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mchristyuk
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Geoff,
Unfortunately I don't know what milage was on the 3 arms in question, however I think this is going to start becoming more of an issue to look out for because of the way the arms are going up in price to stratospheric levels.
I would imagine in younger cars cracks would be dealt with under warranty. In slightly older cars still being repaired at Main Dealers complete arms would be changed when the bushings or ball joints wear out.
However our cars are much older and we do as much as possible to keep them on the road at sensible price levels, otherwise we'd have to scrap them. Therefore the arms are going much further with bushings being replaced rather than the whole arm. I'd imagine those looking at solutions to the ball joint are going to be another factor in extending the life time of these arms.
On aircraft metal parts have a fixed life span.. once their time is up they are removed no matter what, and I think these arms could also need to be treated as such!
Until we have a sensibly prices aftermarket item, or Maserati get sensible with some of their spare prices I think there's going to be some more "moments" ahead for some people (not every Maserati owner reads the internet forums!).
Mark
Unfortunately I don't know what milage was on the 3 arms in question, however I think this is going to start becoming more of an issue to look out for because of the way the arms are going up in price to stratospheric levels.
I would imagine in younger cars cracks would be dealt with under warranty. In slightly older cars still being repaired at Main Dealers complete arms would be changed when the bushings or ball joints wear out.
However our cars are much older and we do as much as possible to keep them on the road at sensible price levels, otherwise we'd have to scrap them. Therefore the arms are going much further with bushings being replaced rather than the whole arm. I'd imagine those looking at solutions to the ball joint are going to be another factor in extending the life time of these arms.
On aircraft metal parts have a fixed life span.. once their time is up they are removed no matter what, and I think these arms could also need to be treated as such!
Until we have a sensibly prices aftermarket item, or Maserati get sensible with some of their spare prices I think there's going to be some more "moments" ahead for some people (not every Maserati owner reads the internet forums!).
Mark
Wow, been off here for a few weeks just logged in and read a bit of this.
Nearly the exact same thing happened on my 4200 about a month ago - luckily I was pulling out driveway when it happened, if I was driving would of been in a ditch and total write off, on motorway I'd be dead quite frankly.
Basically the lower arm on front drivers side collapsed and kind of pulled through the hub at same time, so wheel buckled in at about 90 degrees, was just a loud bang and felt the front end go funny as I was reversing out my house.
Had to get a couple mates round to help get it kind of back together as driveway was blocked off, then we got it across to mechanics on back of recovery truck. New lower arm, upper arm joint, various washers and a used replacement hub, with labour just over 2k - main thing is I didn't die this time I guess.
She's gone into winter storage now anyway so whilst there she's being gone right over by a mechanic I use before being MOT'd in February, God only knows what shape the rest of the suspension is in - she was knocking a little and we were already going through replacing bushes etc but after this we've agreed she's going to be gone over a lot more thoroughly.
Knocked my confidence in her a bit now, will be a long while before I go quick in it again..
Nearly the exact same thing happened on my 4200 about a month ago - luckily I was pulling out driveway when it happened, if I was driving would of been in a ditch and total write off, on motorway I'd be dead quite frankly.
Basically the lower arm on front drivers side collapsed and kind of pulled through the hub at same time, so wheel buckled in at about 90 degrees, was just a loud bang and felt the front end go funny as I was reversing out my house.
Had to get a couple mates round to help get it kind of back together as driveway was blocked off, then we got it across to mechanics on back of recovery truck. New lower arm, upper arm joint, various washers and a used replacement hub, with labour just over 2k - main thing is I didn't die this time I guess.
She's gone into winter storage now anyway so whilst there she's being gone right over by a mechanic I use before being MOT'd in February, God only knows what shape the rest of the suspension is in - she was knocking a little and we were already going through replacing bushes etc but after this we've agreed she's going to be gone over a lot more thoroughly.
Knocked my confidence in her a bit now, will be a long while before I go quick in it again..
mchristyuk
Junior Member
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Phil,
The fracture occurs on the inside of the arm nearest the chassis, so the only way I can see is wheel off/lots of cleaner/bright light/mirror.
To be honest.. if your arms were ok when they were last checked and the bolts have not seized I wouldn't be too concerned. So I think the quickest easiest check is a quick twist of the mounting bolts. I think the seizing bolts are the biggest threat to the integrity of the arms and therefore if your bolts have not seized there's probably not too much to worry about.
