So my car fell off the jack

[ArmanB7]

so yesterday i pulled the car into my garage to mount my new lm's and the car fell of the jack screwing up my drivers side fender. The wheel got stuck under the fender when i was pulling it out..I used the stock jack. I did everything the correct way..Even ground, handbrake up, mounting the stock jack to the proper place. I mean ive done lots of work on my last cars and something like this has never happened. Pretty much i lifted the car and while it was int he air, the stock jack bent and car fell to the floor. Should the dealer be responsible for replacing my fender and oem jack?

[Bllzll]

should they be...? YES

will they be...? NO

lol

[TinaTbolt]

omg i feel your pain. one time my exboyfriend was jacking up my car with the stupid audi car jacks to install my rear sway bar... he used two jacks on either side of the car...
the left jack wasnt placed properly, and the car fell off the jack sending the jack straight up through my sideskirt and into my door... man oh man...
he started to freak out and i mean, i wasnt really mad, more or less happy he was ok. but damn, did that scare the shit out of me, and MY POOR BABY CAR! lol

[3.2some]

that's happened to me to, maybe the wind pushed it or something cuz that jack is worth exactly jackshit...

[jahciple]

that's why i never trust those stock jacks.

[dtm4me]

^yep, exactly.

[Vito Roma]

^yep, exactly.

+3 BUY the heavy truck jacks...they are worth in! sucks to hear that

[CardNation]

A Craftsman floor jack from Sears is worth its weight in GOLD!

[rice_Rocket88]

I can't believe anyone would use any stock jack for work at all.. pure stupidity. It's meant for emergency, and even at that it's sketchy.

$25 at walmart would get you a 2 ton jack and JACKSTANDS.. those things you can trust at least. And please, even then, don't use the jack on it's own unless you are doing quick wheel changes, those fail too.

[Capt. Obvious]

Welcome to the club.

I had to use my factory jack to swap out one of my rear wheels a few months back and the jack broke and collapsed shortly after I removed the wheel. The car landed on the brake rotor and had to sit there for a day and a half until I could get to the store and buy a proper jack.

Luckily nothing was damaged too badly. The factory jack went straight into the garbage after that.

[ArmanB7]

I have a craftsman jack..the only thing is that i left it at my friends house when we were working on his car. He was out of town and this was my only way of lifting

[Audi.Quattro3.2]

I can't believe anyone would use any stock jack for work at all.. pure stupidity. It's meant for emergency, and even at that it's sketchy.

$25 at walmart would get you a 2 ton jack and JACKSTANDS.. those things you can trust at least. And please, even then, don't use the jack on it's own unless you are doing quick wheel changes, those fail too.

pure stupidity
exactly what this idiot said its meant to be used only for emergencys. So I doubt the dealership will cover the fender damage. You might be able to get another jack from them, but after that incident I would tell them to keep it.

[D0lphinGrey]

Happend to me exactly as well. Left rear door blade and lower door damaged. I went the dealer complaining about the jack, apparently this has happend to others before and they weren't surprised. They then replaced everything under warranty! I was relieved but also still pissed. Audi should've made proper jacks in the first place!

[pyro]

using stock jack = you asked for it

[SGVA4]

arman good luck with rusnak..the service sucks there

[D0lphinGrey]

using stock jack = you asked for it

Wasn't stated in the manual how would you expect a first time Audi owner to know that?

[ABanT]

The stock jacks are referred to as widow makers for a reason.

[GEkido]

Wasn't stated in the manual how would you expect a first time Audi owner to know that?

I dunno, whether first time owner or not, those jacks just look flimsy as shit!

[Slo.Mo.Shun.]

There is a reason the stock jack is called the widow maker

[Vito Roma]

what if someone dies or is injured by this? Will Audi be fucked?

[Phrost]

I used the widow maker on my Mk4 Golf all the time, until I noticed it would twist slightly once in a while and everyone on Vortex complaining about them falling.

I bought a $20 "service jack" which is a little pig of a hydraulic jack, and can be found at FleetFarm/Walmart/anywhere and are much safer.

Since I lowered my first car, I then had to buy a low profile hydraulic jack, which I found at Sears. The reviews on the website for their aluminum low-pro jack aren't that great, but I don't think those people bled the hydraulic system like the manual says to. Mine has been working 2 years now, with heavy use and no complaints at all.

[cstarky15]

you were using just the jack? and no stands? you should always use stands. ALWAYS, regardless of what you are doing. I'm pretty sure the jack says that along with the manual. so to lift the car with it is fine but it isn't made to be used solo with no stands.

I have used it to lift and lower the car but always put stands under the car. I'm glad to hear you are alright though!

[Glassnpowder98]

I was changing my tire with the stock jack one time because I had a tumor in my sidewall. I had the wheel off and I saw the jack starting to bend... Let's just say some race team should hire me as a wheel changer...

[Sanjman]

the design of the jack must be the worst design I have ever seen... the base is not even stable... a single leg to hold up a car???? wtf... audi you fuckin cheap scum lol... the first time i saw it... i was like wtf... and i was stuck with a flat tire on the shoulder of the highway where the snow was pushed to... what a nightmare...

