[P3DAL]

So after being in the shop for the better part of a month getting a laundry list of issues repaired that were discovered while having the brakes replaced (rear mag shocks, transmission leaks, e-brake cables, brake caliper seal and more) my shop informed me they discovered an 8mm crack in the front passenger side strut tower/frame.

I've reached out to Audi USA and my local dealer to get it diagnosed/confirmed as a first step.

After talking with a body shop that specializes in Audi, there seems to be two options at this point:

• Repairing it with the support piece Audi created for this known flaw and having it fused to that area (they explained to me welding would only weaken it and cause more structural problems)
• Have the entire frame section replaced, which would be close to $30,000. I should be able to go through insurance if necessary, but that would likely result in the car being totaled.

I'm going to go drink/cry now.

 

[Dimitri]

man that stinks....tough decision for you ahead

 

[FoD]

Ouch. I know a lot of people on here have had good success with the Audi made plates for the repairs. What year is your R8?

My car is at my local shop for run of the mill issues…it’s amazing how fast the numbers escalate. Good luck.

 

[slngshot]

Did you not pay for a PPI?

Was frame inspection not part of the PPI?

That was the first thing I requested

Sent from my SM-G991W using Tapatalk

 

[ezmaass]

Very sorry to hear this... that's terrible.

It's indeed the "dreaded frame crack" issue if found near the strut tower. What year is the car? I assume it's pre-2012 if not fitted with the reinforcement plates?

I've not heard of the plates being fitted AFTER a crack as a remedy... only prior as a mitigation for the stress point. I'm not sure I'd trust option 1 as a solution. Several R8s that developed this problem were consequently totaled (early V8s when prices bottomed), and I have to believe the insurance would have taken the "cheap way out" (fitting the plate as a "fix") if it were deemed acceptable. We all know insurance would prefer that over the alternative (very expensive) pay out.

Again, I'm so sorry to hear this. I'd talk to your insurance about option 2. $30k is less than the $50k+ other forum members were quoted in the past. Expensive, but it shouldn't total the car, right? I believe that typically occurs when you near 70 - 80% of the car's value. Best to get it repaired the right way and not something you'd want to pay for out of pocket.

This issue comes up at least a few times a year (every year) on the forum - usually because a forum member discovers this crack through a PPI or other work being done on the car that requires the frunk liner to come out. It's probably not a bad idea to take the liner out and check for the issue if you have a pre-facelift R8. I believe they reinforced them from the factory sometime in 2011 (maybe 2012?). Certainly ask your PPI-provider to include this in the checklist, too.

Best of luck getting it addressed - keep us updated.

 

[usmma96]

From your previous posts I think you said the car was a 2010? From the door sticker can you tell what month it was manufactured in? I think the common belief was that the reinforcement plates started to be added in Oct/Nov 2010?

 

[P3DAL]

I’m optimistic option one may still be a possibility. My mechanic said it was a very small crack (8mm in length and less than 1mm of separation) only on the front passenger side.

The body shop I spoke to sent me a photo of a repair they had a reference for and said this was used for a frame that had already been cracked. I don’t know if this has been done in the US at this point however.

Either way, my R8 ownership has been a misery up to this point so however it shakes out I may just cut my losses and move onto something else.

 

[skar829]

Wow, really sad to hear about this .

Yea, for PPI not all shops will do a frame inspection, if they're not aware of the specific years that affected this issue. This is actually a good impetus for me to research a body shop to reinforce my own strut towers.

Hope insurance will not total out your car. I think it's still worth to do it if you plan on keeping the car for an indefinite amount of time.

 

[P3DAL]

Frame inspection was not part of the PPI but I did have a PPI completed.

However, based on the multitude of other problems I've had to have fixed besides this since owning it for a little more than 2 months the PPI I did have wasn't worth a **** and I will certainly be letting them know about it.

 

[torqueit]

I assume it's pre-2012 if not fitted with the reinforcement plates

My build date is 3/10, and I have the plates.

 

[P3DAL]

Ouch. I know a lot of people on here have had good success with the Audi made plates for the repairs. What year is your R8?

My car is at my local shop for run of the mill issues…it’s amazing how fast the numbers escalate. Good luck.

2010. I checked the sticker on the door earlier today and it was assembled 06/09. Lucky me!

 

[torqueit]

Either way, my R8 ownership has been a misery up to this point so however it shakes out I may just cut my losses and move onto something else.

It sucks that you're having such a bad experience, and I don't think it is typical. Hopefully you can get it all sorted and have a nice car when done.

 

[P3DAL]

The only reason I have any interest in keeping it at this point is:

1. I just paid $8k for taxes/registration
2. Paid $8500 for an extended warranty
3. I just paid $3k for new brake pads and rotors
4. I just bought new wheels and tires for $2500

In addition to $12k in other mechanical repairs, most of which were fortunately covered by the extended warranty. Otherwise I'd drive this piece of **** over the nearest massive pot hole and be done with it. It's astonishing to me this type of car could have these kinds of defects. What a joke.

