it does seem to point towards previous impact damage more so than compnent failiure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudson Posted May 1, 2006 Report Share Posted May 1, 2006 As previously said..... a full engineers inspection is needed, only unitl the results are known will you be able to go forward with any action and know who (if anybody) is liable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted May 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 this is being done tomoro so will keep you all posted ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted May 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 right result of inspection - they have said the part was 100% cracked before it went in for a service, now he did say he would not exspect a service to pick it up as they normally just wiggle it to see if there is play ,but since the a8 has 2 wishbones should it not be inspected ? if you read on page 5 of the service manual it says that it should all be inspected - the manger said they always check for play - now thats not inspecting is it??? what do we do ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botang Posted May 2, 2006 Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 You confirm with them that this was the part that was covered by a safety recall, and ask questions regarding their duty of care during a service especially on a part that has caused such a recall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted May 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 they said the recall was to inspect and the recall was not specifically on this part but on a gator or something , the manager said they test for play, though the manual clearly says ' inspect for damage ' when talking about the final drive and suspention looks like this is going to be a hard one as it was clearly there before the service, but as they never look for it specifically in the first place how are they expected to find it - he did suggest that all the others were replaced to as a matter of ' saftey ' so this is going to be a big bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallachie Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Bit of a nightmare Tom, at least he wasn't injured though. My mate's boyfriend had a similar accident in his SR-VT10 Dodge Ram, only he had a pretty big spill after his whole wheel broke off, he ended up in A&E with a split head and 2 broken ribs......Dodge said it was extreme metal fatige. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted May 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 yes we are VERY happy this did not happen , dad is calling A8 customer service this afternoon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now