Entire Front left Wheel Structure detaches at 40 mph without warning in 2007 XC70

[Barinthus]

Thanks to all for comments. See #66, 67. New pics just added 10/31/11

[BillAileo]

FWIW: This is a cut and paste from Wikipedia not Volvo specific.

"While there is no exact lifespan that can be put on a sealed ball joint, they can fail as early as 80,000 miles. Signs of a failing ball joint start with a clicking or snapping sound when the wheel is turned and eventually turns into a squeaking sound at the end of a stop, when the gas pedal is used and/or also when hitting bumps. Another symptom could be 'thud' noises coming from front suspension when going over bumps."

I"f a ball joint fails, the results can be dangerous as the wheel's angle becomes unconstrained, causing loss of control. Because the tire will be at an unintended angle, the vehicle will come to an abrupt halt damaging the tires. Also, during failure, debris can damage other parts of the vehicle."

[MBevans]

While your XC might have "worked" fine after this "pot-hole" there must have been considerable damage. Anytime the word massive is used I get concerned. Prudent thought might have been to take it into a shop right away, get it up on a lift and take a long hard look, granted a fracture may not have been seen, yet other damage could have told a story....

Potential source: hit massive pot hole/raised road structure several days earlier. But car worked fine post pot hole.

[Ars Gladius]

Any thoughts about how this could happen....

Yes, as you mentioned:


...hit massive pot hole/raised road structure several days earlier...

That could have been enough to cause severe damage to components, but not cause total immediate failure.


...and why there is No safety feature to warn of the problem or redundancy to protect from disaster...

There could have been warning signs as mentioned by Bill, though some may not have been 'readily apparent' depending on the cause of the failure.

You should have had the vehicle inspected, by a competent mechanic, for damage immediately after the pothole incident. As that was likely a major contributing factor to the failure. If the ball joint was going bad, the pothole may have been enough to push it that final bit. Alternatively the impact could, in and of itself, have been of sufficient force. Either way a competent mechanic would, fairly certainly, have caught the issue before it became a critical catastrophic failure.

It is not practical to engineer out all failure modes. Especially ones that are highly unlikely when a vehicle is operated correctly, maintained correctly, and inspected correctly immediately after significant 'incidents'.

[TheDarkKnightt]

I'm going toward 300K on my XC, and haven't had to replace a ball joint yet. *fingers crossed*

I had 420K+ on a Land Rover Discovery and had other problems, but no ball joint failures on it either.

[sjonnie]

Chysler had this problem on Dodge Dakotas and Durangos where the upper ball joint would fail and the wheel detach from the car - not fun! Back in the day ball joints would have a grease nipple on them and you'd lubricate them every 20K miles or so. These days they are all 'fit for life' which is probably fine for the early life of the car, but nonetheless, ball joints and all essential suspension components should be regularly checked for excessive wear and defects.

Typically your tire shop will do this as a courtesy when you go in for your rotations (they want to replace parts of course), and your yearly alignment will usually pick up if something isn't right. Ball joints on these vehicles are not load bearing so really don't take much abuse. They are the lowest part of the undercarriage however, so if you do hit something, that's the first place I would be checking.

[sjonnie]

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/302155_10150415158255926_629460925_10682640_909908 800_n.jpg

Inner CV joint disconnected. Surprised you didn't loose the wheel! How much damage is there to the strut mount?

[JRL]

Posting your mileage in the original thread would have been helpful

[billr99]

Thanks.. Can u post the other pictures showing the inside look. There is something that I think is a universal joint that looks ripped open. What is that?

Is cv joint different than ball joint.

By the way, in response to other comments, the car was extremely well maintained, in last few months the mechanic took care of several issues, including front brakes. He woukdhave told me if there was a wear and tear issue.

Regardless of how well-maintained a car is, if you hit something hard enough, things will break. Having driven through Boston and MA a few times over the last couple of years, it would not surprise me that this failure was a result of an impact with a pothole, raised manhole, or some other such thing. Despite how many holes, etc. there might be around and how impractical it is to have your car checked out after hitting something, it seems pretty impractical to have the wheel fall off as well. Just like a pilot, this is where an educated walk-around after the incident comes into play and why anyone who drives a car should know, at the minimum, what to look for after an incident. Now with that said, I've seen a few suspension failures when I was racing and after looking at the failed components many times it is hard to tell because what you are looking for is a fine crack in a joint or a-arm. Obviously if you see them you replace them, so if they can go unnoticed in a race car, they sure can in a street car.

So basically this incident look like one of those things that have occurred with cars since there were things that fail after an impact, that is since Day One. I still remember as a kid seeing a car going down the highway with a front tire folder under presumably from a failed ball joint. That was probably in the early 60s as best as I can remember. So it has been happening and will continue to happen for any number of reasons. Count yourself lucky and chalk it up as a lesson learned. To think that it is a design fault I might agree, but it is one common to most McPherson front end setups which means just about every car on the road these days. The idea of wheel tethers is novel, but even in F1 where they are used a big enough impact renders them ineffective.

