My Aiways U5 failed its inspection on worn suspension parts. Is it worth fixing?

Yes. The parts an inspection fails on - stabilizer links, control-arm bushings and ball joints - are ordinary suspension components rather than U5-specific parts, and they are all replaceable. The front suspension is a MacPherson strut layout with a lower control arm, a stabilizer bar and a stabilizer link per side, which is a very conventional arrangement. The usual inspection failures are the stabilizer links and the lower-arm bushings, and neither is an expensive or unusual repair.

Why will no workshop near me touch my Aiways U5?

The reluctance is almost always about the brand, not the job. Mechanics hesitate because there is no manufacturer workshop network in Europe to fall back on and no dealer diagnostic access. But the suspension work itself is standard: control arms, bushings, stabilizer links and ball joints are fitted and torqued like any other car, and a four-wheel alignment is done on a standard bench. Taking our part numbers to a competent independent workshop, rather than asking them to source the parts, is the simplest way to unblock this.

Can the bushing be replaced on its own, or does the whole control arm have to be changed?

Often just the bushing can be changed, and it is worth asking. Most workshops press a new bushing into the existing arm, which costs less than a complete arm, so ask them to check that route first. Replace the complete arm when the arm itself is bent or damaged, not merely because the rubber has aged. Be aware that the bushings are not generally sold as separate orderable parts, so if your workshop can only replace the arm, or the arm is damaged, a complete arm is the reliable answer.

Does replacing suspension parts mean I need a wheel alignment afterwards?

For most of these parts, yes, and it is the step owners most often forget. The manufacturer requires a four-wheel alignment after replacing the front lower arm, the front knuckle, the tie rod, the steering gear, the front subframe, the front damper, the front stabilizer bar or the front lower-arm ball joint - and after the rear lower control arm, rear knuckle, rear upper control arm, rear toe arm, rear subframe, rear trailing arm or rear coil spring. It is not required after a stabilizer link, front or rear, or after the rear damper or rear stabilizer bar. Skipping it on the parts that do need it means the new components wear unevenly and the inspection can be failed again on tyre wear.

What do you need from me to supply the right suspension parts?

The VIN, which side, and what the workshop found. Left and right parts are different and are not interchangeable, and versions change across model years and markets. Send the VIN and we will confirm the exact reference that fits your car rather than sending the nearest-looking one. If you are buying for a workshop, give them our part numbers and have them order from us.

Aiways U5: suspension wear, a failed inspection, and how to fix it

If your U5 has failed an inspection on worn stabilizer links, control-arm bushings or ball joints, the headline is simple: these are ordinary suspension parts, not U5-specific magic, and the repair is routine. The reason owners get stuck is not the car - it is that there is no Aiways workshop network left in Europe to do the work. Any competent independent can fit these parts. This page sets out what the examiner is actually flagging, which parts to buy, the torque and alignment figures a workshop needs, and the one step nearly everyone forgets: the four-wheel alignment that must follow most of these replacements.

1. Answer first: this is a normal repair wearing a difficult badge

A U5 that fails on suspension wear is not a U5 with a U5 problem. The front suspension is a MacPherson strut layout with a front subframe, two dampers, two lower control arms, a stabilizer bar and two stabilizer links - a thoroughly conventional arrangement. The examiner is looking at rubber and joints that wear on every car of this type, at much the same mileage.

What that means in practice: the parts exist, they are made, they are stocked, and a mechanic who has never seen an Aiways badge before can fit them. The friction is administrative, not technical. Get the part numbers to a workshop rather than asking the workshop to find the parts and most of the resistance disappears.

One clarification that helps if you are shopping around: the failed items are the same whatever the test is called — TÜV in Germany, APK in the Netherlands, or the annual roadworthiness test under another name. The examiner is measuring physical wear, not applying a brand-specific rule, so a workshop that can rebuild the front end of any car can rebuild this one.

2. Why "no workshop will touch it" - and what actually changes

The refusal is almost always about the brand. An independent garage hesitates because there is no dealer network behind the car, no parts counter to ring, and no manufacturer diagnostic account to log into. From their side, an unfamiliar badge with an unavailable supply chain is a job that can stall half-finished on a lift, and they decline it.