[autoverruckt]

There should be a sticky at the top of the forum stating DO NOT USE JACK. I tried to use it one time when I had a flat but I wasn't on flat surface and could tell it wasn't worth it.

I did a road trip in my USP and brought a hydraulic floor jack and jack stands just in case.

[Awulf]

I feel you man, I usually use my dads school lifts to work on mine. But he moved so I used mine to get the car up on stands, then off, car fell. It just isnt' meant to be used that much. Only for emergencies, I have ruined both sils and some undercarriage, as it didn't have any wheels on it at the time. Doh!

[Sharkfin]

haha the same thing happened to me, went in the middle of a flat parking lot to put on my wheels and the front driver of the car was jacked up with the stock jack and it just gave out and the car fell, good thing the wheel was on. I took the broken jack (metal clamp stuck to the car, broken off was the rest of the jack on the ground) and they dealership ordered a new one from germany. Took about two weeks but now I have a fresh jack, haven't used it since.

[B7A4Sport]

Good God, there are probably enough people in this thread to start a Better Business Bureau petition for Audi to re-design their jacks. It's one thing if it happens here and there, but it seems this is a pretty wide-spread issue that could be pretty dangerous.

Wishful thinking, I know, but still............I just don't see how this hasn't come back to bite Audi in the ass at some point, with all us crazy modders out there.

[a4b7]

Im on my second widow maker..the first one gave out when I tried lifting the car after it was lowered..seem like it couldnt lift the couple extra inches due to it being low.
i just picked up a craftsman low profile jack(2½ tons) at sears for 50...it was on sale

[Sharkfin]

pep boys has a sale on a nice set of jack stands and heavy truck jack combo if anyone is looking to buy one

[Zebman]

Never used the trunk jack for anything, and never will. Bought a cheap autozone SUV jack. Can't get it under my car without driving it onto wooden planks, but it's worth it because that son of a bitch isn't snapping anytime soon.

[Sanjman]

Good God, there are probably enough people in this thread to start a Better Business Bureau petition for Audi to re-design their jacks. It's one thing if it happens here and there, but it seems this is a pretty wide-spread issue that could be pretty dangerous.

Wishful thinking, I know, but still............I just don't see how this hasn't come back to bite Audi in the ass at some point, with all us crazy modders out there.

I'm pretty sure Audi didn't design the jack... Audi will get vendors to come and show them the options of jacks Audi can purchase for their vehicles. Some vendor convinced Audi that they can save money by providing this jack... I doubt there was any extensive testing done on this. I bet the vendor didn't even match the weight of the car to the force the jack can take. They even probably tested the jack in ideal condition which rarely happen to the end user (us)... it's still Audi's fault.

I wonder if we can get a group complaint started on the jack not just on the craftmanship of it, but also the safety issues with it. I nominate Arman to lead this.

[praudi]

lets all sign a letter and send it to audi it should be a recall

[Sharkfin]

I'm pretty sure Audi didn't design the jack... Audi will get vendors to come and show them the options of jacks Audi can purchase for their vehicles. Some vendor convinced Audi that they can save money by providing this jack... I doubt there was any extensive testing done on this. I bet the vendor didn't even match the weight of the car to the force the jack can take. They even probably tested the jack in ideal condition which rarely happen to the end user (us)... it's still Audi's fault.

I wonder if we can get a group complaint started on the jack not just on the craftmanship of it, but also the safety issues with it. I nominate Arman to lead this.

It is a joke of a product, imagine if you were partly under the car when changing to a spare on the highway and it just collapsed, audi would be facing some serious legal trouble.

[Phrost]

lets all sign a letter and send it to audi it should be a recall

I would love this, but I doubt it would happen since it would affect every single Audi's oem jack along with the mold/case that holds it. Lots of lost money there.

If anyone ever used any jack, please use a jack stand. The oem jack can bend and fall, others can slowly lower or break, you just can't take the chance to injure yourself or your car.

I've used the widow maker over a dozen times on my Mk4 on a slightly inclined driveway, but always put a piece of 2x4" wood in front of one or both of the opposing tires to prevent the car from moving at all. This must have saved me, so I would recommend doing something like this if you guys must use the oem jack at home.

[ArmanB7]

Wasn't stated in the manual how would you expect a first time Audi owner to know that?

Buddy, ive owned more vw's and audis than you will probably own in your life. I personally owned/modded about 12 vw's and audis...and my father owns a vw/audi used car dealership. So ive been around these cars my whole life. So trust me :)

[ArmanB7]

I didnt get a chance to put jackstands because my car is super low and once i lifted it i was preparing to put the stands. But no..it fell :(.. Oh, i spoke to service today and my service advisor is going to get back to me tomorrow about a solution

[davis449]

Wow, all of this talk of how much the stock jack sucks, I'm not feeling so stupid for yanking my spare out of the back. Looks like I'd be calling Audi Roadside anyway.

[autoverruckt]

Wow, all of this talk of how much the stock jack sucks, I'm not feeling so stupid for yanking my spare out of the back. Looks like I'd be calling Audi Roadside anyway.

You know what they do when you call? Come to you, pop your trunk and change your flat with your spare.

[davis449]

You know what they do when you call? Come to you, pop your trunk and change your flat with your spare.

Yeah, I know...