Vauxhall Vectra C - Front coil spring failure

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Fri 26 Mar 2010 20:46
Vauxhall Vectra C - Front coil spring failure - V69

Took my Vectra C (2002/62k) to have the brake pads checked and replaced as necessary following the advice given after the last annual service in October. Brakes were fine, just the rear pads needed replacement but the garage reported both front springs had broken. Needless to say they were replaced and at moderate cost but what concerns me is that I have no idea when this failure took place as the car has continued to handle just as well as it always does and if I hadn't been warned to have the brakes checked after 6-7k, my wife and I could have driven the car another 6k until the annual service in October completely oblivious of the problem. Or could we? Would there have come a time when two broken front springs involved us in some sort of accident? We do a long motorway journey at least once a month and two trips from West Wales to Scotland would also have been undertaken in the time scale mentioned above. I think what I am getting round to saying is that services based on high mileages or every 12 months if those mileages are not achieved can lead to major problems going unnoticed. Certainly, from now on, my car is going into the Vauxhall dealers every six months for a check over, even though they continue to tell me that this is completely unneccessary. What are the thoughts of other Back Roomers on this subject?

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Fri 26 Mar 2010 20:57
Vauxhall Vectra C - Front coil spring failure - WellKnownSid

I had a rear spring go on my C class some years ago. Car was probably about four years old at the time - done about 40k miles. A combination of potholed roads, salt, cold weather and probably cheaper components.

Interesting story though... I never knew it'd gone. I heard a rattle from the boot area and took it to a fast-fit place (it was a Sunday) to see if they could find out what it was - they couldn't find anything wrong, despite a test drive (where it rattled) and peering at the underneath. They even told me 'it was just something ratting in the boot'!

So I forgot about it, put it down to 'a rattle', then about two months later had the car at the Mercedes dealer for a normal service. The technician (looked about 12!) took my keys and moved the car into the service bay - he then came to see me and said "as I drove over the hump in the car park I heard a rattle - one of your coil springs has broken".

So... main dealers aren't stupid after all!

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Fri 26 Mar 2010 21:14
Vauxhall Vectra C - Front coil spring failure - V69

A rattle would have been good. Might have alerted me to the fact that something was wrong but on the Vectra, nothing. Just felt as good as it always does. Says a lot for the efficiency of the ESP though.

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Sat 27 Mar 2010 08:31
Vauxhall Vectra C - Front coil spring failure - DP

This is becoming much more common across all makes. I suspect sleeping policemen and the ongoing deterioration of British road surfaces plays a part.

I bought a 10 yr old mk4 Golf GTI 1.8T a month or two back which turned out to have two broken rear springs (both gone in the same place, right on the bottom inside the seat/cup.). As with your Vectra, no symptoms whatsoever, and no ESP on this car so it simply had no effect in daily driving. Rode fine, handled fine, sat at the right height, no creaks, bangs, rattles etc. I always thought coil spring failures ended in wonky suspension / noises of doom etc.

Edited by DP on 27/03/2010 at 08:34

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Sat 27 Mar 2010 18:56
Vauxhall Vectra C - Front coil spring failure - Ludwig

My 2005 Vectra C estate was diagnosed with both front coil springs broken, as there was a clunking/twanging like noise when the steering was turned from one way to the other. Both springs were subsequently replaced..... the result? Clunking/twanging noise still there and no other discernable effect. I too had not noticed any effect on the ride or handling at all whilst the springs were broken... or after they were replaced. I feel that I've been ripped off.... need to find a better garage methinks!!

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Mon 29 Mar 2010 01:22
Vauxhall Vectra C - Front coil spring failure - Marc

I had a cracked spring on my 53 Vectra at MOT time about 18 months ago. Like the OP I didn't even know but the tester said it had been cracked for some time as the split was rusty.

"Clunking/twanging noise still there and no other discernable effect"

You may find this is the drop links/tie rod ends. Mine is exactly the same and I am replacing the tie rods this week.

Both cracked front springs and worn tie rods are common issues on the Vectra C from what I have read.

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Mon 29 Mar 2010 00:03
Vauxhall Vectra C - Front coil spring failure - V69

This is becoming much more common across all makes. I suspect sleeping policemen and the ongoing deterioration of British road surfaces plays a part.

HJ has mentioned on numerous occasions that modern coil springs manufactured in Europe are prone to failure because of the way they are made, the ends of the springs not being finished off properly allowing corrosion to take place. Knowing this I was not very surprised when I was told mine had broken but you're right, a contributory factor has to be the state of the roads and here in rural West Wales they are particularly bad. They were in poor condition before the winter we've just endured, now they are even worse and even taking extreme care it is all too easy on a narrow lane that's streaming with water to crash into a pot hole that was invisible. The thing is that it costs about £70 to repair a single pot hole , or so I'm told. We've got hundreds, possibly thousands, and the council aren't going to spend the sort of money entailed in bottoming that problem on roads that carry as comparitively little traffic as do our local lanes so we're stuck with the problem. The upside is that it's more than worth the cost of a couple of broken springs or the odd damaged tyre to live in such a beautiful and peaceful place.

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