None of that applies to this work. There is nothing in a control-arm, bushing, ball-joint or stabilizer-link job that needs Aiways software. The one thing that does need equipment is the four-wheel alignment afterwards, and that is a standard bench operation. So the honest advice is the same as for any other make: supply the parts and hand the car to a competent independent. What you should expect them to stick to is the manufacturer's torque figures and the alignment rule in section 5 - both of which we have set out below.

3. What the inspection is actually complaining about

"Worn suspension" on an inspection sheet is usually one or more of four things. Knowing which one is on your sheet tells you which part and which price.

Stabilizer link (the small drop link). Two per car at the front, each with a ball joint at both ends. On this car those joints are not a serviceable item - once one end is worn the complete link is replaced. It shows up as a knock or rattle over bumps and while cornering, and it is the cheapest and most common fail.
Lower-arm bushing. Each front lower arm connects to the subframe through a front and a rear bushing. Cracked or aged rubber lets the arm move, causing a dull thud over bumps, vague steering and uneven tyre wear. Bushings are usually pressed into the existing arm rather than sold loose - see section 4.
Ball joint. The ball stud joins the lower arm to the steering knuckle. Worn, it gives play, a knock and steering vagueness, and it lets the wheel geometry move. It is checked by working the stud by hand - see section 7.
Stabilizer bar itself. The bar is solid spring steel, 25.4 mm diameter at the front. It is rarely the failed item - the links and bushings around it wear first - but a bent bar is replaced, and a later revision of the front bar assembly exists for exactly that case.

Rear suspension is a multi-link layout with a rear subframe, upper and lower control arms, a toe arm, a trailing arm, a stabilizer bar and links, plus coil springs. The same logic applies, with one difference worth noting: the rear lower control arm is adjusted with an eccentric bolt at the subframe, which is how rear toe is set.

4. Bushings versus complete arms - which you actually need

This is the decision that changes the bill, so make it deliberately.

Worn rubber, sound arm: press in a new bushing. Most workshops press new bushings into the existing arm, which is cheaper than a complete arm. Ask for that route first.
Bent or damaged arm: replace the complete arm. A deformed arm is not a bushing problem.
Ball joint worn: it is replaced as the joint. A worn ball stud is not something a bushing press fixes.

One honest limitation: the bushings are not generally listed as separate orderable references. The workshop manual describes the arm and its bushings as assemblies and does not publish a standalone bushing part number, so if your workshop can only fit a complete arm - or the arm is damaged anyway - a complete arm is the reliable answer.those internal document numbers are not orderable references — they are how the manual labels its own pages — and the orderable reference for your car is confirmed from the VIN.

5. The parts, and the two rules a workshop must follow

The references you order by for the front suspension are these, and they are our own parts references - they do not appear in the workshop manual, which lists only its internal document numbers.

Part	Reference
Front lower control arm, left	861422100
Front lower control arm, right	861422200
Front stabilizer link, left	861433100
Front stabilizer link, right	861433200
Front stabilizer bar assembly (later revision)	861432100B
Front lower-arm ball joint, left / right	861420110 / 861420120

Left and right are different parts and are not interchangeable. Send the VIN and we will confirm the exact reference and the version for your car rather than sending the nearest-looking one.

Rule one - the fasteners are single-use. The manufacturer treats several fasteners in this area as one-time items: the three nuts where the lower arm meets the ball joint, the bolts holding the arm to the subframe, the front subframe-to-body bolts and the steering-column bolt among them. They are replaced, not reused. A workshop that reuses them is not following the procedure, and that is worth stating up front.

Rule two - the alignment must be done afterwards. That is the subject of the next two sections.

6. Torque figures the workshop should be using

If you are briefing an independent workshop, these are the manufacturer's figures for the front suspension. Some are two-stage - a torque followed by an angle - and the angle matters as much as the number. They are given here for orientation and to let you check that the job is being done to specification; the workshop should confirm them against the car.

