I have a 1998.5 audi a4 quattro v6 with the sports package. Many have complained about control arms failing and there has even been news of audi/vw having a recall for them in europe, but not the u.s. Many have complained about wheels falling off due to bad control arms and mine have been replaced due to noise and torn worn out control arms. They failed at 77,000 miles and had to have all of them replaced (about $900 w/labor). My VIN# is waued28d8wa35854. My current control arms are starting to make noise again and I really feel unsafe after hearing about wheels falling off due to bad control arms.
1998 Audi A4 suspension complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 24 of 24, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While turning left at 25 MPH, the vehicle vibrated and the driver heard a loud noise coming from the rear. Suddenly the passenger lower control arm broke. The driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle and pull over. The vehicle was towed home. The consumer will get in contact with the dealer in the near future. Please provide further details.
My 1998 audi a4 tqm has 85k miles onit. I just had all the lower control arms replaced for a second time (first tiem done under recall) becaus eit was creaking and growning. Both tie rodsends and one upper control arm were found to have failed as well. Audi advises these are "wear items" even though the lower control arms wer eoriginally replaced under recall, and have only 45000 miles on them!
Was slowing down for a red light when the front drivers side lower control arm failed at the ball joint. Was probably traveling 10-15 MPH in traffic on a 50mph road. The front left hit the ground and the car stopped quickly. The wheel was pushed back into the wheel well causing damage to the fender. The control arm has been replaced.
1998 audi a4 fwd / 101,000 miles / broken drivers side front lower control arm / front suspension component (lower front control arm) snapped at bushing as I was parking. Car was rendered limp and could not be towed due to probable fender damage that would be caused by dragging limp wheel. Had this component broken at higher speeds a catastrophic accident would have been unavoidable.
Multitude of probs. W/ almost every aspect (brakes, engine valves, oil light stays on, rain leaks, bad wheel bearings, etc.) of this car. Most frustrating has been rude and incompetent service by audi dealer. After an expensive repair to the rear wheel bearings the dealer said that although not all the noise was gone, the car was safe enough to drive to calif.,(we live in nj). We did not believe the dealer because a loud grinding noise remained and took it to another shop where both front control arms were found to be damaged. We were advised not to drive the car as it was not safe to do so .
The control arms (car has: 4 upper and 4 lower in total) have failed 3x in 2 years. These are defective and audi knows it. The arms contain a bushing that wears out causing the suspension to make creaking and rattling noises.
Consumer is having problems with front suspension, and there is a loud noise coming from the lower control arm. Cause unknown. Dealer notified.*ak
Lower control arm has worn out and needs to be replaced at 40,000 miles. Dealer cannot determine cause of premature failure.
The left lower control arm has been replaced. This is a very common occurance among a4 owners. Audi has refused to replace the right lower control arm after it had begun showing similar problems. Audiworld.com lists well over 50 people who have had control arms replaced. I felt you should be notified.
My car suffers from the same problem as the federal safety agency campaign 99v248000, but is not covered as it was mfd 11/98. The dealer has agreed to repair but I wanted to notify the federal safety agency that the recall does not cover all defective vehicles for this problem.
This recall was issued in sept., 1999. Still no parts available at my dealer. I hope you are in contact with audi and plan to cite them for slow compliance.
This part isn't dangerous at failure but is very noisy and seem to fail at anytime after 15,000 miles. Once repaired they may or may not fail again. Its about $1000 to fix them if not under warantee. I believe owners should have an extended warantee on this item.
Right front upper control arm broke. It may cause wheel to fall and result in a crash. There is a national back order on parts, and dealer was aware of the problem, and said tha t a new design of the control arm is on the way. But mamufacturer does not admit to the problem. Please provide further information and VIN#.
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