Anyone Know About Anti Roll Bar?

Katykat

Daughter took Seat Ibiza to Main Dealer ( 1st mistake) by herself ( 2nd mistake)for a service ( agreed to pay £160- 3rd mistake) They told her it needs urgent anti roll bar attention as it was cracked in half, only the wheels holding it together. ( although on the actual invoice it reads " anti rollbar bushes cracked and deteriorated requires URGENT attention) Also front wisbone rear bushes starting to crack, engine cooler temp sender needed and nail in rear tyre, needs repair.
Now, the "nail" turned out to be a screw lodged in the tread of the tyre- removed by OH in 2 secs. Today I took it for an early MOT and it passed. The MOT guy says the anti roll bar is not snapped or even cracked, if it was the car would be undriveable. Now I dont know what this anti roll bar is, or what it does, or what would happen if it was snapped in two. Can anyone throw any light on this. Obviously she will not be taking the car back to this dealer and we are considering contacting the Trading standards Office, but I'd like to know a bit more about it before we jump in.

Andy_L

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiroll_bar

Conor_3

OK, lets deal with it in order:

ANTI-ROLL BAR. It's a sprung metal rod that connects to the wheels and the body to reduce body roll in cornering. In ye-olden days on some cars, they helped locate the front wheels but that's not been done for a long time.
They don't just crack and you'd notice it - basically by the banging noise you'd get driving down the road. More likely is, as you say, the bushes. They go dry and crack on the outer faces with age. They can still be perfectly servicable - the key is in how deep the cracking is and if there's any play in the bush.

The wishbone ones are a bit more serious as they're involved in locating the wheel and it can cause problems if they fail. When they're on their way out you'll either get a knocking over bumps or feel steering wheel wobble under braking (similar symptom to a warped brake disc). Again, they crack with age and some cracking is acceptable. It's passed an MOT so the examiner thought they were OK.

If there's knocking noises coming from the front suspension, then they'll need replacing. If the cracking gets bad enough, you'll be notified by the next MOT. Unless experiencing the symptoms I described, I'd not worry too much.

The bushes aren't expensive and shouldn't be more than an hours labour each. The wishbone bushes aren't usually replaced - instead the entire wishbone is as there's little cost advantage and it also includes the bottom balljoint which can fail with age. Usually by the time the bushes in the wishbones go, the balljoint isn't far behind.

Katykat

Thanks Conor, you seem to have answered my query. There are no knocking noises at all, no wheel wobble and the car feels exactly the same to drive as its always done. It is 4 years old and has only done 23000 miles. The garage has quoted £500 for the repairs which includes £225 labour and VAT. As I mentioned, she has already paid £160 for the service and they didn't even change the plugs. Methinks she is having the wool pulled over her eyes.

david29dpo

Typical dealer. I have never known an anti roll bar to "go" its only the bushes which are cheap and easy to replace.

HenryWeston

Katykat wrote: »

Thanks Conor, you seem to have answered my query. There are no knocking noises at all, no wheel wobble and the car feels exactly the same to drive as its always done. It is 4 years old and has only done 23000 miles. The garage has quoted £500 for the repairs which includes £225 labour and VAT. As I mentioned, she has already paid £160 for the service and they didn't even change the plugs. Methinks she is having the wool pulled over her eyes.

It sounds like they are trying it on with that quote of £500 !,