4.4
definitely annoying- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 25,324 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
Passenger side rear suspension strut (spring/shock assembly) suddenly collapsed downward because lower spring retainer ring rusted away, allowing suspension spring to push downward and up against rear tire. Happened when we were pulling out of driveway, first heard a thump, followed by a dragging sound and then saw blue smoke coming from rear passenger side wheel well. At first we though a tree branch had gotten caught under the vehicle (we live in a rural area). Vehicle had to be towed from driveway for repair. Had this happened suddenly on a highway at 55 mph or more we may have lost control of the vehicle. Examination of the strut on the rear driver's side showed it also was significantly rusted and no doubt it too would have collapsed at some future point. Both rear struts and damaged tire replaced by local repair shop.
- Clarks Summit, PA, USA
The driver's side rear suspension trailing arm, which attaches to the frame and rear wheel assembly suddenly sheared away due to rust through. The purpose of the trailing arm is to keep the rear wheel ridged and prevent it from moving backwards or forwards. Even if the trailing arm did not drop to the ground, the car may not handle properly, especially at high speeds, with a rear wheel acting like a loose cannon. Since the break was near the point where it attached to the frame the implications are enormous. If the arm were to drop to the ground while the vehicle was in motion, especially at highway speeds, it could push the entire rear wheel assembly back and cause a loss of vehicle control. Worse, it could also cause the car to jackknife up resulting in loss of control.
- Clarks Summit, PA, USA
- Clarks Summit, PA, USA