Bottom line, things made by Man break. Fortunately in this case, the consequences are relatively minor in comparison to what could have occurred.

Good Luck,

Bill

[n00bkiller944]

he said 45k a little while ago... Seems very strange...

[billr99]

he said 45k a little while ago... Seems very strange...

That would assume that the failure was due to mileage-related wear. I'm thinking that the part failed due to an extreme impact. I'm speculating here but that ball joint hangs pretty low and given the right circumstances could hang on edge of a pothole or something without the wheel/tire taking much of the impact. Probably the only way to really tell is to take a look at all the pieces and see if you can see any signs of impact or stress-related fractures.

I tried downloading and blowing the picture up but the quality at that magnification isn't very good. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't show the ball joint as it is hidden by the shaft; but with what little you can see, it almost looks like the joint mounting plate is still on the end of the a-arm. Indicating that the joint pulled away from the bottom of the hub carrier? The one thing I do notice is that the tire wear is indicating a problem that is either a bit too much toe out or negative camber. In particular, the former could allow a bit more force to be inflicted upon an impact but I'd think more as a contributory versus a cause. On the other hand, does that tire wear indicate an excessive wear issue in one of the suspension components? Again, a set of better pictures might help.

Cheers,

Bill

[Astro14]

Bill - I am with you 100%.

I saw the inside tire wear as well - which tells me that the alignment was off (those tires aren't "new" - they've been on there a while...long enough for the abnormal wear to occur.)

The driveshaft tripod joint (that's the inner joint on the axle, CV is the outer) pulled out when the spindle came loose - no surprise, it will slide out if pulled hard, so that's a result, not a cause - and it blocks the view of the balljoint itself and of the Lower Control Arm where the ball joint bolts up.

Severe impact can cause a material failure, particularly if the part has been stressed previously. As an example (not diagnosis), if the ball joint was replaced, and the bolts used to draw the joint into the spindle (vs. pressing the joint it) those threads would be weakened...and when a severe impact further overloads the assembly - failure results.

But we would need to see some pictures of the joint itself, the bottom of the spindle and the Lower Control Arm to make any reasonable guess.

I haven't had a balljoint outright break...but I have had them wear out...and the dirt roads of Vermont are hard on suspension parts, but the streets of Boston can be harder. Generally, when they wear, new clunks, new sounds, and a loss of steering precision happens. They give warning. The unusual tire wear looks to me like the car was damaged for a while - or had worn parts for a while (both lead to a mis-aligned front end) and was driven that way. It takes many thousands of miles to wear a tire like that.

I don't accept the "no warning" at face value. Experience has shown that many drivers will ignore signs that are obvious to me. I have 3 teenagers who have driven the Corolla...as an example - I happened to notice that the rim was dented at the bead and the tire sidewall was cut...cut through 2 layers of cord (note: there are only 2 layers of cord in a passenger car sidewall). When asked, the driver said that they "felt a bump" but didn't think it was a big deal...severely damaged the wheel, destroyed the tire. Good thing I saw it the day it happened...that butyl liner on the tire would not have held long...and then it would have been "the tire just blew...". Looking at the parking lot where lacrosse practice was held and the damage occured, I could see the granite paver that did the damage, sharp corner and all.

Our young driver had plenty of warning...but no experience with which to put it in context. That tire would have failed. They now know what severe feels like and what to look for (in a tire at least).

As a point of comparison, balljoints on the XC are OE at 148K. I replaced the balljoints on the T5 only because I was replacing the lower control arms at 120K. Sealed units can last a long time. Greasable joints on the truck were replaced at 150K as part of a rebuild.

[billr99]

Bill - I am with you 100%.

I saw the inside tire wear as well - which tells me that the alignment was off (those tires aren't "new" - they've been on there a while...long enough for the abnormal wear to occur.)

The driveshaft tripod joint (that's the inner joint on the axle, CV is the outer) pulled out when the spindle came loose - no surprise, it will slide out if pulled hard, so that's a result, not a cause - and it blocks the view of the balljoint itself and of the Lower Control Arm where the ball joint bolts up.

Severe impact can cause a material failure, particularly if the part has been stressed previously. As an example (not diagnosis), if the ball joint was replaced, and the bolts used to draw the joint into the spindle (vs. pressing the joint it) those threads would be weakened...and when a severe impact further overloads the assembly - failure results.

But we would need to see some pictures of the joint itself, the bottom of the spindle and the Lower Control Arm to make any reasonable guess.

I haven't had a balljoint outright break...but I have had them wear out...and the dirt roads of Vermont are hard on suspension parts, but the streets of Boston can be harder. Generally, when they wear, new clunks, new sounds, and a loss of steering precision happens. They give warning. The unusual tire wear looks to me like the car was damaged for a while - or had worn parts for a while (both lead to a mis-aligned front end) and was driven that way. It takes many thousands of miles to wear a tire like that.

