Audi A4 Ball Joint failure

[Tim]

Last week I had ball joint break on my '97 A4 - the lower wishbone broke away from the font wheel. Luckily I was only traveling slowly at the time.....

The joint was inspected by Audi last year as part of the recall, and was judged to be OK, and it was MOT'd in Jan this year, and no mention made of a dodgy ball joint.

I didn't notice any knocking or stiff steering - the usual signs of a worn ball joint.

The cars overdue on it's service so (perhaps understandably in thier view) Audi aren't helping much (10% on parts, 30% on labour), but it's still much less expensive for me to get it fixed by an independent - but I'm still looking at a big bill (wishbone, drive shaft, wheel, tyre etc. plus ~4 hrs labour)

Two points - has anyone else had, or heard of, a sudden catastophic ball joint failure on A4's or similar?

Also - if you own a similar model, particularly if it's a high miler (140K on mine) - make sure it's had the recall inspection, and its services are up to date!

Cheers, Tim

[mattbryant]

Hi,

My S3's rear wishbone snapped on Sunday. Fortunately I was driving in a straight line at 40mph. The car still went out of control. The car's done just 70,000 miles in 5 and a half years and is fully serviced. AUdi have been less than helpful and even though I'm pretty sure it is a safety critical item, they are saying it is not a safety issue and it was due to the bushes wearing down. If that's the case then they want to change their policy. If it had happened on a motorway or high speed bend then anything could have happened. I'm left with a bill of £900 and a fear of it happening again.

I'm trying to find out if this happens more often than they let on.

Matt

[shopkins]

Tim
I had the same failure which may well have killed me and passengers. Did you get anywhere with Audi?

Mr S A Hopkins
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10 October 2006
CC/134/4393804/AG

Re: Audi A4 P457UDG



Dear Mr Hopkins

I write in reply to your email dated 12 August 2006 regarding the above vehicle. Firstly I would like to apologise for the lateness of my response, unfortunately my annual leave commitments have prevented me from addressing your concerns until now.

I was sorry to learn that you remain dissatisfied with the response you have received following the failure you experienced on your vehicle. I have structured my response to answer each of the points you raised in turn.

With regard to the service check letter which was sent out to all affected customers, Audi UK was given access to the DVLA database so that the information used could be as accurate as possible. As the letters were not sent recorded delivery I cannot provide proof of posting and can only speculate as to the reason why you have not received one.

Please find enclosed a specimen copy of the letter as requested, showing the exact text which was sent to customers, although the page setting may differ somewhat from the actual hard copies sent.

I cannot give you an explanation as to what happened to your letter for the reasons mentioned above.

The vehicle may well have been regularly serviced, however I have no record of it having been serviced within the Audi Approved Network since 20 February 2003. Should you feel aggrieved that this was not spotted during services since then, I would suggest that you take this up with whichever party serviced the vehicle during this period.

We would expect an MOT test to have revealed any play or excessive wear in this component, however I would again advise that this would have to be taken up with the responsible party.

Any component on a vehicle can fail at any point during its service life without warning. Although a manufacturer does everything possible to limit the risk, I am afraid that this is an unfortunate trait of automotive engineering.

You will find the paragraph you quoted in the specimen letter I have provided, however this is still a recommendation as this campaign does not take the form of a recall.

Both Audi UK and the manufacturer, AUDI AG, reserve the right to modify a component at any time if doing so would allow it to better meet its design brief. Audi UK will communicate to customers’ recommendations, which may benefit their ownership experience.

Huw David was indeed the Service Campaign Manager for this action and is still employed with this company, however he is non-customer facing. Consequently any correspondence sent directly to him would be sent to Audi Customer Services, as the only customer-facing department within Audi UK.

Please find enclosed a copy of a repair invoice produced following the inspection of your vehicle by Epsom Audi. It is normal practice for an Audi Centre to represent inspections such as this in this manner, as doing so provides all parties with part numbers and costs, as well as information on the condition of the vehicle. In case you feel that this information is insufficient, I have obtained the following report from Epsom Audi.

Damage found:
Offside front wing damaged
Offside front inner wing arch guard damaged
Trim on lower section of offside front wing damaged
Complete under tray missing
Air conditioning pipes damaged
Front bumper lower section damaged

New components required:
Offside front wing
Offside front wing moulding x2
Offside front door moulding x2
Air conditioning pipes x2
Offside front wing emblem
Offside front inner wheel arch guard
Engine under tray and clips

New components already fitted (Invoice supplied by customer):
Offside front tyre
Offside front lower suspension arm




With regard to your displeasure at having to deal with several people within Audi Customer Services, this department operates an established escalation process for customers wishing to take matters further. Consequently, in order for a complaint such as yours to reach this level, a customer may be required to speak to several individuals. I believe that a set process for escalation is both an efficient and professional way to deal with customer complaints.

In closing, as I understand you have been previously informed, Audi UK is unable to participate in the cost of this repair and I have no wish to enter into further protracted correspondence regarding this matter. Having said this, I do hope that the above has further clarified our position.



Yours sincerely





Tom Peterkin
Operations Manager, Audi UK Customer Services
0800 699888

cc Epsom Audi

[Tim]

Mr Hopkins - No, I didn't get any further with Audi - they were insistant that because I was late for a service, it wasn't their fault. Fair enough, I guess, but I would have liked it if they could have been a bit more helpful with discounting the repairs. In the end I got it fixed at my local garage - cost me ~£1200

Cheers, Tim

[david.bailey19@btinternet]

Last week I had ball joint break on my '97 A4 - the lower wishbone broke away from the font wheel. Luckily I was only traveling slowly at the time.....

The joint was inspected by Audi last year as part of the recall, and was judged to be OK, and it was MOT'd in Jan this year, and no mention made of a dodgy ball joint.

I didn't notice any knocking or stiff steering - the usual signs of a worn ball joint.

The cars overdue on it's service so (perhaps understandably in thier view) Audi aren't helping much (10% on parts, 30% on labour), but it's still much less expensive for me to get it fixed by an independent - but I'm still looking at a big bill (wishbone, drive shaft, wheel, tyre etc. plus ~4 hrs labour)

Two points - has anyone else had, or heard of, a sudden catastophic ball joint failure on A4's or similar?

Also - if you own a similar model, particularly if it's a high miler (140K on mine) - make sure it's had the recall inspection, and its services are up to date!

Cheers, Tim

Not only heard of several but have a picture of the failure suffered, they are fatigue failures and killers at high speed, Audi know what the problem is as this shaft was returned to them.

I have spent over 5 years investigating these failures and why manufactures are allowed to get away with them, the answer is quite simple incompetent accident investigators, this is going to change!

Regards David