 

[ezmaass]

The only reason I have any interest in keeping it at this point is:

1. I just paid $8k for taxes/registration
2. Paid $8500 for an extended warranty
3. I just paid $3k for new brake pads and rotors
4. I just bought new wheels and tires for $2500

In addition to $12k in other mechanical repairs, most of which were fortunately covered by the extended warranty. Otherwise I'd drive this piece of **** over the nearest massive pot hole and be done with it. It's astonishing to me this type of car could have these kinds of defects. What a joke.

You've definitely gotten an unusually high number of issues hitting you as a new owner - really unfortunate.

As I said, I'd just give your insurance a ring and have them start the process of a repair. I know it's an emotional process (I'd be really unhappy, myself), but the inner engineer in me says, "it's a machine, and it can be fixed."

I like watching Tyrell's Classic Workshop on YouTube. Between his channel and Leno's, it's utterly amazing what these guys can do when restoring cars. After all, if they last long enough, they'll ALL eventually need down-to-the-frame restoration some day! Tyrell's channel is often pulling these old classics apart, and literally chunks of the frame are rusted and falling out. They fabricate new pieces, weld them in, and go on their way.

True, you don't think you'd need to do frame work on a much younger car, but such is life sometimes. I've shared here before, but my engine blew up at 16k miles when the car was 3.5 years old. Yikes - that wasn't fun. A big breath out, a drink and good night's sleep later... plus 6 weeks or so of waiting for the repair to be done... and it's like it never happened. No, I take that back... I actually don't mind that it DID happen. Why? Well, it was a $50k+ repair... and I didn't have to pay the bill, but after 3.5 years driving my R8, I got a brand new engine! Considering I'm keeping the car indefinitely, I didn't quite mind restarting the clock on it. Plus, there was some character-building and life lessons in it.

While I was in getting the work done, my tech let me know that they had an LMS that was now on its third engine. It reminded me that cars like this aren't just exotics in the sense that they're more rare, but they truly do represent engineers pushing envelopes, trying new stuff, and building higher-strung performance cars. And there are periodic trade-offs for all that awesomeness. In this case, you hit one of the Achilles heals. Mine was just random bad luck.

Give your insurance a call - let them fix it to perfection, like you AND the car deserve. Do your research and find the very best frame shop, and I'm sure they'll make it better than new.

 

[P3DAL]

Thanks @ezmaass I appreciate your support and everyone else’s.

Obviously it’s a very frustrating situation to have yet another problem, especially one of this severity, come up after a multitude of others had just been fixed and I thought I’d finally be able to start enjoying the car.

For now I’m going to follow through with Audi USA and my local dealer to see what they say about the situation. I’d like to hold their feet to the fire and have this fixed on their dime. It’s a known issue and my car has not been involved in any accident and has had OEM suspension and every other component since new so there’s no excuse for this to happen other than their own negligence.

I’ll keep everyone updated and will hope for some reasonable solution so that I might get to drive the car some day.

 

[JuddS]

Sorry to hear about all this. It’s a 12 year old car and showing it’s age. How many miles does it have on it? If I were you id dump it and get a newer car. Dealing with all this crap must kill the joy which is the whole point. Then again, perhaps it’s almost all sorted out and you have 10 good years ahead. I hope that’s the case. Seems really rare to hear people on this site talk about lots of problems on these cars. Then again, the people who stay on this site tend to love their r8 and so stick around. Perhaps we are a bad sample set.

 

[bavarianstance]

sorry to hear. I hope Audi USA takes care of you. Hope you get it sorted. Fixing on your own dime I'm not sure how much more I'd dump into the car unless you're going to keep it for life.

 

[slngshot]

Frame inspection needs to be requested specifically for PPI.

So, should anyone reading down the road see this thread..... it's a larger process which adds hours to the PPI time.
All the plastic panels in the frunk need to be removed to access these areas.

Had OP specifically requested that to be done, it's very likely he wouldn't be in this spot now.

I'm gutted for you.
Insurance is your only hope..... if they can replace the frame or weld that one back together you may as well enjoy it, I expect it will be a harder sell once frame repair is part of its history.

They are perfectly fine once repaired if done properly.

I do wish you some luck, OP.

But this was avoidable.

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[r8rwd]

So sorry to hear this, hopefully you can find an adequate remedy.

Reminds me of the dreaded GT3/4 strut tower failures on the track/pot holes.

Has this been addressed in newer models (I have a 2022)?

Apparently Porsche never addressed this (not sure about the 992s).

 

[V10MANUAL]

Sorry to hear this. Am I correct in thinking that the V10 gen 1's are safe from this issue? I have a 2010 V10 Gen 1.