Control Arm Snapped!

[Genie]

:cry:

I hope I set this post up correctly!  If not, pardon me -- first time I've been on here.  My daugher got the notice from VW on her Passat 1998 Front Suspension Lower Control Arms on Dec. 10.  Yesterday, Dec. 18, she was out shopping, drove up into her driveway and the lower arm broke, crashing the front end onto the concrete.  It was towed off to the dealer, who was closed after 2:00 on a Sat. So, she's been waiting through this weekend, anxious to talk to the dealer tomorrow. I'd advise any of you in doubt about how real this is to get your cars checked!  She hasn't had anyone except her father do the scheduled maintenance on this car.  It was both looked at (for various problems) and worked on this last year (new timing belt), and the dealers never noted any problem in this area.  Of course,  the VW letter states that the damage isn't obvious!  Has anyone else been in this situation?  Does VW pay for the repair?  Who knows  how much there is, but it could've been extremely bad for both the car and my daughter's life if this had occurred eariy when she was on the highway.

[92UrS4]

WOW. Usually I'd be cheerful in welcoming you to our forums, but this is horrible.

I would say make sure that all your ducks are in order, have every receipt ready for all the maintenance you have done on your own along with records for any dealer or shop visits for maintenance/repairs.

I have not heard of one snapping before, but I hope that VW does right and akes care of you.  You can also call VWOA, I don't have their number handy, but it is probably on their site.

I would call them and maybe open a case. Let them know where the car is and who will be loking at it.  Explain to them the same thing you'll explain to the dealer.  Just thinking about making sure you are covered all around.

VW hates paying out on these things so deal with the professionaly and kill em with kindness.  This is a situation where tempers could flare and that can only make matters worse.

I'm thankful your daughter is safe and that it held out until she got home.  I can't imagine what the outcome would have been at speed.

Good luck and keep us posted.  Although the forums are down due to a hacker, when ClubB5.com comes back online check them out as well.

[ColoradoB5]

Well even though this is not definite, I don't see how VW can get out of this since this is a defective part.  Maintenance is not required on a Control Arm, so if this kind of catastrophic issue happened at speed, they would be looking at a law suit.

Like gietl said, make sure to open a case with VWOA, so they can monitor the dealer, and also see if anyone else has seen this on www.clubb55.com which has 15,000 members, some of whom will have had to have had something similar before as well.

-Winston

[Chas]

Well I'm glad that your daughter is alright. It sounds as if it happened at a fairly low speed. That could have been a real tradgedy at a higher speed!

I have never heard of this part acctually breaking, but there is a first for everything I guess.

I'd say deal with them in the most proffesional manner that you can. And do contact VWofA. They need to be informed of this. The louder the squeek, then sooner the grease, if you know what I mean.

Good luck, and welcome to our little slice of the web.

[Genie]

Dealer called today -- $4500 damage and said it had to have been in an accident.  He didn't think that dropping to the driveway was enough to cause the damage and advised calling insurance.  Now, waiting for insurance to get out there!  Maybe they should be the ones to tackle VW if they feel it's a defect?  We don't even know if they'll pay!  Maybe the tow truck driver "dropped" it when he left it at dealer after hours?  Maybe the dealer did it?  The tow guy spent an hour cussing about loading it -- said he had never picked up a VW Passat before and it was as bad as a corvette.  Cross your fingers for a good outcome!

[jayryan]

Eh. That sucks but I'm hoping for the best man. Let us know if there's anything we can do.

[Victoria]

I am the owner of this car.

Getting very fishy/confused now.  I called insurance since I hadn't heard from anyone and I had made a claim.  Insurance was suppose to go look at the car because it's considered a collision from when it hit the ground.  Insurance said my deductible wouldn't be in place because the agent who went out to look at the car at the dealer said only $428 for replacing the control arm that broke and an alignment.  Quite different from the $4300 estimate from the dealer, huh?

Called the dealer and spoke with the service advisor I'd been working with.  He said an insurance agent was out and looked at it and he said insurance was suppose to get w/ me to tell me what would happen.  I told him what insurance had told me about the $428 and he sounded confused and said that was "weird".  Then told me to call VW Customer Care which I've already done.  From there he said he'd call me back in a couple hours after he consulted his manager and looked at the car again.

What the heck is going on?  It's like the dealer won't fess up to the fact that the lower control arm BROKE and all that damage was caused by THAT and the car hitting the ground going 5-10 MPH.

[kraut-sled]

I am sorry ot hear of your issues.  I am an insurance Agent (or was untill recently) and I might be able to helop advixe you as to the best course of action in dealing witht he insurance company.

First of all, what dealer is your car at?

Who is your insurance company?

I woud get everything in writing from both the dealer and the insurance company.  That is the best way to get them on the same page and you know who is claiming what.

In my opinion this is an issue for VWoA.  Your insurnace company should HELP you in obtaining a satisfactory solution from VW.  It is in your insurance companies interest to work on your behalf agains VW, otherwise they will foot the bill.

Best of luck to you.

 - Randy

[Victoria]

It's at Tynan's.

Ironically, I just got a call from Tynan's and the guy said they are going to go ahead and replace that control arm on that side under warranty (I have no warranty so I'm assuming they're footing the bill). I told him still how do I know the other side wouldn't be the same way since there was no indication this were to happen on the one that broke.  He just said he understands and they'll first get that one control arm replaced then look at the other damage, etc. from there.  Something is fishy about this entire ordeal.

