1998-2000 passat lower control arm recall

I haven't read all the mail in this thread, but I can tell you to get your
car checked. My daughter got the letter last Fri. on her '98 Passat.
Today she got off the highway, pulled into her driveway, and the front end
crashed to the ground. The driver side axle snapped. She's waiting for the
tow truck now. Who knows what will be paid. Hopefully, there's no other
damage done. Thank God she's not dead or injured.

My guess if the control arm which is being recalled failed it all should be
picked up by VW. Let us know?


"Genetoy" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
>I haven't read all the mail in this thread, but I can tell you to get your
> car checked. My daughter got the letter last Fri. on her '98 Passat.
> Today she got off the highway, pulled into her driveway, and the front end
> crashed to the ground. The driver side axle snapped. She's waiting for
> the
> tow truck now. Who knows what will be paid. Hopefully, there's no other
> damage done. Thank God she's not dead or injured.
>

My guess if the control arm which is being recalled failed it all should be
picked up by VW. Let us know?


"Genetoy" > wrote in message
lkaboutautos.com...
>I haven't read all the mail in this thread, but I can tell you to get your
> car checked. My daughter got the letter last Fri. on her '98 Passat.
> Today she got off the highway, pulled into her driveway, and the front end
> crashed to the ground. The driver side axle snapped. She's waiting for
> the
> tow truck now. Who knows what will be paid. Hopefully, there's no other
> damage done. Thank God she's not dead or injured.
>

VW dealer gave an estimate of $4500 in damages and indicated making an
insurance claim. I learned that when a car hits down, it's considered a
collision. We took good pictures of all the damage this morning since
it's on the hoist. The dealer wouldn't comment on the notice sent out on
the control arms. Funny though, the insurance inspector called for a
verbal statement of what had occurred and said, "The mechanic said the
initial failure was a control arm. Is that right?" Many things broke
underneath, whether a result of the fall, or the tow truck driver jacking
it up in the wrong area, we don't know. There's scraps and gouges that
they will have to interpret. VWOA and the dealer claim they aren't
responsible for any failures (because she's out of warranty) so maybe it's
best if our insurance company investigates. We're a little calmer today,
but still will wait for the insurance investigator's comments with
anticipation! They still have to see the car. We do have records that
the arms had been checked several times because of a "squeek" and were
told they were OK. I'll keep you informed. My main thing for posting
these messages is to let everyone know to take the control arm check
seriously. Maybe this is a very rare occurrence -- we just don't know. I
suppose there haven't been any deaths caused or it would be a recall. Her
car was made in Germany where it is a recall, so I wonder what prompted
that. We'll maybe find out and I'll keep you informed.

VW dealer gave an estimate of $4500 in damages and indicated making an
insurance claim. I learned that when a car hits down, it's considered a
collision. We took good pictures of all the damage this morning since
it's on the hoist. The dealer wouldn't comment on the notice sent out on
the control arms. Funny though, the insurance inspector called for a
verbal statement of what had occurred and said, "The mechanic said the
initial failure was a control arm. Is that right?" Many things broke
underneath, whether a result of the fall, or the tow truck driver jacking
it up in the wrong area, we don't know. There's scraps and gouges that
they will have to interpret. VWOA and the dealer claim they aren't
responsible for any failures (because she's out of warranty) so maybe it's
best if our insurance company investigates. We're a little calmer today,
but still will wait for the insurance investigator's comments with
anticipation! They still have to see the car. We do have records that
the arms had been checked several times because of a "squeek" and were
told they were OK. I'll keep you informed. My main thing for posting
these messages is to let everyone know to take the control arm check
seriously. Maybe this is a very rare occurrence -- we just don't know. I
suppose there haven't been any deaths caused or it would be a recall. Her
car was made in Germany where it is a recall, so I wonder what prompted
that. We'll maybe find out and I'll keep you informed.