Tire Jack

[dabull]

I blew a left front tire at 0620 on Friday morning. When I say blew I mean blew the whole inside sidewall. It was still dark and I had not gone through the tire changing ritual so finding that the little spare tire had to be inflated was a surprise. I had to find the compressor and hook it up. Then I got the little flimsy jack out. I loosened the lug nuts on the flat tire and then jacked the front of the car up. Took the flat tire off and walked around the front of the car to get the little spare and to my horror the car fell to the ground. I ran back around to see what had happened and was shocked to see that the jack had fell apart. Well there wasn't anything for me to do at this point but to call Audi's Roadside assistance and boy was I in for an unpleasant surprise there also, the girl that answered couldn't get anything straight and it took two hours to get a repair truck there and then only after calling my dealer. They finally got the car jacked up and the spare on and I drove off to the dealer and left it there to be checked out. The shocker was the jack, one of the tow truck drivers told me that mine was the third Audi jack that he had seen fall apart like mine. I would think that Audi could put a decent jack in an $85,000 car but heh what do I know? I will be speaking with Audi this week about the jack and asking them to replace it with a real one or I will shell out the dough myself and put a real one in the trunk of both the RS6 and the TT. Do yourself a favor and check out the tire changing ritual before you are standing in the dark next to a freeway with cars going by five feet from you.:vgrumpy:

[nene]

I believe the tire changing ritual has been talked about on here before. I believe it's worst when raining and at night.
This is the first time I've heard of the jack coming apart though.

I have used the regular car jack to change the wheels many times, as I've changed the Summer to Winter wheels over and over again. I believe you must be careful when you put it on, and make sure that it's in a stable position. Given that the car is pretty heavy up front, you must make sure that the jack is situated in a good position.
I believe that your jack coming apart might have been partly this reason. Not to this makes you feel any better, but I think some human error might have come into play. It's not the best system in the world by any means, but don't believe that it should come apart in one try, unless it's not safely and correctly angled to push the car up a good 12-14 inches.

Good luck and hopefully the damage is not that great.
Folks, as it's been mentioned before, please make sure that you know where everything is, and try to use the system once to familiarize yourselves, even without removing the wheel. Very important.

[vBob]

From what I've heard, the design of the said jack is quite old -- probably dates at least to the 1980s (meaning Audis from the 1980s also got the same jack). People who've seen it through various incarnations say Audi has improved the jack's design here and there but it is still one of the worst designed doodad to come out of Ingolstadt. The main problem was -- and still is -- is that jack has tendency to crumple under weight.

Even the dealer replaces it with a new one, I wouldn't use it... Go out and buy a 3rd party jack -- aluminium ones are quite cool.

[dabull]

Bob, you mention aluminum jacks, can you recommend one to keep in the trunk. I have several floor jacks for my garage but they are too big and heavy to keep in the car. :addict:

[Aronis]

Quick edit you message, and add that the car fell on YOU......

You will then be a shoe in to be first on the list for a new RS6.....

I can't believe a car jack fell apart, that is rediculous. Talk about product liability. I have been using a floor jack, but I will take a look at my portapotty portable jack today.

Sorry to hear about this one.

Mike

[Audihead]

Audi jacks are the worst. They are commonly reffered to as the Jack 'o Death. Do not use these POS things, unless in an extreme emergency. Even though Road Side Assistance is a pain, it will prevent you and your car from getting injured.

:s4addict: