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Kw Coilover Owners Must Read, Safety Issue


JuxtaGT

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I have the KW Variant 2's installed on my car. I've been using them less than 10k miles. Last week my car started handling poorly, pushing really bad, like the rear sway bar was disconnected. Sticking my head under the car, I saw that the right rear coilover was leaking oil. I figured this was my problem. When I got the chance to jack the car up last weekend I found that it was not leaking from the seals, it was in fact leaking from a stress fracture at the weld seam between the shock body and the lower mounting eyelet. I contacted Boostjunkie to get the contact info for KW.

 

In the mean time I took my car into the dealer for a center differential (as I found out) problem. They called me to let me know that not only was the right rear leaking, but the left rear was completely broken. I drove down to the dealer to check it out. Sure enough, the left rear was sheared off through the lower weld seam between the shock body and mounting eyelet.

 

I don't race, don't do track days, don't drag, don't auto-x. I drive to work and back, and drive up in the hills every now and then. All stuff I deem well within the capabilities of these coilovers.

 

I have been waiting to see what KW thinks the issue is before posting. They have been amazingly quick to respond, and I've been working with them as fast I can to get them the information they need. It looks as though improper lower eyelets were used when making the units. They were too thick, and as such the bushing did not have enough play. It is believed at this point that if the bushing does not have enough play, the stress is transferred to the weld seam, and can eventually fail like mine did. I'll be updating this thread as I find out more information, including if this is a freak accident, or if this a wider spread issue. In the mean time, it might be worth your time to do a visual check on your units to see if the rear eyelets look like mine. I'm trying to get the measurements for the proper spec eyelets as well.

 

Boostjunkie as usual has been very helpful. KW has been very easy to deal with, and I have been the limiting factor in how fast this is getting resolved. Stuff like this happens, so please don't take this as a slam on KW, I just don't want anybody crashing their car because of this possible issue.

 

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/3357/rearkw8fs.jpg

 

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/3308/leftrearkw1fr.jpg

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Good God! Glad to hear Boostjunkie and KW are taking care of the issue and not doing what so many other companies do...blame you for improper installation or say your were racing and that voids the warranty.....Great vendor and manufacturer response.
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Well, they did want pictures of the car to make sure it had not been in an accident. Otherwise, no potholes, no curbs, I'd like to think I'm a careful driver. I have every bump and broken pavement piece memorized on my daily routes. It's hard for companies to take you at your word though, that I understand.
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I agree, this could be very dangerous if it proves more than a one off defect in spec., which is why I'm encouraging more KW owners to see if their units are like this. I just about drove off the freeway interchange the car pushed so bad when I presume the rear broke.

 

Measurements I took for KW-

Eyelet dimensions: Center insert (the inner sleeve the bolt passes through),

ID is 14.17 mm

OD is 24.47 mm

length is 37.41 mm

Outer eyelet (part welded to the shock body),

ID is 32.95 mm

OD is 41.90 mm

length is 34.56 mm

 

Trying to get the measurements for the proper eyelets.

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Well thank god nothing happened...there have been so many posts about accidents lately, this could have easily been one. Definately interested to see how the take care of this and if it affects any other product. But as you said this sort of thing can happen to any company.....what makes the difference is how they handle the problem. But based on what you have said so far they sound like they are really standing behind their product.
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Wow. That is not exactly what I was expecting to see when Juxta told me he had a leaking shock. I'm glad to hear that KW is working with you in an expedient manner to resolve the issue. I can say that they are a very good company that makes great products.

 

I'm sure that the failure that Juxta encountered is not endemic to the product and was an isolated incident. As much as the best companies try to be 100% perfect with 100% of the products that leave the door, we all know that this is not possible. The difference is that quality companies stand behind their products, which KW is doing.

 

I'm sure this will all be resolved soon and I seriously doubt that anyone else will have similar problems. Having said that, it wouldn't be a bad idea to measure the length of the eyelet (the steel tube that the lower bolt passes through). If any of my customers have any problems, please feel free to contact me and I will help expedite any warranty claims with KW.

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I agree with Boostjunkie, I believe this to be an isolated incident, and in no way want to alarm other owners. Just want you to play it safe and check. In a weird way I guess I got lucky, this could have been a very different post....

 

KW is already sending me a replacement set. I'm sure I'll get more info from KW tomorrow regarding if they think this is a one off thing for sure.

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The circumstances lead me to beleive that this is not an isolated incident... It is certainly a design issue...

 

The chances of both sides breaking at the same time on the same car on the same set of coilovers in the same way from a "defect" is very low.

 

Its more likely that the design of the lower eyelet is causing the stress fractures in the weld.

 

I am curious as to what KW does to rectify the situation.

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^^ Yeah, and I'm sure from the manufacturing side that they build these in batches, so even if it was a mfg error rather than a design error it's *unlikely* that Juxta got the only bad ones: there'd almost have to be an entire bad batch.

 

Sh!t happens, though, and it looks like KW is jumping on this one quickly, as well they should. :Subscribed: because I'm still very interested in this product!

Seek first to understand, then to be understood.

 

In other words: SEARCH before you post!

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