Broken LCA on 2012 Chevy Volt

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Greetings,

On Sunday my wife hit a concrete post that the light in a the parking lot sits on. She had parked to the right of it, went into the store came out, started the car started to pull forward, and she said the car veered to the left and ran into the pole. I asked my two sons who were with her and they all had the same story. Basically the car traveled 3 to 5 feet and hit a pole.

When I saw the car the next day (I work nights) the first thing I noticed was very little sheet metal damage and the lower control arm in two pieces. I don't see how a low speed impact of less than 2 or 3 MPH would cause the LCA to break in half without any damage to the strut or bending anything else. From what my wife was saying, it would make sense that the LCA failed causing the car to pull to the left. What say you? I am technically challenegd so I'll post the links to the pics.

Thanks,

Reggie

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Wow, a LCA breaking like that is scary. And I agree that it breaking is what caused the minor accident, not the other way around.
 
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Wow! Cast aluminum on a primary suspension part. Not my idea of good engineering... Wish I could see it up close. Looks like there is a faint line in the metal. Possibility a flaw in the casting??
 
some of these LCAs are now aluminium, and not steel.

They are known to be not-so-giving when you hit something, and will snap.

Replace it with a fresh new one and check for other suspension damage.

Q.
 
"my wife hit a concrete post"

Immovable objects cause massive stress on moving objects that contact them. The LCA was just the weak link. This is why they say to hit a deer crossing the road versus veering off the road and taking a chance of hitting a tree or utility pole.
 
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Is there any impact damage on the arm? It could be a defect.
In that case you need to report this right away its a serious safety issue. If it broke with no impact your wife and kids are very lucky, it could have let go driving down the road with the slightest road defect.
 
It sounds like her wheels were still turned from when she pulled into the spot and thought they were straight and hit the pole and broke the control arm. Take it into a body shop so they can make sure everything is straight, it very well likely could have bent the subframe a little too and you won't be able to get the alignment right even with an alignment.
 
So the question is: did the LCA break, causing your wife to hit the pole; or did your wife hit the concrete, breaking the control arm?

Having both a wife & driving age daughter, my money is on the latter....
 
Did her wheel/Tire hit solid concrete, with the wheel positioned just as it is in the picture? A solid whack against a wholly immovable object causing that damage doesn't seem too far fetched.

Your sons are very smart I'm taking mom's side? Could you smell the ice cream on their breath? Any new video games they haven't earned, maybe?
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
"my wife hit a concrete post"

Immovable objects cause massive stress on moving objects that contact them. The LCA was just the weak link. This is why they say to hit a deer crossing the road versus veering off the road and taking a chance of hitting a tree or utility pole.


The car veered into the post going less than 3 mph. She was parked a couple feet from it. I was thinking it failed causing the loss of steering control. I've seen cars hit curbs at much higher speed with no damage to the control arms. I just find it hard to believe that such a low speed impact could cause the LCA to sheer with no other damage to the other suspension components.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Is there any impact damage on the arm? It could be a defect.
In that case you need to report this right away its a serious safety issue. If it broke with no impact your wife and kids are very lucky, it could have let go driving down the road with the slightest road defect.


No impact damage anywhere on the arm. You can see the fender damage which is slight. I'm just glad it was in a parking lot, not on the highway in the foothills. A Dukes of Hazard image flashes through my mind when I think of this.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
It sounds like her wheels were still turned from when she pulled into the spot and thought they were straight and hit the pole and broke the control arm. Take it into a body shop so they can make sure everything is straight, it very well likely could have bent the subframe a little too and you won't be able to get the alignment right even with an alignment.


She pulled into the spot straight. The frame and everything else should be fine since it was such a low speed impact. Again she was parked literally a few feet away from it and what little body damage there was is slight.

Quote:
So the question is: did the LCA break, causing your wife to hit the pole; or did your wife hit the concrete, breaking the control arm?

Having both a wife & driving age daughter, my money is on the latter....


That is the question of the day, but I still do not think the LCA should break with no other visible damage being present.

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Your sons are very smart I'm taking mom's side? Could you smell the ice cream on their breath? Any new video games they haven't earned, maybe?


You sir made my evening!
 
My wife backed up with a saturn s-series with the wheel cranked all the way. Tire hit a stone wall, I was standing outside and heard a criiiick.

Ball joint wasn't the same afterwards. Had a steel LCA.

I would still start something with NHTSA. They look for patterns.
 
By the sounds of it, the arm had already broken, causing the car to pull into the concrete.

As for the use of aluminum, it's super common and has been so for years.
 
I am believing the wife--- with the arm even just starting to sheer, the wheel will be out of its proper place, and whether bowing inward or outward, will push or pull against the steering arm, causing the car to steer off course.

what I can't get is how the arm finally let go on its own while the car was unoccupied. did it start as she was parking as a crack, then finish itself off while the car was sitting still? Was it cracked and then let go when she shifted into gear? did someone tag the tire or wheel while she was parked with a direct blow? was the bumper bumped hard enough while parked that it jolted the crack that was already started? one thing--- glad it didn't happen while she was moving!

suspension changes at speed are lightning fast. I had the pleasure of short ownership of a 1996 LHS. This car, for many reasons, was da bomb. FWD, but the engine pointed the right way. excellent driving characteristics. dual intakes and split exhaust had a wonderful note. gobs of power. BUT--- they were known for the steering tie rod bushings to crack, fall out, and then encounter multiple millimeters of play. With no warning. It goes like this: Gas on, car shoots right and required *90°* of steering correction. Gas off, shoots left, requiring opposite *90°* of correction, in the blink of an eye. In traffic. on a high-speed beltway. It happened so fast. I managed to control it, get off the fast road, and limp to a mechanic, and walk home. My wife or daughter? no way. We got it fixed properly, then after a few more "brokes" were discovered, gave it back to the family member that gave us the car to begin with (we were going to sell it, they wanted it back and offered to pay us for all the repairs).

anywho, if your wife had hit something hard enough to break the arm, you'd know it. everything around it would be mangled.
 
Hmmmm....

So this is what we are to believe:

-The car was driving fine and she parked it.

-Then the control arm somehow snaps while the car is parked.

-Then the wife goes to drive away and crashes because of a spontaneously broken control arm.

That seems a little fishy to me.

I'm going to say that us armchair-internet-accident-reconstruction artists don't have all the info we need by just going off a second-hand story and looking at two pictures. Maybe it happened the way the wife says, but maybe not.
 
Never believe a woman!

Jk.

I can't decide what I believe.

Well regardless, the LCA needs replaced. Whatever else happened doesn't really matter.
 
The wheel took the brunt of the impact and snapped the LCA. Stuff like this happens so fast sometimes it is tough to remember exactly what happened.
 
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