I don't accept the "no warning" at face value. Experience has shown that many drivers will ignore signs that are obvious to me. I have 3 teenagers who have driven the Corolla...as an example - I happened to notice that the rim was dented at the bead and the tire sidewall was cut...cut through 2 layers of cord (note: there are only 2 layers of cord in a passenger car sidewall). When asked, the driver said that they "felt a bump" but didn't think it was a big deal...severely damaged the wheel, destroyed the tire. Good thing I saw it the day it happened...that butyl liner on the tire would not have held long...and then it would have been "the tire just blew...". Looking at the parking lot where lacrosse practice was held and the damage occured, I could see the granite paver that did the damage, sharp corner and all.

Our young driver had plenty of warning...but no experience with which to put it in context. That tire would have failed. They now know what severe feels like and what to look for (in a tire at least).

As a point of comparison, balljoints on the XC are OE at 148K. I replaced the balljoints on the T5 only because I was replacing the lower control arms at 120K. Sealed units can last a long time. Greasable joints on the truck were replaced at 150K as part of a rebuild.

Absolutely agree. I just replaced the ball joints on my XC at 230K kms. First time on any car I've had to do that and I attribute it to the sand, salt air and generally horrible roads I travel on here. Even at that, they did not fail but had worn the sockets so that the hardened balls were loose.

As I found when we raced, particularly in showroom stock, even new parts will break but it usually takes an abnormal load to do that. I've seen suspension parts fracture but typically due to extraordinary high loads, improper installation, a crash, that type of thing. Not normal stuff. I even had an 850R 17 in wheel split once, but I knew I had hit something (railroad track and a missing tie at the crossing) straight away.

I don't want to disparage the OP but "without warning" is probably not accurate entirely. I suspect there was a warning but a non-recognition of that warning due to inexperience or whatever was more than likely a significant contributor to this situation.

Cheers,

Bill

[BillAileo]

Astro,

Your post has raised a concern for me. When I replaced the balljoints on my XC70 about 10,000 miles ago I used the bolts to draw the joint into the spindle, it appears I should not have done that. Would you recommend that I go ahead and replace them again this time pressing the joint in?

[Astro14]

Bill - I am not qualified to say...Your car is probably fine. Did they seat nice and snug when you drew them in? I seated them with a big socket and a big hammer (I didn't pull the whole strut, so it was not easy to swing upward in the confined space, but I got that good, solid, seated feeling in how the joints went in - then torqued to spec.)

Clearly, the strength and installation of the balljoints is key to safety as we've been reminded by this thread. I wouldn't replace yours. I would take a good look at the flange of the balljoint and the base of the spindle socket...if it's tight, it should be OK. I assume that you've got no clunks or other warning signs. I would love to know what Cattle Car thinks of the subject...I've only done this once...he's done it many times...

I know that they were supposed to be pressed in...so, if the bolts were used to draw it in, it's possible that either the BJ doesn't seat completely in the spindle socket or that the threads stretch...but that's my supposition, and it's a possibility, not a certainty.

I was trying to illustrate how multiple factors can lead to an unusual failure - it's often a chain of events, not a single event that leads to component failure. I apologize for the worry, my posted example was for illustration...and I needed a hypothetical as I have never had suspension parts break...they've always given me warning (visual, aural, feel)...

[BillAileo]

Astro,
Thanks.

[budrichard]

Without the services of a qualified Metallurgist and Failure Analysis/ Root Cause Investigator, all is pure speculation. Was anything found broken and do you have the broken parts for fracture analysis?
I possess that background and qualifications but when the right front wheel of our 1999 XC70 detached at the wheel, I had Volvo lay out all the pieces for me to examine. Nothing broken, just bent, could not find the cause. BTW, the detachment did not occur while driving but was found by my wife while seating people in the vehicle. I also searched the route she had driven for parts. My speculation is that faulty maintenance was responsible since the Volvo dealership fixed the vehicle at no charge. This all happened at around 50K miles if I remember correctly.-Dick

[Astro14]

Still hard to tell on those...looks like the joint itself failed...from the fragment of the control arm that I can see. I have spent some time "kicking tin" - but I am not a metallurgist...and I would love to see more detailed pictures...(edit - just saw the new pictures...but still can't see what I need to...rats! The area of interest is the end of the lower control arm, the triangle shaped piece that is still bolted to the car and under the driveshaft stub...and the bottom of the spindle, looking up from the ground to where that drive shaft goes in to the wheel.)

There is a conical socket in the aluminum lower control arm into which the balljoint fits. In your picture, there is a rusty colored bit in there...which would lead me to guess ( still guessing...sorry...) that it's part of the joint, which is steel...so it looks like the joint failed, but rust leads me to believe that water got into the joint, so the little rubber boot covering the joint was damaged, allowing water intrusion and corrosion.