Fastener	Figure
Stabilizer link to front damper	110 ± 5 Nm
Stabilizer link to stabilizer bar	110 ± 5 Nm
Lower arm to subframe	Step 1: 70 ± 10.5 Nm; Step 2: 180° ± 15°
Lower-arm ball joint to lower arm	Step 1: 40 ± 5 Nm; Step 2: 45° ± 5°
Lower-arm ball joint to knuckle	60 ± 5 Nm
Stabilizer bar assembly to subframe	Step 1: 20 ± 3 Nm; Step 2: 180° ± 15°
Subframe to body	Step 1: 70 ± 5 Nm; Step 2: 180° ± 5°
Damper to body	Step 1: 20 ± 3 Nm; Step 2: 90° ± 5°
Damper to knuckle	Step 1: 70 ± 10.5 Nm; Step 2: 180° ± 15°
Tie rod to knuckle	Step 1: 20 ± 2 Nm; Step 2: 90° ± 5°
Half-shaft	250 ± 25 Nm
Brake caliper to knuckle	200 ± 20 Nm

Two useful consequences follow. The stabilizer link is a genuine two-nut job - the manual's own procedure is to remove two hex nuts and the link comes off - which is why it is the least painful inspection failure. Everything touching the arm, subframe or knuckle, by contrast, pulls in the half-shaft and the steering, which is a workshop job rather than a driveway one.

7. The alignment: the figures, and what can actually be adjusted

Once parts are changed, the geometry has to be put back. These are the manufacturer's alignment targets. Note that alignment is quoted in degrees and minutes: one degree is 60 minutes, so "0°05′" is five minutes of arc.

Measurement	Target	Limit
Front camber	−0°16′ ± 0°30′	Left-to-right difference ≤ 30′
Front toe, per side	0°05′ ± 0°05′	Left-to-right difference ≤ 6′
Front kingpin inclination	13°24′ ± 0°45′	-
Front caster	6°48′ ± 0°45′	-
Rear camber	−1°20′ ± 0°30′	Left-to-right difference ≤ 30′
Rear toe, per side	0°05′ ± 0°05′	Left-to-right difference ≤ 6′

What can be moved, and what cannot, is worth knowing before anyone promises to "adjust everything":

Front toe is adjustable at the tie rod: loosen the adjusting nut, turn the tie rod to bring toe to target, and retighten to 70 ± 5 Nm.
Front camber is not adjustable on this model. If it is out of tolerance the answer is not to adjust it - it is to inspect the related parts and replace whatever is worn or bent until the geometry returns to standard. This is the manufacturer's instruction, and it is the single most important thing to understand about a U5 alignment.
Front kingpin inclination is not adjustable either - it comes from the steering knuckle, so out-of-tolerance means inspecting and replacing components.
Rear toe and rear camber are set by an eccentric bolt at the rear subframe. The total adjustment range is about 90° either way from centre. If the rear subframe itself has moved beyond that, the subframe and related parts are checked and replaced as needed.

A last detail that explains a lot of "it still pulls" complaints: caster is affected by ride height. A car sitting low at the back, or on a tired spring, reads differently from one at design height. And if camber differs side to side by a degree or more, the car will pull toward the side with the more positive camber - which is why a worn part on one side can produce a pull that no amount of tie-rod twiddling will cure.

8. Telling the parts apart before you spend anything

Before buying, match the symptom to the cause. The manufacturer's own fault trees put these symptoms against these causes:

Symptom	Likely causes to rule out
The car pulls to one side	Unequal tyre pressures; alignment data out; damaged suspension component; damaged steering gear; body dimensions abnormal.
Ride height looks wrong (nose high or low)	Tyre pressure abnormal; left and right coil spring stiffness unequal; damper failure; deformed or damaged suspension component; body welding defect.
Body leans or sways in corners	Load piled to one side; cornering too fast; alignment incorrect; unequal spring stiffness; deformed or worn components; stabilizer bar fatigue; unequal tyre pressure; on the sway side also a loose steering mechanism or a loose or damaged wheel bearing, or a deformed rim.
Knocking or rattling over bumps	Incorrect or loose installation; damper deformed, damaged or twisted; aged bushing or mounting; spring fatigue; general suspension looseness.
Rides harshly or feels unsettled	Incorrect or loose installation; damper deformed or damaged; aged bushing or mounting; component interference; spring fatigue; alignment incorrect; stabilizer bar fatigue; wheels out of balance.