Put it this way, I've experienced this first hand and am disgusted that 1) It's a "known" issue.. 2) The replacements cost £900 and are of such dubious quality 3) A rusted bolt can potentially kill somebody. However now I know about it and can ensure the bushes are kept free I am still happy to drive my 3200 (once I get it back...).
What I find so sad about this episode is that nobody on this forum, in a supposedly close knit fraternity, was even aware of this potential problem. There are now 2 of us with failed suspensions thankfully at low speeds. I am not superstitious nor religious, but hope that our fantastic luck has saved somebody from a horrible accident.
It's a risk every time we get in a car to drive somewhere. The least we can ask for is to have the odds stacked in our favours.
If I thought Maserati might actually give a sh!t I would write some kind of letter. I'm not looking for compensation (not that kind of person), an apology, or anything. But say a FREE "we'll check them at your closest dealer" would be nice. However knowing the sad solicitor/suing riddled world we now live in that's never going to happen as it would be an admission that there's a fault (and let's be honest this is a fault!), and there would be a queue of solicitors round the corner waiting for their pay day.
It'll be up to us to make sure that fellow (and new) owners are aware and kept safe. It's not always possible to get Emblem or Giallo, etc to come and do an inspection and some have to rely on the RAC of AA because of geographical constraints. If we didn't know to check these parts (and live and breathe the brand) then what chance do the RAC/AA have??
Mark
The fracture occurs on the inside of the arm nearest the chassis, so the only way I can see is wheel off/lots of cleaner/bright light/mirror.
To be honest.. if your arms were ok when they were last checked and the bolts have not seized I wouldn't be too concerned. So I think the quickest easiest check is a quick twist of the mounting bolts. I think the seizing bolts are the biggest threat to the integrity of the arms and therefore if your bolts have not seized there's probably not too much to worry about.
Put it this way, I've experienced this first hand and am disgusted that 1) It's a "known" issue.. 2) The replacements cost £900 and are of such dubious quality 3) A rusted bolt can potentially kill somebody. However now I know about it and can ensure the bushes are kept free I am still happy to drive my 3200 (once I get it back...).
What I find so sad about this episode is that nobody on this forum, in a supposedly close knit fraternity, was even aware of this potential problem. There are now 2 of us with failed suspensions thankfully at low speeds. I am not superstitious nor religious, but hope that our fantastic luck has saved somebody from a horrible accident.
It's a risk every time we get in a car to drive somewhere. The least we can ask for is to have the odds stacked in our favours.
If I thought Maserati might actually give a sh!t I would write some kind of letter. I'm not looking for compensation (not that kind of person), an apology, or anything. But say a FREE "we'll check them at your closest dealer" would be nice. However knowing the sad solicitor/suing riddled world we now live in that's never going to happen as it would be an admission that there's a fault (and let's be honest this is a fault!), and there would be a queue of solicitors round the corner waiting for their pay day.
It'll be up to us to make sure that fellow (and new) owners are aware and kept safe. It's not always possible to get Emblem or Giallo, etc to come and do an inspection and some have to rely on the RAC of AA because of geographical constraints. If we didn't know to check these parts (and live and breathe the brand) then what chance do the RAC/AA have??
Mark
mchristyuk
Junior Member
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"Guys, I have just has a long chat with Marios on the phone, as he says above the issue is well documented. "
If one of the biggest best respected independent Maserati specialists and one of the biggest Maserati breakers knows to check for it, then that kind of suggests this isn't an isolated incident?
If they know very well to check for it then the main dealer network must know, ergo Maserati can't pretend to be ignorant of the issue....can they??
Well I guess of course they can.. but lets not go there as I'm not after turning this into a big litigation issue, more "lets not see people killed in their Maseratis" issue.. and maybe just hoping that it's taken a little more seriously than it seems to have been to date..
Mark
If one of the biggest best respected independent Maserati specialists and one of the biggest Maserati breakers knows to check for it, then that kind of suggests this isn't an isolated incident?
If they know very well to check for it then the main dealer network must know, ergo Maserati can't pretend to be ignorant of the issue....can they??
Well I guess of course they can.. but lets not go there as I'm not after turning this into a big litigation issue, more "lets not see people killed in their Maseratis" issue.. and maybe just hoping that it's taken a little more seriously than it seems to have been to date..