I am willing to bet that the damaged boot was visible and that the joint was clunking before it failed completely. But I am going on a hunch and a fragment of a picture.

As a point of comparison...I had a ball joint clunk on an old Ford Explorer - not over every bump, but once in a while, and definitely when checked on a lift. I replaced all 4 of the balljoints right then. (that thing had 4, this has 2)

For 10,000 miles, that's some excessive inside shoulder wear. Those Goodyear tripletreads are nice tires, not cheap...did you get an alignment when you bought them?

[JRL]

Look guys, stuff happens.
I think it's just a combination of the perfect storm
A HUGE pothole (or whatever you hit)
A piece that may have been 1 of 1000 that had bad metal
and...there's a LOT of rust in there

[mapper]

Sitting back and reading this. A few thoughts.

You mention that the brakes, tires and (presumably) an alignment were done recently. Correct?

Don't take this wrong, but it sounds as if you don't do any mechanical work on cars (most people don't) so the terminology is getting a bit confusing. Let me start by saying this is very unusual for well maintained car. I wouldn't go around condemning Volvo wholesale. Either the mechanics working on your car missed an obviously failing part, something wasn't fastened correctly, you had a statically rare
failure (aka sh!t happens) OR you ignored obvious noises that would generally warn you that something was amiss.

It is possible that whoever did the job (specifically the alignment) did not properly secure some aspect of the tie rod assembly. Let me stress that this is merely a possibility, so PLEASE do not start blaming your mechanic w/out more information. You really want a good relationship w/ your mechanic and immediately assuming this is their fault would be a major mistake. In any case, you can't see the tie rods from the pictures, but a failed tie rod could lead to destruction of of the lower ball joint assembly. It would also explain the unusual tire wear provided you had a recent alignment.

As such:
I would call your mechanic straight away and tell him that you want to keep every part he replaces. Especially if this is the same mechanic that did the brakes, tires and alignment. I would then take those parts to another mechanic, show him the pictures, tell him the story and ask what he thinks the cause would be. I say this because if another mechanic believes that improper work may be the culprit you may have some recourse.

On the other hand, if multiple mechanics think premature part failure was the culprit THEN you should contact the NHTSA just in case this is something that starts happening frequently. Sometimes parts manufacturers find out about a batch of bad parts (like I said sh!t happens) and it would be better/safer for everyone to identify a trend if one exists. This would also give the information you need to consult Volvo on the issue and possibly (again I stress possibly) get some assistance with the cost of the repair.

Caveat:
One would think that regardless of the cause you would have obvious warning signs in the forms or clunks and other noises if this were the case.

Please realize this is just my $0.02

[mapper]

hmmm...along the same lines.

Looking the picture closely I can't tell if the bolt is present that usually (I don't have an XC for reference yet) secures the ball joint stud to the strut assembly. Is it a pinch bolt or top bolt? It definitely appears as if there is no pinch bolt.

[mapper]

OK guys, I can't help but keep looking at the picture in this post and thinking that a fastener at the bottom of the hub carrier is missing. Please take a close look and correct me if seeing this wrong.


Thanks for the input. Appreciate hearing from real knowledgable folks.

The tires were installed in February 2011. Less than 10,000 miles on the tires.

The picture is from an iphone 3... so it is a little fuzzy/low pixels. Tires look better in person.

[06ORXC]

Just couple of things,
From the pic 016 and the amount of distance that the tire was going sideways before it stop that is why it's worn on inside...
Also, make sure the shop will replace the brake line too, even that is not broken it has been stretched and fibers inside are just barely holding it together, it will most likely burst under braking and that could be really bad...

[Ars Gladius]

Just couple of things,
From the pic 016 and the amount of distance that the tire was going sideways before it stop that is why it's worn on inside...

The abnormal wear is around the entire circumference of the inner edge of the tyre, not just the part of the tyre that was dragged to make the giant skid mark you see in the picture.

That wear pattern is the result of bad alignment over time, not the accident.

[mapper]

Agree that the wear pattern on the tire is alignment related. I don't think that wheel was turning much, if at all during the accident. I bet the bottom of the tire looks very different.

Also agree that I would replace the brake hose and carefully inspect the attached hard line. Something like this could cause a lot more damage than meets the eye. Shock tower, strut assembly and transmission all took a lot of stress/torque from unexpected angles. That driveshaft literally ripped out of the output flange!!

[Ars Gladius]

I also know 'things happen'. But the reason to buy a Volvo is to minimize that risk. I get warnings when my tire pressure is low, when i am out of fluid, when maintenaince is due But NO WARNING THAT MY WHEEL is detaching from the car.

I am not that concerend about the cost of repair. I am concerned about whether Volvo is a safe car for me and others.

Volvo's are safe cars.

What you had happen was a catastrophic failure of one or more parts.

What we have been telling you is that there are usually 'warning signs' prior to a failure of this magnitude.

