[a3-b-RS]

Yesterday I realized that my front brakes had a problem. To be specific if I pressed on the brakes while in P or N, I was hearing a "clunk" from the right front caliper. So early this morning I was on my way to the dealer, then...
I slightly pressed on the brake pedal, but the car braked like crazy for a second and started spinning. I did a 180, saw the oncoming cars and steered into the side rails. So the front bumper, radiator, fans, intake and fenders and a wheel are crushed. But not a sign from the airbags, even I hit my head on the steering wheel. Luckily insurance is paying for all.
Maybe time for a S-line front bumper install? I had the Rieger front and sides ready for install. Should I give up the Rieger front for S-line? And how would S-line front, Rieger sides and Oetty back look like? Waiting for recommendations, Just trying to cheer myself up with these plans.

And a picture of the back with Oetty and custom muffler at car wash before the accident

(I have a digital camera-just for the record)

Modified by a3-b-RS at 2:36 PM 8-21-2006


Modified by a3-b-RS at 3:36 PM 8-21-2006

 

[A3inAZ]

Re: first major accident (a3-b-RS)

maybe time for a new car and a lawsuit. id be pissed if that happened to me and no way i would keep my A3. you're a nice guy.

 

[a3-b-RS]

Re: first major accident (A3inAZ)

Quote, originally posted by A3inAZ »

maybe time for a new car and a lawsuit. id be pissed if that happened to me and no way i would keep my A3. you're a nice guy.

I am not 100% sure if there was a problem with brakes or if I did something wrong. Dealer said they can't find any problems but I asked for a detailed check. Also is it possible to recover what happened right before the accident from the ECU?

 

[fireweaver]

Re: first major accident (a3-b-RS)

Sorry to hear about the accident, glad you're ok. Hope everything can be fixed. How do you like the oettinger rear/exhaust?

 

[a3-b-RS]

Re: first major accident (fireweaver)

Quote, originally posted by fireweaver »

Sorry to hear about the accident, glad you're ok. Hope everything can be fixed. How do you like the oettinger rear/exhaust?

Thanks for the nice words.
The Oettinger rear was an easy installation and it fits like a glove. However I noticed too much vibration in the mid part of the valence. Then I solved this by drilling two holes on the valence and putting metal brigdes between those and preexisting screw holes on the chasis. Also there is slight vibration on the sides, I will find a solution for that as soon as I get my car back.
For the exhaust. Oettinger was too pricey for me so I went for a custom exhaust job and I think they look better that the Oettinger one. It is not loud at all, slightly louder than the stock.

 

[Ttuk]

Re: first major accident (a3-b-RS)

Quote, originally posted by a3-b-RS »

So the front bumper, radiator, fans, intake and fenders and a wheel are crushed. But not a sign from the airbags, even I hit my head on the steering wheel. Luckily insurance is paying for all.

So with all of that, the airbags didn't go off? I feel safe, good thing I bought the additional airbags! I'm really interested in how hard you really hit. Would you happen to have pictures of the damage?

 

[xt0rted]

Re: first major accident (a3-b-RS)

Last week (8/13/06) I got into an accident with my car, my air bags didn’t go off either. I didn’t hit very hard, but I was kind of happy they didn’t. I didn’t want to have to pay for that on top of the rest of this. The impact wasn’t all that bad though, it seemed like the front absorbed pretty much everything thus not needing the airbags. I was going down a 4 lane highway and all of the sudden the land rover in front of me slammed on his breaks and swerved into the left lane just missing the stopped minivan. Apparently the lane I was in was stopped due to traffic and the guy in front of me wasn’t paying attention and had to do that to avoid hitting the stopped minivan. I on the other hand wasn’t so lucky since there were cars on both sides of me. So far I got a little over $800 in towing fees and the damage as of now is a little over $6,600. Here’s some pics http://s72.photobucket.com/alb...rash/

 

[Audiggity]

This really puts my exhaust issue in perpective. Just got the car back from the 15K service and my AWE exhaust 'happened' to fall apart...
I am glad that everyone is okay, I would prefer a broken exhaust to an accident any day. The A3's do not deserve this type of treatment!

 

[ProjectA3]

Re: (Audiggity)

wait, you live in Berkeley, CA and have the euro hatch? or do you now live in another country and have a real euro hatch with euro A3? i see its a 2005.
no clue on an answer to your problem though, sorry.

 

[a3-b-RS]

Re: (ProjectA3)

Quote, originally posted by ProjectA3 »

wait, you live in Berkeley, CA and have the euro hatch? or do you now live in another country and have a real euro hatch with euro A3? i see its a 2005.

I am originally from Turkey but study in Berkeley. And I have a car in Turkey that I only get to drive for 3 months a year

Modified by a3-b-RS at 11:56 PM 8-21-2006

 

[a3-b-RS]

Re: (a3-b-RS)

I'll take pictures when I go the dealer today. You'll see how weird the damage is. Almost nothing on the hood but most of the stuff from bumper to airbox is broken. The hood must have opened up once I hit the rails. But also note that my car is a 1.6L so the intake and airbox is closer to the bumper.

 

[3dr A3 3.2]

Ah sh*t !!!! Sorry to hear about this misfortune...!
To answer your question regarding ECU memory, the only bit of info you could find is a DTC, or fault code. One of the sensors would have had to detect a malfunction, and store it as a DTC. Do you have access to a VAG-COM?