More to the story-
When I picked up my car a quick check in the wheelwell showed that the control arms had been replaced. I inquired with the service rep and mentioned that it looked like they had replaced the complete control arm assembly. He said that the bushings were not a service item, that they replace the entire control arm as normal procedure. I had expected this and was not surprised. The rep then went on to tell me that it had turned out that the old bushings really were not bad - as in they did not need to be replaced. He said that what had appeared as a rip was a normal air gap at the top of the bushing. Well I don't know for sure because I didn't get to see the old part for closer inspection, but it sure appeared ripped. They had obviously believed so upon their initial inpection, or they wouldn't have approved the repair under waranty.
So maybe what appeared as a rip was rubber flashing from the molding process - I'll never know. In any case maybe these bushings aren't as lame as I thought if it really hadn't failed. When you check yours, I would recommend cleaning them off and inspecting very closely with good lighting. And maybe these bushings are not such a worry for maintenance after all.
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