R8 Structural failure - Safety issue

[opie]

Opie, I just had my 2010 R8 serviced and had the Audi service guys look at my car's frame. I did not have the frame crack you described.

Several months ago, I too hit a big pothole (I live in central NJ) and it also slightly dented my tire rim (front passenger side). I had that rim fixed, but when I saw your post (and a few others like it), I had the Audi folks look at my frame at my next service visit. They took off the cover and I took the pic I posted below.

I'm guessing this isn't the datapoint you were looking for, but figured you'd want to know in any event. And thanks for the heads up and the pics - I used them to show my service tech exactly what I was looking for and the pics were very helpful.

I don't know if this notable, but at the exact point where the frame cracked in your car and the 2nd car, I noticed my car's frame has an extra bit of metal - almost like they bolstered that part with additional metal in the shape of a *kind of* square. You can see it in the pic if you look closely. Your car and the 2nd car you posted do not appear to have that piece of metal. Perhaps this is a change from older R8s? Mine is a 2010 and I am the original owner. Is yours older?

If your car is an older model year and I am right about that piece of metal, then the existence of that extra piece of metal may suggest that Audi knows about the design weakness of that part of the frame and moved to fix it in subsequent years after the initial runs of R8s.

Attachment 5616

Awesome pic, I'm so glad yours isn't affected buy your image basically shows Audi was aware of something, and took pains to reinforce that structure. Thanks so much for your help!!!!

[rexus]

73vwbug, comparing your photo to those of the cars with cracks, your chassis appears to have a plate welded around the spot where the other cars show cracking. As your car is a 2010 and the others 2009 it's possible Audi have strengthened the area, or perhaps this is a repair? If Audi have strengthened the 2010 plus cars, where does that leave owners of earlier cars?

[opie]

73vwbug, comparing your photo to those of the cars with cracks, your chassis appears to have a plate welded around the spot where the other cars show cracking. As your car is a 2010 and the others 2009 it's possible Audi have strengthened the area, or perhaps this is a repair? If Audi have strengthened the 2010 plus cars, where does that leave owners of earlier cars?

Rexus, what year is your car?
Maybe we can build up a correlation of year and welding features....

[73vwbug]

Mine is a 2010 - and I speculated the same in my earlier post: Audi likely knows about the weakness and moved to tweak the frame in later years.

Not sure where that leaves owners of earlier cars. I'm not a lawyer, but I imagine you'd have to find some sort of precedent of faulty design in earlier lawsuits. I know Honda had problems with the radiators in their Honda Odyssey from a few years ago that was ultimately found to be a design error (the initial design was very susceptible to flying rocks denting the radiator vanes in the front undercarriage.) Honda ended up having to issue refunds to all owners that had to repair the problem. If you Google this you can read about it pretty easily.

I'll admit I tend to wait a few years into a generation before I buy a car just for this kind of reason. It's just my $0.02, but I think all cars nowadays are just too complex for the manufacturers to have ironed out every possible flaw when a new generation or design is released. I specifically waited till model year 2010 to get mine even though I very much wanted to get it sooner. And, I am sure even my year probably still has a few flaws (I had the infamous squeaking brake light for example).

I'm definitely NOT trying to blame any owners of earlier R8s here cause that REALLY sucks and I'd hate it big time. As a fellow R8 driver, I definitely feel for you and hope Audi takes action to address your concerns. But just trying to place things in perspective.

The question is, is there sufficient evidence and legal precedent to support the consumer here.

[rexus]

Opie, bought mine in late 2008 I think it's a 2009 model year; has the white dashboard lighting. I haven't checked mine yet, will do so next week, but even if it's not showing any cracks, it does make me wonder if it will crack at some point. I'm in the UK by the way.

[opie]

I'll be meeting with a lawyer friend soon to discuss what options I have.

By the way, I did confirm that the second car in the shop with the same crack is a 2009 from the VIN.

[opie]

By the way, I just got a call back from a gentleman at Audi who will be looking into this issue.


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[the_buch]

Thanks for keeping this post alive and the rest of us informed ... good luck,

[andyhofer]

By the way, I just got a call back from a gentleman at Audi who will be looking into this issue.

Nice one, keep us posted, still haven't had chance to look to see if I'm affected.

[drifting]

I would like to know if later cars i.e. 2012 cars have this fault as if potholes are doing it then track days and backroad runs are going to break the structs too.

Might give audi a call no doubt they will have no clue or have never heard of it......