Has anyone out there ever heard of such a thing? My '03 A4 was in the shop to have a wheel bearing replaced. Immediately upon leaving the shop, if I cut the wheel sharply to the right, there was a very bad metal on metal scraping sound. I took the car back to the shop and they said the CV Joint basically fell apart (during the test drive, which I was there for). They're covering this -- but not being a mechanic myself I was looking for some opinions on what may have happened here? Is it even related to the work done on the vehicle previously or is it just sheer coincidence? This is all speculation, I understand -- but I'm just trying to wrap my head around this one.

Thanks,
speezeman.

 

CV joints don't just usually fall a part. Even worn ones give plenty of warning. I would say when the axle was reinstalled into the bearing something did not line up right in the joint. It is weird that it did not happen on the first test drive but happened on the second. If they are fixing it free then its not that big of a deal.

 

As soon as I left the dealer I noticed it because I had to make a sharp right turn (extremely sharp). So I'm not surprised it was missed on their test drive. Had I not had to make a sharp turn, I'd still be driving the car as-is. On their 2nd test drive the only reason they noticed it was because I had them turn the wheel sharp like I did. And that popped the axle loose apparently.

Like I said, they are covering it but I just wanted to know what could possibly cause this to happen...

Thanks for the response!

 

Ha ha, that happend to me when i worked on a TT once, when someone is re-installing the axle there is a snap ring on the end of the cv joint that can "roll" out of its slot then the outer joint falls right out of the hub and usually makes one hell of a noise. Don't worry about it too much though, audi cv axles are damn near impossible to break, if anything itjust ripped the boot.

 

that sounds a lot less severe than the service dept made it sound. should i question why it would take over a day to repair? I would understand if the parts needed to be ordered of course...

and even though i'm on the opposite coast as you, i do have my A4 for sale... (saw your sig)

 

I would think the repair time is because of the other cars that are currently in for service and has nothing to do with your cv axle repair. It should only take the tech about 30 minutes to repair the problem so its probably nothing major.

 

So after a repair like this -- what would cause the brakes to be EXTREMELY soft (until pumped up) and the traction control light and ABS light to come on?

I assumed it was just air in the lines and they weren't properly bled but not sure about the lights...

coincidence again? who knows...