Major Rust on rear sway bar fixture - Cause for Alarm

[SDF1]

Changing my Winter to All seasons and I discovered that my rear sway bar support has massive rust. It looks like the rear sway bar is going to come off and cut the rear brake line.

Would Audi Cover that under rust warranty? to Reweld that on? or should I get that done.

[The Infiltrator]

Wow, you might want to wash under the car a little more during the winter. I would think they would fix this under warranty because that is pretty bad! It wouldn't hurt to run it by the dealer and ask.

[jfo]

Mine is showing quite a bit of rust on various chassis members too. Is it a 2009? Mine's an '11 and isn't as bad as your pic. We get lot's of snow and salt, but probably not as much as you do around Montreal. I plan to get under the car and treat key areas with rust converter, followed by rust paint or maybe undercoat. It's hard to say about warranty since I don't think this falls under the stated perforation coverage, but certainly worth trying.

[name.goes.here]

Most definitely a cause for alarm - I'm actually surprised to see such an extent of rust.. See what the dealer says.

[adamazing]

Pictures like this make me glad I live in SoCal.

Eff that. Eff snow. Eff road salt.

[B44]

Pictures like this make me glad I live in SoCal.

Eff that. Eff snow. Eff road salt.

But you do not enjoy the snow drifting the quattro does in winter. Just amazing. Just my 2 cents

[jfo]

The snow is great (check my avatar) but the salt sucks! Sun, sun , sun....how boring is that?

[Viru5]

i seriously doubt warranty is going to cover that..They will blame you for not washing your undercarriage more.

[jmeenach]

The snow is great (check my avatar) but the salt sucks! Sun, sun , sun....how boring is that?

I spent 21 years in Colorado before moving to SoCal. Skiing? Great (I used to ski 100+ days a year through high school on a ski training program), but living in the snow? Over it. Now I just fly back 3-4 times in the winter for when, you know, the sun get too boring.

[jfo]

I spent 21 years in Colorado before moving to SoCal. Skiing? Great (I used to ski 100+ days a year through high school on a ski training program), but living in the snow? Over it. Now I just fly back 3-4 times in the winter for when, you know, the sun get too boring.

With all that sun though, you're probably going to spend too much time outside and get all wrinkled! I'm retired, so if it's too nasty I just grab a winter ale or glass of wine and relax. But if it's nice., I can be in the Whistler alpine in 1/2 hr.

[SDF1]

i seriously doubt warranty is going to cover that..They will blame you for not washing your undercarriage more.

That's a big misconception. I leave my car outside where it is below freezing all winter, this way the salt does not cause any rust. If you wash your undercarriage, you are putting hot steamy water everywhere and allowing the salt to penetrate more locations inside the car. Rust needs = Salt, Water and Steel. I do not give it water!
What I do is the second it get's above freezing, i was the car vigorously. I also remove my rear tires and put Rustcheck on all non aluminum parts.

I have never had a car rust like this before. Yes it is a 2009.

[S4'ed]

This surface rust is normal for many of the black painted steel parts on the underbody. The dealer is not going to do anything. Get some "Rust Reformer" treatment, and brush it on. Unfortunatly Audi (and VW) don't use galvanized steel for the underbody parts like the rear subframe.

Unless you plan on keeping the car for 20 years, nothing will break because of this surface rust.

[The Infiltrator]

Linex it, lol.

[oascom]

Mine 09 have no rust on that spot. And I wash car frequently in winter.

[SDF1]

Don't live in Montreal where we crazy amount of salt! lol

[oascom]

New Jersey got tons of salt too

[adamazing]

But you do not enjoy the snow drifting the quattro does in winter. Just amazing. Just my 2 cents

The snow is great (check my avatar) but the salt sucks! Sun, sun , sun....how boring is that?

Lol, I should have mentioned that I grew up in Wisconsin and Chicago. I got all my Winter and Snow quotas out of the way early in life. I'm perfectly fine using summer tires all year long.

[bluetori]

Worst case, take it to a good shop that does welding repairs they can paint on a treatment after the metal is ground down and lay a couple of welds on it.

[jmeenach]

Lol, I should have mentioned that I grew up in Wisconsin and Chicago. I got all my Winter and Snow quotas out of the way early in life. I'm perfectly fine using summer tires all year long.

You and me both! One set of tires and a MUCH cleaner car. And I'm just as happy running up Latigo Canyon in Malibu as I would be drifting in the snow