If the failure was the result of common wear issues not being looked after (eg ball joints, etc), then you would have the normal popping, knocking, etc that is typical over time as the parts wear out.

You also mentioned that you hit a massive pothole and raised road works a few days prior. That is also considered a 'warning sign' as you had an abnormal event that likely imparted a large amount of force to a section of your vehicle. We don't know how hard "hard" was, but it likely should have been inspected for damage. You mentioned the roads are not great where you are, but compare the average pothole impact versus the mentioned one, if it was notably greater then an inspection should have been made. The impact was likely worse then you thought.

If the incident was the result of a material defect, where a stressed portion of a high strength part finally failed, then there is typically no warning. It's fine and then it's not. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw4H3MeUTQ8) This is a exceedingly rare event, but still possible.

[Astro14]

OP - The Volvo is a good car - the XC is about the 15th car I've owned and while not quite as trouble-free as the Corolla, it's a lot better than some...and it's safety and AWD are the reasons I own it. No better combo out there. You've had a very unusual experience - would love to know what the mechanic finds.

Just keep this in mind: Volvos are about average for reliability, way above average for crash survivability. That's why you buy one. My kid brother, who used to work as an EMT had some amazing Volvo survival stories, including head on collisions with dump trucks, or moose...that's why I got my wife a Volvo...not the most reliable, but should an accident happen, I want her to have the best possible chance.

To answer a few of the questions: The hexagonal thingy is the remainder of the drive shaft still attached to the transmission. A front driveshaft on this has two joints: 1. a "tripod" joint that allows for in/out movement. It consists of an outer race into which the axle fits, at the end of the axle is a triangle-shaped fitting that has three round bearings on it...and 2. the CV (Constant Velocity) joint. The CV joint consists of an inner and outer race with big ball bearings (think malted milk ball sized) held in a cage to allow power to be transmitted from inner race (attached to the shaft) to the outer race (attached to the hub.) as the suspension moves up and down and the wheel is angled back and forth for steering. Both joints run in a grease bath, held in place by the bellows-shaped rubber boots. When the ball joint failed and the wheel was pulled out, the driveshaft was pulled too...it came apart at the weakest point for that stress: the tripod joint. The car was in motion, so the grease was warm and liquid and splattered everywhere when the boot came off.

You'll need a new axle, but it was not the axle that failed - the axle failed as a consequence of the ball joint failure and the entire spindle being pulled outward by the forces on the tire.

The ball joint connects the lower control arm to the spindle. It is held to the lower control arm by one bolt that tightens a tapered shaft into an equally tapered socket on the LCA. It is a press fit into the spindle and held in place by two bolts. I can't see from the pictures which bolts are intact...or what pieces of balljoint are left.

The spindle is connected to a few things: the LCA (via the balljoint), the wheel (via the bearings in the hub), the driveshaft (via the hub on which that wheel rotates) the outer tie rod (from the steering rack) and the strut, which is located in the car by a bearing/bushing at its top. The strut moves up and down and rotates. The wheel is located by the strut, the lower control arm and the tie rod. Lose any one of those and the wheel is no longer held in place - it's free to move, as you've found out...

Wish I had a picture...it makes more sense in a picture...but it's a very common layout, used by nearly every manufacturer these days.

As far as warnings - routine inspection is critical, but so is listening to the car...hear a new noise? a new clunk or thump? Could be nothing, could be dangerous...you simply can't wire up every part of a machine to tell you what is going on, you have to look, listen and feel...that's true for every machine, from power tool, to airplane, to car...This may not have given you warning, but I suspect it did give you warning; in the form of a new sound or feel that you did not recognize as significant...listen to NPR's "Car Talk" for a while (you'll like the guys, they're from your neck of the woods...) and you'll find that often, people call in with noises and the hosts will tell them to drive straight to the mechanic...and to wear an old football helmet when they do it (! - it's a joke...) because they know what those sounds mean...

[06ORXC]

Ars, it very well may be a case....

Barinthus, if possible get a pic from the shop, I'm sure that not only myself would like to see a pic of that tire's underside to see if it was just plowing or also somewhat turning too.

Keep us posted on final outcome...

[sjonnie]

I am not that concerend about the cost of repair. I am concerned about whether Volvo is a safe car for me and others.

Volvo is a safe car although these days all new cars are safe. There is one part on this car that several people have reported to have premature failure and that is the suspension springs. In certain climates they can corrode and fail. Judging by the position of the wheel right now I'd say the spring is broken (either that or the strut mount has sheared off). A spring breaking like that could be the cause of the lower control arm disconnecting. If indeed the spring has broken I would definitely be calling Volvo about this.

[JRL]

Let's put this in perspective.
In all my years with Volvo, I have NEVER seen this happen on a "modern" Volvo, and on much older cars than yours.

Has it happened? I'm sure it has, but as was stated by everyone, this is VERY rare

[Astro14]

The dealer did not care and just mumbled that Volvo has a 1800 number. I am sure they would be interested in selling me a new car though!

