faulty lift jack provided by VW

Campbellonh

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2003
Location
New Hampshire
TDI
formerly:Passat, 96, white and 10 Jetta, white gold
:eek: All I can say is don't ever use it. Throw it away and buy something safer. I can't believe there hasn't been a safety recall on these things. There is a reason people refer to this as a widow maker.

I knew about that but hadn't actually gotten around to buying something else, and wouldn't you know it, we got a flat tire.



As we were about to pop the spare on....good thing no body parts were under there. I am more than a little upset.
We were on a flat level paved area, a little snow around, but it was warm and melty, and it was just wet under the foot of the jack, and it didn't just shift, it actually broke.

SO I just wanted to post a warning, if you had not heard it before and haven't had a need yet. These jacks that VW provided with at least the 2010 Jetta are unsafe. Maybe other years and other models are similar too.
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
I'm sorry to hear of the jack failure. What part broke? Was it a weld, or did the nylon nut strip? Any sign of rust?
I've often marveled at the cheapness of the OEM jack, but I've never heard of a failure. Thanks for posting.
 

20IndigoBlue02

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Was North NJ, now SoCal
TDI
2002 Golf TDI-- deceased
They don't call it "The Widow Maker" because it sounds cool.

that being said... I have used the widow maker many times and never had issues with it breaking.
 

ScottySK

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2012
Location
Beaumont, AB (CA)
TDI
03 Jetta GLS
This is the reason why I've always put either the spare tire or the one I've just taken off under the car if I have to use the factory jack on any car.
 

Campbellonh

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2003
Location
New Hampshire
TDI
formerly:Passat, 96, white and 10 Jetta, white gold
I'm not really sure exactly how it broke, but the white nylon piece appears to have let go, on the side where it should be connecting with the round hook/hole in the metal. Its mangled. There is no sign of rust. I wasn't actually looking at it when it went down.
 

roostre

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2012
Location
Puget Sound, WA
TDI
2012 Golf TDI DSG
Did any damage occur to the vehicle when the jack failed?

Also please let us know if you are able to find a suitable replacement for the factory jack that does not take up too much space or weigh a lot.

Things I've done to facilitate unexpected tire changes:

I loosen and re-torque the lug bolts when I get home from the tire shop (in case they were over torqued there) and re-torque after some additional driving just in case anything has loosened up. I've replaced the "locking lug bolt" on each wheel with a normal lug bolt and I carry an 18" breaker bar with a 17 mm six point deep impact socket in the trunk to be sure I (or my wife) can loosen the lugs bolts. The "deep" socket allows the breaker bar more clearance from the wheel than a normal socket would. The "six" point is less likely to round off the lug bolt than a "twelve" point. A twelve point gives you more angular positions but you can rotate the six point on the square post of the breaker bar to change the angular position for lug bolts close to the ground on a flat tire. The "impact" type sockets are stronger than regular deep sockets. I carry a large size dropped forged tire cross wrench in my truck but that is overkill for the TDI.

Looking at your picture I think I'll add a small tarp or maybe better yet two disposable ponchos which could be valuable for other purposes (one for me if it is raining and one to lay down on the snow or mud if necessary).
 
Last edited:

Tim Birney

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2005
Location
Dearborn Heights, MI
TDI
05.5 TDI
Did any damage occur to the vehicle when the jack failed?

Also please let us know if you are able to find a suitable replacement for the factory jack that does not take up too much space or weigh a lot.

Things I've done to facilitate unexpected tire changes:

I loosen and re-torque the lug bolts when I get home from the tire shop (in case they were over torqued there) and re-torque after some additional driving just in case anything has loosened up. I've replaced the "locking lug bolt" on each wheel with a normal lug bolt and I carry an 18" breaker bar with a 17 mm six point deep impact socket in the trunk to be sure I (or my wife) can loosen the lugs bolts. The "deep" socket allows the breaker bar more clearance from the wheel than a normal socket would. The "six" point is less likely to round off the lug bolt than a "twelve" point. A twelve point gives you more angular positions but you can rotate the six point on the square post of the breaker bar to change the angular position for lug bolts close to the ground on a flat tire. The "impact" type sockets are stronger than regular deep sockets. I carry a large size dropped forged tire cross wrench in my truck but that is overkill for the TDI.

Looking at your picture I think I'll add a small tarp or maybe better yet two disposable ponchos which could be valuable for other purposes (one for me if it is raining and one to lay down on the snow or mud if necessary).
Just exactly the setup I went with.
I hope to never use it, but you don't know when you may have to use it.
 

Campbellonh

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2003
Location
New Hampshire
TDI
formerly:Passat, 96, white and 10 Jetta, white gold
Well, no damage other than needing an alignment (toe was knocked out). For a replacement to keep in the wheel well with the spare, I am considering the scissor kind that come with so many other cars. I am not sure they are much safer, but they do have a bigger footprint. I'll be going to the local pick and pull to see what they have.
 

Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
Wow, that's amazing.

I found one for the wife's B4 that works well, it's a scissor jack out of a Suburban and it's quite beefy. Her rocker panels are toast on the inside in the front so you can't jack up the car since the rocker just dents. I got it for $5 out of the local junkyard and it sits in the trunk now.

I keep a small block of plywood in the car to put the jack on and have found it useful for sandy or loose rock. I also keep an old shower curtain in the back to lay on for the mud/wet/snow and have used it many times. It folds up small and is pretty tough. It's also useful for transporting dirty things like plants and it cleans off easily.
 

wilcharl

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2010
Location
Northern Virginia
TDI
2010 Jetta TDI BOUGHT BACK 23 NOV 16. Now owner of 2016 Jeep Cherokee
I'm surprised ECS tuning or another vendor hasn't sourced a widdowmaker a replacement Jack


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
You're all too harsh!!! The VW jack is perfectly suited for use in pushing the engine forward when removing the transmission during a clutch change!!


Yuri
 
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