Audi Control Arm Replacement Seattle

Tired of your clunky Audi suspension? It may be time to have your control arms inspected. Audi uses a sophisticated control arm layout and design, unlike many other vehicles. While this offers supreme driving dynamics and class leading comfort, it also adds another expensive repair to the list of potential issues with your Audi.  

What are Control Arms?

Most Audi models (Except the A3, and some of those with air suspension) utilize a quad link front suspension setup (sometimes referred to by Audi as a “five link” setup). This means the front suspension has four control arms on the bottom, and four on the top, making eight in total. Compare this to an Audi A3’s front suspension which is comprised of only two control arms! At one end of each arm is a ball joint, connecting it to the steering knuckle, and at the other is a rubber bushing, connected to the body. The rubber bushing further isolates road vibrations from being transmitted to the vehicle occupants. While there is a clear benefit to this setup in terms of comfort and dynamics, it exponentially increases the number of failure points. Over thousands of miles of bumpy Seattle roads, the rubber bushings tend to crack and tear. Luckily, your Audi service specialists at Precision Motorworks are well versed in this system which makes maintaining it a breeze. 

Symptoms of Failing Control Arms

We generally see wear which warrants replacement as soon as 50,000 miles. You might notice clunking over bumps, or a loose feeling in the front end. It is important to have your control arms inspected since one of the most common side effects is increased uneven tire wear. Left unchecked, worn control arm bushings can eat through a set of tires in as little as 5,000 miles. This is because the control arms tightly control the positioning of the wheel, the extra play allowed by worn bushings cause the tires to move around more than intended. At driving speeds this essentially turns the pavement into sand paper against your tires. Simply getting an alignment will not fix this issue, Audi offers little front alignment adjustment, instead relying on these bushings to keep everything positioned correctly. 

At Precision Motorworks, your control arms will be closely inspected for wear. We know how taxing Seattle roads can be. Regular inspection of the suspension is one more thing we do to give you peace of mind while driving.