Mark
Contigo
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No offence to Marios or Greg but it's not proof of being a recognised problem officially or in the community IMO. If it was bad and common place then we would have seen a recall just like with steering rack. As these cars are sat most of their life and are getting older they are more prone to failure. I reckon most don't get as much of a check as say tote average Ford so some of these could be there or have been prevented with a through inspection at service time.
mchristyuk
Junior Member
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I doubt Maserati want to "recognise" (cost of ignoring VS cost of recall) any issue and the community has been ignorant of it to date (just look at this thread)..
As I said previously I think it's only coming to light now because of the extortionate price of replacing the wishbone, and therefore more bushes are being replaced extending the working life of the wishbone. Having said that Marios said he's seen it on GranTurismos so that kind of shoots that theory down a little..
The purpose of this thread isn't a witch hunt, but to bring to fellow owners attention that their suspension could have cracks in it, which if gone unchecked could kill you. A rusty bolt could kill you. It's frightening to think about, and inexcusable on an every day road car (An expensive one, but an every day car none the less.. these are not racing cars).
Mark
As I said previously I think it's only coming to light now because of the extortionate price of replacing the wishbone, and therefore more bushes are being replaced extending the working life of the wishbone. Having said that Marios said he's seen it on GranTurismos so that kind of shoots that theory down a little..
The purpose of this thread isn't a witch hunt, but to bring to fellow owners attention that their suspension could have cracks in it, which if gone unchecked could kill you. A rusty bolt could kill you. It's frightening to think about, and inexcusable on an every day road car (An expensive one, but an every day car none the less.. these are not racing cars).
Mark
Very useful reading and potentially very worrying consequences. I think there are a number of parts that have been known to fail on these cars in seemingly large numbers, but attracting zero interest and certainly no recall by the manufacturer. Perhaps those who have suffered failure of these suspension arms have just thought themselves unlucky and paid up?
As my GS is currently residing with Marios I shall assume he'll check them as part of the mileage service, but will ask anyway!
As my GS is currently residing with Marios I shall assume he'll check them as part of the mileage service, but will ask anyway!
safrane
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There are plenty of recalls for the GT and QP for their suspension;
http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/search.asp
http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/search.asp
conaero
Forum Owner
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Mark, what are you trying to say here?
mchristyuk
Junior Member
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Matt,
I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at, I'm not suggesting for one minute that there's some kind of cover up or anything daft like that.
I'm just particularly surprised that this has never cropped up until now considering Marios describes it as "well documented" and one of our biggest breakers junks lots of suspension components because of it. Had you ever heard of it? Have you seen this documentation? I haven't and nobody else on the forum seems to have come across it before.
Our cars have numerous "foibles" that are well known about (handbrake shoes, end float, clutches, F1 relay, heater matrix, etc etc) but nobody has ever mentioned anything about cracking suspension parts, despite well respected industry insiders knowing it's a weak spot.
I just feel as a collection of enthusiasts we seem to have dodged a rather nasty bullet. Simon1 had his collapse coming of the driveway, mine went at 25mph... thankfully somebody isn't posting an obituary here after it went at 80mph.
We seem to have been incredibly lucky to find out now, before somebody was caught out in a much more dangerous situation. It is something that can be checked out and monitored even if you don't have the luxury of a local Maserati specialist. I think we have a duty to make sure this is added to the "What to look out for..." when buying a Coupe variant.
Mark
I'm not entirely sure what you're getting at, I'm not suggesting for one minute that there's some kind of cover up or anything daft like that.
I'm just particularly surprised that this has never cropped up until now considering Marios describes it as "well documented" and one of our biggest breakers junks lots of suspension components because of it. Had you ever heard of it? Have you seen this documentation? I haven't and nobody else on the forum seems to have come across it before.
Our cars have numerous "foibles" that are well known about (handbrake shoes, end float, clutches, F1 relay, heater matrix, etc etc) but nobody has ever mentioned anything about cracking suspension parts, despite well respected industry insiders knowing it's a weak spot.
I just feel as a collection of enthusiasts we seem to have dodged a rather nasty bullet. Simon1 had his collapse coming of the driveway, mine went at 25mph... thankfully somebody isn't posting an obituary here after it went at 80mph.
We seem to have been incredibly lucky to find out now, before somebody was caught out in a much more dangerous situation. It is something that can be checked out and monitored even if you don't have the luxury of a local Maserati specialist. I think we have a duty to make sure this is added to the "What to look out for..." when buying a Coupe variant.
Mark