One point, I did ride in the car for several hours the day before the incident. There were no unusual noises and the car worked just fine. I am a paranoid safetey freak (that is why i bought 2 volvos) . and i do listen for noises, brake softness, etc. I do inspect tires. etc. One thing i did not do though, is look behind the tires to see struts, ball joints etc. I am not sure that would have told me anyhting.

and, last the repeated suggestion that I should have gone straight to a mechanic is misguided. It is a suggestion that someone from the Volvo dealer who wants to shift blame would make. Normal drivers do not do this. People hit potholes all the time and do not run to the mechanic (who will most likely make you leave your car for the mornign or day)

I am sure it must have been the struture my wife hit, but still, this result -- catastrophic failure -- is just unacceptbale to me (i know it could have been worse and am most thankful to the Lord above that my wife is safe)

When i get some more info, I'll let you know. Thank you all for your concerns, suggestions and comments. It is a very nice message board and refreshing to find such a classy group on the Internet.

At this point we only know the final outcome: broken part.

We don't know the cause - so it's premature to judge that the outcome is unacceptable...we don't know the sequence of events that happened, despite all the educated guesses...if it were material failure - that's exceptionally rare, but possible. Maintenance mistake, less rare, but possible...Driver error, most common and still possible...

You're judging the car without actually knowing what happened...I think that's premature...

We would all love to know precisely what happened, the true cause, not the effect (wheel partly disconnected from chassis)...we drive these things too...

[mapper]

In any case this is an interesting discussion/mystery. Also curious what the mechanic reports.

If the safety of everyone else is truly what you are worried about and you truly believe it was a catastrophic failure w/out warning please file a report with the NHTSA. That way if something similar happens to lots of other people as a result of defective part there will be a record and, just maybe, a TSB or recall on said defective parts.

There really isn't a reasonable way to give warning for something like this. Like everyone has said, if the part wears out you'll hear abnormal knocking or suspension noise. It it was truly a catastrophic failure of an otherwise good part then it just broke. Fine one second, damaged the next...no way to warn against that.

I'll tell you what though...if it was my car and I could see the tire was obviously just skidding on the bottom and the inner shoulder wear was from just 10k miles of everyday driving, I'd be having a stern discussion with the shop that performed the alignment. Unless you know the tire was wearing evenly prior to the accident.

Like people have said, this is rare. Lots of people drive insane miles on clearly worn ball joints (you can hear them rattling on cars every day). Even 10k before a failure like this attributable to worn parts any good shop should have been able to identify said worn ball joint while performing an alignment. Furthermore, if the ball joint was that close to catastrophic failure due to normal wear the guy doing the (one month ago) brake job would have to pretty darn dense to miss it.

Given those facts:
My best guess, at this point, is the aforementioned impact knocked the LF wheel way out of alignment. This caused the unusual tire wear and added undue stress to the ball joint. The joint did not break immediately on impact, but did break as a result of the impact compounded by the added stress of severe mis-alignment.

[billr99]

last the repeated suggestion that I should have gone straight to a mechanic is misguided. It is a suggestion that someone from the Volvo dealer who wants to shift blame would make. Normal drivers do not do this. People hit potholes all the time and do not run to the mechanic (who will most likely make you leave your car for the mornign or day)

Boy, not sure about that. I consider myself fairly normal, although I have raced and rallied here and there over the years, if I hit something hard, I take a look. First of all, I want to make sure that I didn't break something that is going to end up costing me more in the long run if I don't deal with it and then there is the safety aspect of it. And I'm about as far from a Volvo dealer as you can get (check the tone of some of my other posts). I've had 46 cars over the last 40 years and a few were not stellar examples of the breed, but even those never gave me an indication of a wheel assembly coming off.

Your problem is not a Volvo design deficiency nor is it even a more general design problem associated with the MacPherson strut suspension setup. You've had either an impact, a maintenance issue, or a material failure. Its as simple as that and given the same circumstances, the problem could have occurred in nearly any other modern car.

Cheers,

Bill

[Chilled Man]

I have had this happen on two cars so far .
Both while parking.
So when I get a new P2 I do control arms and ball joints at the same time
Espcially if its in the 100k range.

The wifes 01 V70T5 snap at 40k ...

[budrichard]

"this result -- catastrophic failure -- is just unacceptbale to me"

If that is how you feel then get another vehicle. It's very simple.-Dick

[Astro14]

Yeah - I'm with Dick.

This not a Volvo-specific problem, it is a material failure associated with a Macpherson strut design. Could have happened on any car with that suspension, and the component suppliers to Volvo provide parts to multiple makes. You don't know what your wife hit or how hard. So, Toyota, Honda, Chevy, any of them could have had the same result of that combination of impact and/or material flaw because they all use the same design and components...

