This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
Every 30,000 miles to 40,000 miles the lower control arms failed. When this occurred, the front end made a clanking noise, and the front wheels loosened. Consumer contacted the dealer and the manufacturer, and was offered 50% of total repair cost by the manufacturer.
Left and right lower control arms (2 on each side for a total of 4) were severly worn, and have been for quite some time prior to my having the defect inspected. With the car on lift, the ball joint could be pulled out of it's socket with little effort. Had I hit a bump at a high rate of speed, this could easily cause loss of control. I am contacting Audi as well, but haven't as of this writing.
I was told by the dealer that the control arms are failing because Audi didn't provide for lubrication points.. they had no explanation for the loss of the engine mount bolts, and could not respond when I said I had never owned a car that had lost it's engine mount bolts.. obviously this has also got to be a problem caused by poor design and engine vibration.. these bolts should be safety wired to prevent this problem. I think Audi should cover the costs of replacement of the control arm and engine mount, but the differential problem could be due to wear, although again I don't have this problem on my Jeep or other vehicles.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Avon, CT, USA