I would like to get a mass correspondence campaign started to both the NHTSA and AOA (or AOC) regarding the "noisy suspension issue" also known as the "control arm issue." If everybody could please leave their email info in a reply to this message or email it to me directly I'd appreciate it.

NOTE: This correspondence should NOT mention the A4.org board in any way. This site is a great resource for me and all other A4 owners and the last thing I want is any negative from Audi to JET, MD, et al.

Sooooooo, I'd like to stimulate some action by Audi (possibly via pressure by the NHTSA) to redesign (reinforce/reengineer/whatever - just make work properly)the front suspension of the A4.

Thanks for your support,
Mark

not only front suspension but back as well. been driving me crazy for the last 10,000 miles. had it lubed at 15,000 service but no impact. still love my a4

http://tech.vw.com/audipdf/KWCirUS.pdf<ul><li><a href="http://tech.vw.com/audipdf/KWCirUS.pdf">http://tech.vw.com/audipdf/KWCirUS.pdf</a></li></ul>

if related to "tie rod end" or "control arm bushings" issues previously discussed. (My knowledge of car suspensions is blissfully ignorant!) Clair did mention that bushings were replaced.

First set of lower control arms replaced around 35k (under warranty).
Second set replaced around 75k (not under warranty)
Third set is already failing (I'm at 80k now). Actually, the third set I have is the newest edition that is from a new 99.5 model. When we replaced the suspension with coilovers this past weekend, you can visibly tell the bushings are already worn and failing. These new ones have not lasted even a respectable length of time. The problem is out of control and needs to be fixed ASAP before someone has a serious accident from a catastrophic failure. One thing I do know, I will not accept an excuse that a modified suspension is the cause of the failure. A better shock and spring setup does not make the problem worse. My car had failures with stock OEM shocks and springs just as quickly as with upgraded shocks and springs.
Audi needs to address this problem ASAP. The price to repair is far too costly and way too frequent.
-Cathleen '96 2.8 A4 quattro
cstoeckel@prodigy.net

service guy said if I were he, he'd get the thing back in before the warrantee is out to get the other ones changed. And clearly indicated its a common problem.
P

First, NHTSA stands for National Highway Transportation SAFETY Administration. They will laugh at you if you complain about noisy bushings since they have absolutely no bearing on the safe operation of the vehicle. It's like asking them to order a recall on a car because there is a rattle in the dash.

Second, you would be asking Audi to redesign a suspension system that they spent millions of dollars developing to finally eliminate torque steer from FWD cars (something no other manufacturer has yet been able to do). It has won them numerous engineering awards. What do you think their response will be? People are already grousing about how much the cars cost, what do you thing another redesign will do to the MSRP? This setup works well. The problem is not in the design, it is in the bushing material.

What we really need to do is press Audi to make just the bushings available to the dealers, eliminating the need to replace the entire control arm. If the bushing wears out, it should be max a $15 part and half hour labor. I'd much rather see this than have MSRP boosted several hundred $ to cover a redesign of an otherwise successful system. Think about it.

Chris

it's not repaired. In Cathleen's post below she seems to indicate that she, as well, thinks that badly worn parts are a danger. It says in the back of my A4 manual that if I, as a consumer, think that there may be some aspect of my car that warrants inspection for a safety issue, to contact the NHTSA. I am not a mechanic, and I don't want to take the chance that my PITA squeaky suspension may become a PITA collision-causing suspension in the event of a sudden failure.

Second - I, too, think that the bushing should be available separately at the dealer (if it is in fact only the bushing that makes the noise - my mechanic seems to think it is a metal on metal squeak)

I also agree that the Audi engineers did a fantastic job on the front suspension - BUT, they could make it equally good w/o it singing it's own praises at every bump.

As for the MSRP increase - to be honest with you, I'd pay a hundred bucks to have this problem dealt with once and for all. I have no idea how much of the cost of a fix would be absorbed and how much will be passed on to the consumer (as well as whether it is across the model line or only on the A4) so this is all useless speculation. Frankly, I really don't care that much either; I already have my car.

Cheers,
Mark

PS - and you can take your condescending tone ande stick it up your ass. :-)

If you can't handle it when people disagree with you, then perhaps you shouldn't post. Putting a little smiley face at the end of a statement does not make it OK. There was nothing I wrote that was condescending, I just made my points. Be civil, or don't post.

P.S. Bushings fail all the time in a wide variety of vehicles. They are intended as a way to prevent metal to metal contact and prevent noise. The mechanics I have talked to (independent-not Audi) have said that this is not a safety problem.

Chris

I posted too soon after I read your comment. It was the last sentence in your post that really coloured the entire thing toward a condescending tone. If that was not your intention, then I apologize.

I'm not one to post inflammatory messages, and I have ABSOLUTELY no problem with someone disagreeing with me - You may be more knowledgeable than me on this subject - if so, then do you think it's satisfactory to have the bushings on hand at the dealer. Bear in mind that mine failed at about 7000 miles. Would you be prepared to take your car to the dealer to have them replaced at that interval? It's just something I don't want to have to deal with.

.02,
Mark

7000 miles seems a bit early on a new car. Are you somewhere where there is a lot of road salt? I had a '96 A4 that the bushings failed on at 7500mi. The dealer had no clue what was going on ant they weren't replaced until ~10k miles. That was the original material. My '97 is just now starting to go at 42500. It seems that 30-40k mi is what most people should be getting with 97 and up, and that would be a reasonable interval for now. That is not to say that Audi should rest on its laurels and not try to find a better material.

My theory is that the failures may be related to road salt. My first car was in VT when the bushings failed. My second was in SoCal and Florida before I moved back up north. Last winter was its first exposure to road salt and the bushings failed this summer. It may be coincidence, but I would be interested to see if anyone else has noticed this. I know Steve S has more than 43k miles on his car and has had no problems-he is in Northern CA.

As far as catastrophic failure goes, it is not terribly likely, as the A4 has been on the roads in Europe for going on 5 years now and we haven't heard a thing. Audi seems to be very safety conscious after the "unintended acceleration" BS in the 80's (witness the latest TSB-tie rod ends replaced because they may have been exposed to water from leaky dust boot seals and could fail prematurely). This is a voluntary recall. Besides, I autocrossed my first A4 on failed bushings probably 7-8 times without any problems. That's as good a stress test as any.

Chris

I'll have to look out for that though, because I'm in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (East Coast), and they dump the salt here like like it's going out of style. There's a lot of salt in the air as well (right on the ocean). I sure hope that's not the cause.

Mark

This was for all four front control arms including labor.
Instead of swallowing that big chicken, we bought the control arms from a 99.5 that had been rear ended (a total) and installed them ourselves. They only had 200 miles on them.
Very big labor time job. I'd have an independednt Audi shop do it if they charge less labot. The dealers are subject to higher rates and that's what they have to charge.
-C.