[Mr.Boss]

Just noticed the rear beam is also deformed
Means the rear wheel also got an impact.

Couldn't estimate what went wrong.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Just noticed the rear beam is also deformed
Means the rear wheel also got an impact.

Couldn't estimate what went wrong.

The rear "beam" seems to be hit on left side and the entire assembly is bent
But no other significant under-body damage. The damage observed by you could have happened in the process of the car rolling over.
Just my view, no offense to anyone. I believe its better to let further details flow in.

NOTE: Tried editing my earlier post, but was not allowed, hence new post.

[anjan_c2007]

It appears that the SUV bumped over some uneven object (the mangled wheel rim) and was involved in such a mishap.The balance rod is broken to its right and so is the front right axle.

There is no damage to the SUV from any side (no front, back or side impact involved) and only the wheel has come off.

Also the A, B and C pillars are more or less intact, indicative of its near-solid body shell.

There is surely some element of human error involved in this mishap. The whole incident is quite a horrifying though and its quite soothing to know that all are safe. Lets hope the driver recovers from his injuries quickly.

[Sankar]

Awaiting more details about this incident. Was it component failure or a hit? Hope the cause is soon found. Thank god everyone escaped without any serious injuries.

Btw i saw this on youtube. The poster of the video says the wheel failed. Read the video description.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X7jLXJnbKw

[a4anurag]

The front right wheel has a massive deformation as if hit a stone/pothole at triple digit speed causing the lower arm and the joints to fail eventually disjointing the wheel from the body.

Thank god all are safe and no casualties. Wish the family a speedy recovery. Awaiting more details on the incident as to how it happened and what Renault has to say about this.

I feel Renault will wash their hands off saying it was an high speed accident and not any fault of theirs. I am pretty sure the ball will be pushed off by them from their court.

Anurag.

[deep_bang]

Two observations:
1. Am glad everyone escaped with minor injuries (which could have been major).
2. Most suspension components are quite generic in nature and this can happen to ANY car unless proved to be specific to duster. Lets not blame Renault or Duster till we understand the root cause.

I am curious to know if the driver was belted or not. The only point of asking this is to emphasize on a simple rule of belting always. That probably saved his life today!

[anujmishra]

This is horrible to have such kind of accident. But I think, the impact could have happened few days back and nobody might have noticed that impact and resulting damages. It might got severe on everyday driving and it came off on accident day.

Many times during our drive we hit the potholes on high speed and not each time we go down and see the damages, if any. I would not think wheel will come off with just one impact. Gradually it got severe after initial impact.

[Sankar]

Thinking aloud:
The Duster's front suspension lower control arm looks like a widened I beam with two mounting points (or a very narrow A arm) rather than the more sturdier L type.

Example:
A) Duster type: Both lower arm mountings are on the longitudinal axis and on the same plane.



B) Koleos/Ecosport/Evoque/Swift/Fiesta/Polo and most other B and higher segment vehicles with McPherson setup: One lower arm mounting is on the longitudinal axis and one mounting on the vertical axis.


In a McPherson type suspension the lower control arm provides lateral and longitudinal wheel location. In McPherson setup L lower control arm type is most widely used with one mounting on the longitudinal axis and one mounting on vertical axis. On the Duster with both mounting on the longitudinal axis provides good lateral wheel location may be providing less than ideal fore-aft wheel location.

Maruti 800/Alto/Alto/800/K10/Old Zen/Prev Wagon R etc has a simple I beam front lower control arm with a single longitudinal mounting on the subframe, this provides lateral wheel location. But the front stabiliser bar bolts on to the lower arm and the subframe triangulating the mount and provides fore-aft wheel location.

[saket77]

Read the title, clicked on the link to expect a story where something from the wheel broke off. As the page loaded, a horrific picture of a massive SUV lying upside down on the road shook me. That is a bad incident. Enough to shake the confidence of all petrol heads. Reaching to the root cause of such unexpected and dangerous failure is necessary so as to isolate the problem and take mending steps so that things do not turn so ugly again. I have seen joints of lower arm breaking, but never like something here.

There is a big hit on the steel rim, but somehow no marks on the tyre.

[Tinuvilla]

This definitely looks like the result of a heavy impact. Few more observations:
1. We can see the coil spring and damper lying on the ground in the last picture.
2. The cladding inside the wheel arch has been sheared off.

It is highly unlikely for all the components to fail at once in this fashion.
Wishing a speedy recovery for the driver.

[bijuiser]

I have never seen an Axle break off like this!!. IMO the Axle might have had a weak spot (developed during casting of the part) or due to metal fatigue (unlikely in a new car) or over loading it much above the GAWR (gross axle weight rating). Looking at the impact on the wheels (which seems very less for a disaster like this) I can't think of any other reason.

[Zigor]

I must say that this incident might be there in our memory for a long time. I drive a Swift Vdi (2008). It's been very good seven years but no one can predict how much a vehicle is worn off. I know we BHP'ians love to chuck our cars around (hence testing it's abilities). May be it's time to inspect the vehicle properly.

[vipinendran]

Originally Posted by bijuiser

I have never seen an Axle break off like this!!. IMO the Axle might have had a weak spot (developed during casting of the part) or due to metal fatigue (unlikely in a new car) or over loading it much above the GAWR (gross axle weight rating). Looking at the impact on the wheels (which seems very less for a disaster like this) I can't think of any other reason.

I too have a feeling that it is a casting defect, normally these components go through very high degree of quality inspection, usually "zero defects" but it looks like maybe one got through, freak accident nevertheless

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by bijuiser

IMO the Axil might have had a week spot (developed during casting of the part)

Originally Posted by vipinendran

I too have a feeling that it is a casting defect

None of the failed part is 'Casting'. All those failed were the fabricated sheet metals / formed tubes. Casting parts (Knuckle and brake disc) were intact.

[prakhar1998]

Even after the Mishap, the car does not seem in a very good shape. Even the unfortunate condition of the passengers suggests that. It seems as if the Duster is a car not built well enough, and built to a cost. We should not forget that Duster is a car from a company called Dacia, that is a low cost brand, so cost cutting is a possibility. Here is the NCAP result, its horrid: http://www.euroncap.com/results/daci.../2011/421.aspx