The tyre is the cheapest diagnostic of the four, and the manufacturer's own wear patterns map directly onto the list above. Centre-tread wear means over-inflation. Both edges worn means under-inflation or persistent heavy load. One inner or outer edge worn, or a saw-tooth pattern, means the alignment has drifted - saw-toothing from the outside inward indicates too much front toe, the opposite pattern too little - and that frequently traces back to a worn suspension part. Localised flat spots are hard braking or wheelspin, and no suspension part will fix those.

If a fault code ever comes with this, start from the Aiways U5 fault code index before assuming the suspension. A car reporting low-voltage faults, for instance, is a different job entirely from a car with a worn bush.

9. Short answers

Is a U5 that failed on suspension wear worth fixing?: Yes. These are ordinary wear items, and the repair is standard. The car is not the problem; the missing workshop network is.
Can just the bushing be changed?: Often, yes - ask your workshop to press a new bushing into the existing arm first, because it costs less than a complete arm. Replace the whole arm when the arm itself is bent or damaged. Be aware that the bushings are not generally sold as separate orderable parts.
Which parts do need an alignment afterwards?: Front: lower arm, knuckle, tie rod, steering gear, subframe, damper, stabilizer bar and lower-arm ball joint. Rear: lower and upper control arms, knuckle, toe arm, subframe, trailing arm and coil spring. Not required after a stabilizer link (front or rear), the rear damper or the rear stabilizer bar.
My front camber is out. Can it be adjusted?: No. Front camber and front kingpin inclination are not adjustable on this model. Out-of-tolerance camber is corrected by inspecting and replacing the worn or bent components, not by adjusting.
What should I send you?: The VIN, which side, and what the workshop found. Left and right parts are different, and versions change across model years and markets, so the VIN is what lets us confirm the right reference rather than the nearest-looking one.

Where this comes from. The component layout, the torque figures, the alignment targets and the symptom-to-cause tables above are drawn from the Aiways U5 workshop manual - the front and rear suspension descriptions and component location diagrams, the stabilizer link and control-arm procedures, the front and rear torque tables, the ball joint and knuckle inspection, the tyre wear and diagnostic pages, and the wheel alignment parameter and procedure documents. The suspension figures are the same in the 2019 and 2021 U5 manuals. The orderable part numbers in section 5 come from our own parts reference and do not appear in the workshop manual, which lists only its internal document numbers - those are not part numbers and cannot be ordered from. The inspection-failure pattern and the difficulty of finding a workshop are reported by owners of these cars in the European owner community. Where the manual does not cover something - a bushing part number, or a ride-height specification, or the wear limits an examiner works to - we have left it out rather than filled the gap. Wording is our own; we do not reproduce manual pages.

Important — please read before you act on anything here

This page is general information only. It is not a repair instruction, not a diagnosis of your particular vehicle, and not a substitute for professional advice. Have any work carried out by a qualified workshop or an authorised service centre. Do not attempt a repair yourself unless you are trained and equipped to do it.

High-voltage safety. This is an electric vehicle. Its high-voltage system can cause fatal injury. Never open, disconnect, cut or work on high-voltage components, cables or connectors unless you are qualified to do so, and always follow the manufacturer's own safety procedure.

Vehicles differ. Equipment, hardware versions and part numbers change between model years, markets and individual VINs. Confirm what applies to your vehicle before ordering or repairing anything. The manufacturer's documentation is the authoritative source for your car — where anything here differs from it, follow the manufacturer.

Consumables and specifications change without notice. Torque figures, fluids and procedures given here are for orientation only.

No liability. This information is published in good faith and to the best of our knowledge, but we accept no liability for any loss, damage or injury arising from reliance on it. Use it at your own risk, and verify anything safety-critical before you rely on it.

Who we are. GNSGO is an independent supplier of parts. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or acting as an authorised agent of any vehicle manufacturer. References to a vehicle or model describe compatibility only.

10. Related

Need a part for this? Send the VIN and we will confirm the version that fits — get in touch.