[sjonnie]

This not a Volvo-specific problem, it is a material failure associated with a Macpherson strut design.
That makes it sound like there are other suspension designs that wouldn't suffer this kind of problem. The only other kind of front suspension design currently on the market is the double wishbone, that has two ball joints, the upper one of which is load bearing. Remember that Dodge Dakota I mentioned that had premature ball joint wear and high incidence of wheel separation? Yeah, double wishbone suspension.

[billr99]

That makes it sound like there are other suspension designs that wouldn't suffer this kind of problem. The only other kind of front suspension design currently on the market is the double wishbone, that has two ball joints, the upper one of which is load bearing. Remember that Dodge Dakota I mentioned that had premature ball joint wear and high incidence of wheel separation? Yeah, double wishbone suspension.

I suspect that the live axle design of my old Land Rover Defender wouldn't have the problem. But then again, it was originally designed to be an agricultural vehicle and in the case of my particular one, it was an army truck and it steers and rides like one. [thumbup]

Cheers,

Bill

[mapper]

"this result -- catastrophic failure -- is just unacceptbale to me"

If that is how you feel then get another vehicle. It's very simple.-Dick

Keep one more thing in mind. Whatever the reason, your left front suspension completely separated at 40mph. Despite this rare catastrophic failure, your wife was able to bring the car to a controlled stop without any further drama.

Who knows what might happen in other cars. This is just another guess, but I bet DTSC helped keep this car pointed straight.

[mapper]

That makes it sound like there are other suspension designs that wouldn't suffer this kind of problem. The only other kind of front suspension design currently on the market is the double wishbone, that has two ball joints, the upper one of which is load bearing. Remember that Dodge Dakota I mentioned that had premature ball joint wear and high incidence of wheel separation? Yeah, double wishbone suspension.

My Passat has a multi-link front end design shared with the majority of Audis (not A3 or TT, I believe those have the VW Golf platform). There are 5, count them 5, critical ball joints PER WHEEL! Seven if you count sway bar links. Those ball joints, especially the upside down ones, are known to wear "quickly". So the Original Poster may want to avoid Audi. New Passats (2006+) share the Golf platform which uses the MacPherson design.

I live in the mts (lots of curves), drive hard and drive on lots of rough forest service roads that most people only take trucks on. That said in 235k miles I've replaced all the ball joints only twice. A wholesale swap each time. I gotta tell you the front gets real loose and makes a whole lot of racket when going bad. But hey, no torque steer :D

[sjonnie]

I suspect that the live axle design of my old Land Rover Defender wouldn't have the problem. But then again, it was originally designed to be an agricultural vehicle and in the case of my particular one, it was an army truck and it steers and rides like one. [thumbup]
You're quite right, how exposed different parts of the suspension system are to damage from rocks and the like is built into the design, whether it be McPherson strut or double-wishbone, and off-road vehicles like the Defender or Wrangler tend to have the steering knuckle better protected by the wheels. Ford, on the other hand, are notorious for designing 'off-road' vehicles with exposed suspension parts, I guess they know they'll never be driven off road :rolleyes:

I suppose an interesting point would be to compare the damage to the Volvo after hitting the raised manhole cover to what would happen to a normal car. In a Honda Civic you'd probably have lost the oil pan - or worse.

[billr99]

I suppose an interesting point would be to compare the damage to the Volvo after hitting the raised manhole cover to what would happen to a normal car. In a Honda Civic you'd probably have lost the oil pan - or worse.

Actually that happened to my son who has a VW Jetta. According to the story, he attempted to dodge an unmarked raised manhole, hit it with the tire, but the thing lurched and ended up taking off most of the alloy sump. Fortunately, he was quick enough on the ignition to minimize the engine damage to the sump and the pickup. And in such a situation, don't expect the construction company or the local government to do anything to admit any kind of responsibility. Apparently manhole covers rise above the road surface on their own. [cussing]

Cheers,

Bill

[MacNoob]

"this result -- catastrophic failure -- is just unacceptbale to me"

If that is how you feel then get another vehicle. It's very simple.-Dick


correct! that is one of the main options I am contemplating.

I don't see how getting a different car would help. Such a rare ball joint failure (we're assuming that's what happened) can happen to any vehicle.

Your decision to go with a different vehicle because this one broke a ball joint is akin to moving to a different country (maybe even one that you don't like as much!) because your home was struck by a meteorite and you think it would be safer elsewhere.

I occasionally (maybe once a year?) see vehicles (of various brands) sitting at the side of the road with a front wheel turned sideways. Could be a ball joint, tie rod, strut, suspension bushing, any number of failures - leave you sitting there awaiting a tow.

I see rear wheel drive vehicles with driveshafts sitting on the road due to a dead U-joint about as frequently.

edit: coincidentally, there is a similar discussion happening on a collector car forum I frequent. Here is a sample:

>The lowers go first as the entire load of the front end are on them. On my
>'62, the tapered stud snapped in half just under the nut and washer.
>RonH



Same thing with me on the '65 ragtop Back When, only the break was
just above the ball portion in the joint housing, snapped off
flush. No warning, just a sudden clack as the lower control arm hit
the pavement followed by a lurch to port. Driver's side. It
happened as I was parking downtown, moving at a walking pace so no
damage, got lucky.


