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Car Forum / Audi Cars / May 2008Audi Bumper & 'Pull Point'
Posting for a buddy folks. His son has a 2004 Audi that had a mechanical issue. The dealer recommended he have it towed in for repair and not drive it. I'm not sure what the problem was, but that's not the issue here. The towing company (reputable) hooked onto the car as prescribed using the 'pull point' (?) in the front bumper as required per Audi. As they began to pull the car onto the flatbed the entire front bumper pulled off the car! The 'shock absorbing' mount where the pull bolt attaches came completely apart, yanking the bumper nearly completely off the car. They eventually got it into the shop, and the dealer says the mount appears to have been beat with a hammer at some point and things that damage it to the point it failed. He'd bought the car used from the Audi dealer a year ago, supposedly 'certified' and a few months ago had some cosmetic damage to the bumper skin repaired - not something that should have required anything related to this mount. Several Audi-savvy people say they've never seen one pull apart in this manner. Question to the group is has anyone had such a problem? Thanks for any feedback. Mark > Posting for a buddy folks. > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Several Audi-savvy people say they've never seen one pull apart in this > manner. Question to the group is has anyone had such a problem? I've never had to have my car flat-bedded (knock wood) so I haven't personaly experienced this issue. But the fact that some 'cosmetic work' was done to the bumper suggests that he had an issue with it. Of course, the dealer is going to look for a reason why it's someone else's problem. Did your son get a Carfax report on the car before he bought it? That could potentially indicate whether it had been hit or not. Dan D '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6 Central NJ USA The damage was very minor (hence the term cosmetic) - shopping cart scratch - nothing that did any structural damage to the car. He did get a Carfax that showed no report of any wrecks of other damage. That said, I don't think Carfax is necessarily that all-inclusive. If someone took the car into a lamp post and didn't want to turn it into their insurance, they could easily take it somewhere and have it repaired without the damage ever being reported. >> Posting for a buddy folks. >> [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6 > Central NJ USA I am not an expert here my any means, but for the "pull point" to be on the bumper seems to be wrong to me. I believe that where towing is hooked up is usually assosicated with the frame, not the bumper. My 2000 A6 had a relatively flimsly bumper, I would not want anyone to hook up to it to tow me. Perhaps someone here knows the exactness of this? rucker >The damage was very minor (hence the term cosmetic) - shopping cart >scratch - nothing that did any structural damage to the car. He did get a [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] >> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6 >> Central NJ USA The pull point has a plastic cover that pops off and there is a steel loop inside (or may be in the kit to be screwed in). I could be that the tow truck operator removed the plastic and then just hooked onto the plastic of the bumper which would fail. Just a guess. > I am not an expert here my any means, but for the "pull point" to be > on the bumper seems to be wrong to me. I believe that where towing is [quoted text clipped - 57 lines] >>> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6 >>> Central NJ USA Yes, the hook is in the kit with the jack and tire wrench. The tow truck driver performed the operation exactly as it was suppose to be done. The bumper did not separated from the support member, the support member pulled apart. It is a shock-absorbing piece, I presume designed to take the shock of an impact. But I'd assume Audi intended for it to be pulled on since that's where they have designed the hook to be placed. > The pull point has a plastic cover that pops off and there is a steel loop > inside (or may be in the kit to be screwed in). I could be that the tow [quoted text clipped - 62 lines] >>>> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6 >>>> Central NJ USA The shock tube is mounted on the front of one of the frame tubes with three good sized bolts. The only way that this could pull off is if the bolts were missing or very severely damaged. There must have been an accident that was repaired at a shop and they forgot to install or tighten the bolts before mounting the bumper. > Yes, the hook is in the kit with the jack and tire wrench. The tow > truck driver performed the operation exactly as it was suppose to be [quoted text clipped - 72 lines] >>>>> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6 >>>>> Central NJ USA Reading comprehension seems to be an issue here - it didn't pull off the frame - it separated . The part that bolts to the frame was till bolted to the frame. The part that bolts to the bumper was still bolted to the bumper. Part A came apart from Part B - the entire failure was in the shock tube. No indications either by visual inspection of the car or a Carfax report that the car had been in an accident. > The shock tube is mounted on the front of one of the frame tubes with > three good sized bolts. The only way that this could pull off is if the [quoted text clipped - 77 lines] >>>>>> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6 >>>>>> Central NJ USA The thing that gets my attention is the fact that you bought the car as a 'certified' car from the dealer. Since the hookup point was reportedly hammered or bent, it would seem you might have some recourse with the dealer you bought the car from - they should pay for at least 1/2 of the repair or provide parts free of charge. A nicely written letter to the dealership with a CC to Audi of America may get their attention if they do not want to play nice. Good luck! matt E |
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