near death by driver seat crazyness

[dope]

Just driving to work earlier with my liftshare guy in the passenger seat and from nowhere there was an almighty bang/twang sound with a ricochet inside the cabin. I think we both let out a little poo.

It was like we'd been shot at but we were on a lane in the cotswolds so it wasn't likely.

So I kept going as everything and seemed fine with the car and no one was bleeding. Got to work and started looking for whatever it was and noticed that the drivers seat near the transmission tunnel had this bit if quarter inch steel bar sticking up vertically out of it, surrounded by shattered plastic trim.

Passenger side has one too but it sits horizontally and is held there by a nubbin of steel the equivalent of which has sheered off the drivers seat.

Excuse the photo - it's off my phone. But you can see the shiny end of the steel bar. Any idea what's it for or what made it suddenly try to embed itself in my ***? And how can I fix it?

 

[simon.m]

I think we both let out a little poo.

hhahahaha thanks for the lol but id say go see audi mate as thats a fault and they should fix it for free

 

[dope]

they should fix it for free

Really? On a seven year old car that I didn't buy from them? I hope you're right.

 

[simon.m]

well id say its a fault as it sounds like the seat belt as set its self off like if some one hits you it pulls you back in your seat but im just guessing

 

[swarcup]

is your car a quattro, maybe its something from the drive system. Or even something layed on the road that has been catapulted? Looks ****** deadly to me. seriously If you do ultimately discover how and what this is please share the results.

 

[dope]

I see - you think that thing is the pretensioner? Could be I suppose. I always imagined a pretensioner to be a bit more sophisticated than a spring under compression but I've no idea really.

I didn't feel my belt pull tight when it went off. Unlike my anus. That definitely pulled tight.

 

[dope]

is your car a quattro, maybe its something from the drive system. Or even something layed on the road that has been catapulted? Looks ****** deadly to me. seriously If you do ultimately discover how and what this is please share the results.

Not a Quattro swarcup. Just a T190. It has the half leather/half suede seats with electric lumbar adjust.

Like I said - it looks like there is a similar bar on the passenger seat but it is held in the horizontal position by a steel retainer. Seems that steel retainer suddenly sheered off - and I'm so glad it missed both of us. We had a quick look for it but it could embedded anywhere.

 

[simon.m]

well im not sure how they work mate it maybe a spring but it could be a smal gas tip one but no matter what it is it needs looking into by audi i think as also if it did not pull you back in your seat it could be that it some how pinged the wrong way some how

 

[swarcup]

possibly part of the seat frame that has snapped. Pretensioners work using a very small explosive charge

 

[dope]

possibly part of the seat frame that has snapped. Pretensioners work using a very small explosive charge

Sounds likely. I guess the height adjust must have some kind of assistance to counteract body weight when you pump it upwards? Maybe it's that?

I wonder what's involved in removing the seat?

Anyone here pulled their seats apart?

 

[dope]

Some better pics.

The offending article

The passenger side. Sitting where it should, retainer just visible on the right.

 

[crazy88]

Forgive me for making light of the situation, but the red picture you drew reminds me of Keith Lemon's 'shark shaped world tour' that he planned!

On a serious note, it is a tad confusing! Does the seat move fine in all directions still? i.e. forward/ backward, up/ down, lumbar support (or whatever it's called).

It seems odd that nothing seems to have broken...apart from the crazy metal bit which made your **** twitch like a rabbits nose.

 

[dope]

Cool. I've no idea what that shark shaped world tour thing is though! I did photoshop voodoo to bring out the dark bit of the photo and drew a red line round it.

Yeah, no the seat seems to move in all directions still. At least from the quick check I did in my lunch break it did.

I'm beginning to agree with simon2004 though - Audi should have a look at it. I don't know where the sheered off bit and the smashed plastic went but if there had been passengers in the back I think it would have hit them.

 

[crazy88]

Yeah, I agree. I think Audi definately need a look at that. Perhaps you can argue over the danger of it. Afterall, it's not like the radio button just fell off, some piece of metal just catapulted around the car, and like you say, could have potentially hit someone.

have a look for it still, would be handy to see how much has come off.

Oh, and the keith lemon thing isn't amazing, it just reminded me of him, ha! I think he's proper funny though.

 

[Broken Byzan]

The pre tensioners are at the spool end of the belt, so that won't be whats occured.


As for what it is, i have no idea !!

 

[simon.m]

there is some then on both ends of the seat belts i think to pull it down not 100% sure but on my old vaxhal it hand it both ends for sure.

 

[dope]

The service interval reminder came on the other day and I've ignored it. Maybe this is the next stage of the reminder?!!

 

[swarcup]

SORRY BUT KIETH LEMON IS SUPERB

 

[dope]

Had a look last night.

Seems the rod is the end of a spring that takes to load of your body weight so you can pump up the height adjuster with just your fingers while you're in the seat. The lower you have your seat the more this spring is in compression. I have the seats all the way down.

It's held in place by a kind of hook arrangement which is pressed out of the steel of the subframe. And that's what snapped.

I looked but I can't find the shrapnel.

 

[crazy88]

Did you make that picture? And that makes sense what you have said! Are you gonna get it fixed, and has it affected the seat's ability to raise and lower?

As for the shrapnel, you'll find that from now on you'll just beep every time you go through an airport scanner I bet. Oh well

 

[dope]

Yeah. Looking at it now, it has a hint of the 'sausage on a fork from the intro of Grange Hill' about it.

The seat still goes up and down, it's just a bit harder to pump it up if I'm sat in it. But to be honest I set it how I want it when I bought the car and I'm unlikely to ever change it again. I'm always the same height.

Besides, the windscreen wipers have packed up so that's a priority now. Is it me or are Audi's more trouble than they're worth? My junky old, dragging it's *** in the weeds, never been serviced in 10 years, veedub never fell apart like this Audi does.