I had only 3 minutes earlier been going down I-81. Check those ball
joints anyway although I don't think in the case of either Ron's or
mine that checking would have turned up anything wrong, but still if
it's loose it needs attention. Mine may have been slightly loose and
that might have been responsible for fatigue that eventually caused
the crack.

[justthefacts]

I too see at least a couple vehicles a year disabled at the side, or even in, the road with a front wheel turned sideways...a Chrysler minivan just a few weeks ago with a guy on a mobile phone calling for help.
Lower ball joint failure happened to me a few years ago with my Cadillac with strut suspension. There wasn't a clunk or knock, but an occasional front-end dip and swerve...one time on the freeway at 70 mph coming around a curve! Dealer looked at it two times...service manager drove the car and it happened to him around a curve on an entrance ramp, said it scared the poop out of him! And all they could come up with was that the car needed an alignment. A week later the joint failed completely on a straight city street at about 30 mph, just as I was passing the local repair shop! Car had about 150K miles on it.

My XC has about 135k miles. All this talk has me wondering whether I should replace those joints as a preventative measure? At 70 mph I don't want to be tumbling around the freeway thinking "...shoulda changed those freakin' ball joints!"

[JRL]

At 135K they should be on their last legs anyway

[BillAileo]

FWIW: The first two appear to be the same one....

[justthefacts]

Barinthus -
Did you buy the XC new or used? If used, maybe it took some rough roads in the first years.
I can't think of any other failure with the potential to be as catastrophic (maybe wheel coming off, sudden engine or tranny shutdown/lockup, other weird stuff). So maybe have the other side ball joint replaced too, then you can again feel that the car is safe.

[Ars Gladius]

Oh no! Two other reports of Volvos having a ball joint issue.

What's this? Other makes suffer ball joint failure as well?

Acura (http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/lowerballjoint/quarterview.jpg)
Chevy (http://www.aa1car.com/library/wheel_missing.jpg)
Toyota (http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/attachments/1gen-tundra/58172d1295026827-is-this-normal-ball-joint-failure-0109111602b.jpg)
Porsche! (http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/members/tempermental-albums-ball-joint-fail-picture5082-frontbjfail.jpg)
Honda (http://accurate-alignment.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/suspension-failure-300x170.jpg)
Toyota (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attachments/3rd-gen-t4rs/44310d1305166351-ball-joint-failure-my-turn-226438_1965121777463_1525442547_2131447_4529401_n. jpg)
Toyota (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attachments/3rd-gen-t4rs/42797d1303163266-3rd-gen-4runner-buyers-guide-lower-ball-joint.jpg)
Porsche! (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/upload%20bn1.jpg)
Ford (http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/attachments/v6-talk/88155d1263666858-warning-original-2000-mustang-ball-joints-mustang-balljoint-failure-jan-05_2010-2-.jpg)

And that's just 30sec on Google.

Guess you won't ever be driving any type of vehicle again.

[Barinthus]

Oh no! Two other reports of Volvos having a ball joint issue.

What's this? Other makes suffer ball joint failure as well?

Acura (http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/lowerballjoint/quarterview.jpg)
Chevy (http://www.aa1car.com/library/wheel_missing.jpg)
Toyota (http://www.tundrasolutions.com/forums/attachments/1gen-tundra/58172d1295026827-is-this-normal-ball-joint-failure-0109111602b.jpg)
Porsche! (http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/members/tempermental-albums-ball-joint-fail-picture5082-frontbjfail.jpg)
Honda (http://accurate-alignment.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/suspension-failure-300x170.jpg)
Toyota (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attachments/3rd-gen-t4rs/44310d1305166351-ball-joint-failure-my-turn-226438_1965121777463_1525442547_2131447_4529401_n. jpg)
Toyota (http://www.toyota-4runner.org/attachments/3rd-gen-t4rs/42797d1303163266-3rd-gen-4runner-buyers-guide-lower-ball-joint.jpg)
Porsche! (http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/upload%20bn1.jpg)
Ford (http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forums/attachments/v6-talk/88155d1263666858-warning-original-2000-mustang-ball-joints-mustang-balljoint-failure-jan-05_2010-2-.jpg)

And that's just 30sec on Google.

Guess you won't ever be driving any type of vehicle again.
Not so nice

[granlund]

Barinthus,

Your wife's accident with the Volvo have gotten me a bit concerned about my wife's Volvo. However, in every single picture you took of the broken suspension, the broken ball joint is obscured from view. Is there a possibility you can go to the shop and take more pictures? I believe I'm speaking for several people here that wants to see exactly what piece of the joint broke and how.