Aluminium Fatigue

alu fatigue leading to dealer fatigue

Skipton pointed out this issue to me when he fitted rns e for me last month...
Having read the posts I decided to take mine into Wakefield audi.

Technician said it was interesting and recognised there appeared to be a problem which warranted further investigation. He did not give a good account of Wakefield i thought as it was definitiely my problem not one he could be that bothered about. He prompted me to take car into Huddersfield audi who had approved bodyshop facilities. Rang them up 'oh no we use joint bodyshop whihc is based at Huddersfield VW up the road'. Rang VW up they said because it was Al car they could not say one way or the other but that Smith Knight Fay had Al facilities. Rang them up which involved yet another phone call to the location of the actual bodyshop; finally explained the situation and they said i'd have to bring it in so that it can be checked over.
In the meantime i'm on the phone to centralised audi customer services who are in the 'getting back to me' phase
So overall it looks like a drive upto SKF in the near future
Paul
 
It was SKF's bodyshop that I took Tank into yesterday, so if you go there soon too, they'll come to the same conclusions and then there'll be double the number of doors being ordered, which just might make Audi sit up and take notice.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Well I must say this is very interesting, Skipton is doing a great job (again) of keeping A2 owners informed along with the rest of you guys.

PC759 i'm sure you have tried to get this looked into, but personally I wouldn't be doing any running around.

You have an Audi, so you took it to an Audi dealer, that should be the end of the story, Its not your problem that they aren't a body shop or alloy specialist. Don't let them brush you off!! The end of the line for the consumer should be to inform the Audi dealer of the problem, and then let them do all the donkey work. I may be wrong hear but next we will be hearing of people being told to contact Audi Germany!!


Man these Dealers really P*** me off

Sorry for the rant

P.S. I don't have any cracks in my A2 yet. Anyone know of trouble on the A8 with metal fatigue?
 
Here's how mine went..

Went to Audi Portsmouth and had some stupid women out and have a closer look at the car, she goes the paint has come off and I said if you push the door a bit you will see it is split so then she gave me a lecture on the warranty. What is and what is not covered... Funny bit was she said the 12 year anti-corrosion warranty does not cover the doors because they are not connected to the car!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are separate because they have hinges????!!!

Anyway she said take it to a Audi bodywork specialist in Southampton, had the guy look it there and he's took my details and he said yes there is some problem with the door and i'll hear something from VW in a couple of weeks. They only looked at the right door because the problem is not on my left passenger door... (Should I have said I want two doors)?

When you push the door a bit you can see the crack. Open the door and apply a tiny bit of pressure.

I also commented to the guy on 'its not actually solving the problem because the new doors will go the same' and he said they will make the door will new material or newly designed hinge area so that it does not go the same.

At least mine is sorted without too much fuss.
 
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Richard, seems like you have gotten a result with remarkably little pain.

However, be assured that the new door will NOT be a new design - they may put a strengthening plate in there, but that's it. I can't see then tooling up for a new doot panel on a car that's been out of production for 2 years!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Yeah i'm not very optimistic about this at all. I had 3 brand new cars in 3 years before I decided to stop throwing money away and settle on the A2, which I had planned to keep for the next 25 years. I'm a bit depressed abou this really, and mine hasn't even got the problem yet.

As I said earlier has the A8 suffered anything like this from any part of the car?

This is making my 23 year old Golf MK1 look like an engineering masterpiece
 
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I've yet to hear of any A8 problems, as has the bodyshop assessor I spoke to yesterday.

Thing is, the A8s doors are so big anyway and have so much electronic stuff in them that they were probably manufactured as per steel doors in the first place.

The more I see of the modern A8, the more I am impressed by them.

Cheers,

Mike
 
I got a letter it is letterheaded from the body centre.

With reference to the warranty inspection on the above vehicle, we unfortunately, have to inform you that your cliam has been rejected by Audi (out of warranty)

Our apologies that we cannot help you in this instance but hope that we may be of service in the future.


I will wait to see what happens with you're one and a trip to there is no problem later...
 
The next contact I would have would be in a formal letter to Audi UK asking the to inform you, in writing why they feel this issue doesn't meet the warranty requirements. Once you have an official reply stating the reason , you can then take it further. Don't make phone calls, you need the information in writing from Audi, don't let them get away with this and i would certainly not accept a letterhead from an outside company as an official warranty letter
 
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Emm said:
The next contact I would have would be in a formal letter to Audi UK asking the to inform you, in writing why they feel this issue doesn't meet the warranty requirements. Once you have an official reply stating the reason , you can then take it further. Don't make phone calls, you need the information in writing from Audi, don't let them get away with this and i would certainly not accept a letterhead from an outside company as an official warranty letter
Click to expand...

Absolutely - as I said before (and I've said to Audi), I regard this as being covered by the 12 year anti-perforation corrosion warranty, as the fault is from the inside of the panel.

Get in touch with Audi UK directly if you can Richard.

Cheers,

Mike
 
The trading standards should be informed. The issue is the fatigue life of these parts, that is why the cracks are forming at the point of maximum stress. It could happen with steel or any other material, it is just down to the knowledge of the designewrs at Audi and their aluminium partners.

I have not read the corrosion warranty terms and conditions. Does it state "perforation"? If so there could be a chance but stricktly it is not corrosion that is causing the split. It is still Audis design mistake, however, and they must stand by their product.
 
Just checked the doors on my six year old A2. Same crack visible just above the hinge on the front passenger door.
 
Rather worrying all of this!!

I had hoped that I was buying into a piece of automotive innovation and longevity of life when I purchase the A2; though I am a little perturbed to learn that there is a potential chink in the armour of an otherwise quality produced vehicle.

I will be checking out my hinges in the daylight tomorrow, though I thoroughly expect to find much the same; given that age doesn't seem to be a factor in the weakness of the component.

Watch this space... :(
 
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I will check on my car too in the morning.
I have a good relationship with my Audi dealer, so maybe I could ask them if there have been any instances of this before and whether they would be in a position to apply pressure on Audi if a large number of cases were to come through to them?
 
Well I had expected the worse and... for me I am pleased to say thus far for no reason. Both near and offside hinges and surrounds are fine with no signs of significant or hairline fractures - but for how long!! :(

I sincerely hope that those of you exhibiting clear signs of the symptons all get things resolved speedily, easily and at no cost and unnecessary inconvenience to yourselves.

Fingers crossed that Audi acknowledge the design flaw and take the necessary responsible action to rectify the problem; even if a full recall is deemed appropriate.

Good luck to all!!

Regards,

Darren
 
Skipton, knowing and following your good advice in the past, I have had a look and cannot see any signs at the moment. Would it be a good idea for me to get them to check whilst still (only just!) in warranty:confused: so at least I can refer to this in the future.

Doctor
 
doctor said:
Skipton, knowing and following your good advice in the past, I have had a look and cannot see any signs at the moment. Would it be a good idea for me to get them to check whilst still (only just!) in warranty:confused: so at least I can refer to this in the future.

Doctor
Click to expand...

Absolutely - I'd also suggest to them that you know it's a known problem and would expect to be catered for even after the warranty expires.

CHeers,

Mike
 
Do you think there is any way that they can repair the split without having new doors? I think I am showing signs of a crack, but i don't want a new door sprayed locally that will always look different and wont last as long, (in terms of paint condition). I’m not a spraying expert, but I’m sure the factory painting process is not the same as a local body shop in Suffolk. In fact I can't think of anything worse than having one new door sprayed and fitted to a car I bought from new and know hasn't had any accident damage.

And yes it is the passenger door :mad:
 
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