Had I had the car fixed myself, I was gonna ask for the parts and get in touch w/ a lawyer and insurance.  We'll see what happens from here on out - I'll know more after that arm is replaced.

[kraut-sled]

My guess is the RECALL is how he is going to get the part replaced by VW.  I would insist on having BOTH replaced under the recall order.  Otherwise you run the risk of having this same thing happen again on the other side.

What about the rest of the dammage to the car?  What does the insurance company say?

[Lila]

Genie ---  I would be optimistic about getting the appropriate party to pay, whether that party (or parties) be VW of America, the dealership, the tow truck company or driver, or insurance of the tow truck driver or company, or your own insurance (which you would then need to "clean" your record by requiring that the incident be classified as no fault).  Lots of potential targets here, you should get at least one.  I'm an attorney and I'd be willing to discuss the matter with you.  But the key to success here is going to be persistence.  Get organized and start writing the necessary letters, make the telephone calls, etc.  I'm sure you've been through this drill before.

Let me know if I can help.

-Mike (and Lila, the dumb dog).

[Lila]

Genie -- To be on the safe side, I'd go to the dealership first thing tomorrow morning, and take pictures of the car and the damage before they work on it.  Require the dealership to put the car up on a lift for this purpose.  I'd also request that the dealership keep and return to you all parts that are replaced.  I'd put this in writing inside the car for a mechanic to see as well.  If there is a fight, this will help immensely.

-Mike

[Victoria]

Pictures have been taken of the car already on the lift before they started working on it.  They claim to have it done by end of day today (driver's side control arm).

They probably won't let me keep parts, as I am not paying for this - they decided after all this they were replacing that one control arm under warranty.

I'm wondering since they are kind of admitting to the broken control arm and replacing it finally, if the rest of the so-called damage (not sure what else as initially he had a whole list) won't be as hard to go after as well since the broken arm resulted in the rest of the other damage.

I called insurance initially to make a claim after I had the $4300 quote and it seemed like insurance would go through as being a collision and me having to pay my deductible.... but like I said, they sent an agent out to get an estimate on the car and yesterday I was told by insurance that it was $428 for new control arm and alignment - that's it.  No other estimates for damage.  Not sure now if the dealer was trying to screw me or insurance as the service advisor kept saying he had no doubt in his mind that insurance would cover the $4300.  Not the case it seems according to insurance.

Also, VWoA was in fact called, and the lady just told me it was up to the dealer to determine whether this was part of the "recall" or not and in any event, I'd have to prove I performed the 40k and 80k maintenance.

[Lila]

Victoria,

Well, from your last post, things are looking up.  I'd make sure the insurance company does not file your claim as a "fault" accident.  As you may or may not know, all claims are labeled "fault" or "no fault" (my terms, not theirs), and your driving record is affected if an incident is your "fault."  Many insurance companies will automatically consider damage to a vehicle caused by a deer or other wildlife to be no fault, and later, an insurance company cannot use that claim to increase your rates.  However, as a general rule, the insurance companies will classify an incident resulting in damage as a fault claim, and your rates will go up.  I know there are insurance people on this site that could offer more info in this regard.

At any rate, you can fight a classification.  I have initiated these hearings before the insurance commission and won.  It can be a big deal if your past track record isn't so good (accidents and tickets), because you can become very expensive to insure.  Even if your record is good, contesting this can keep your record clean.  You don't need an attorney to do this either, it's not very hard to do.

As for the car, I suggest an demanding an extremely thorough inspection of all suspension parts, not just the control arms.

Best of luck.

-Mike

[kraut-sled]

Mike is exactly right about the classification of the claim.  If I were the adjustor for this claim, I would classify it a no fault claim.  There was no forseeable way to avoid what happened and you did not cause dammage to any one or anything.

Be adament with your insurance company about having the claim classified correctly - NO FAULT.  You will still have to meet your deductable, but your premium will not go up as a result.

Also are they going to replace the other side's control arm?  I would have VW do BOTH sides, afterall they are under recall.

[Victoria]

More update.

since my deductible is $500 and the replacement of lower control arm on driver's side is $428... insurance is not picking up this claim, although they've "accepted it" because although I'm not paying deduct. I have been approved for 5 days of rental car through insurance.

Dealer so far,... is now (after all this) saying they are replacing that control arm under warranty (I don't have warranty so I assume they just mean they are footin' the bill).  Both insurance and the dealer said they need to get in there and start working and getting that control arm on, then they can access damage as necessary after that.  So - the $4500 quote from the dealer is "worst case scenario" I guess should they find lots of damage when they start working.

Another thing... my driver's side underfloor is dented... not sure exactly what part but it was caused by the tow truck and the jack the guy was using.  It's apparent and I have pictures to prove.  You can see the circular indentations from the round part of a hydrolic jack.  I was advised from insurance to contact tow company to fight for that.

What a nightmare...  hopefully things fall into place soon - I'm not gonna be taken advantage of, esp. when I can't afford it and nothing was my fault.  Argh!  I found a huge forum about this (19pages of comments) from www.passatworld.com.  If anyone is having the moaning, groaning, squeeking sound coming from front suspension (like I did a yr ago) - I advise to have it looked at.  Worst case scenario... it breaks on the highway like mine almost did.

Hopefully no one else has to go through this crap.

[jayryan]

That bites. Hope you get the Tow company to own up.

I've not had any funny sounds from my front end since I lowered almost two years ago, but I may just front the money and replace my TRE's and LCA's before something nasty happens.