Broken coil spring due to cold weather???
 

Is this a common problem in cold climates ( e.g. Canada etc)?
This morning I went to move my Outlander off my drive and upon turning the steering wheel I heard a loud ' crack'. It transpired that the front offside suspension coil spring had snapped. The car was recovered to my local dealer where it is awaiting repair.They say it failed due to the ''cold weather '' ???..only -1deg celcius today; the car has experienced much colder temps in past. I have been driving for over 40 years and this is the first time I have heard of such an occurence,? Anyone heard of similar?
Thankfully extended warranty in use again !....
Ron

If that was true, Outlanders would not last long in Canada where -40C is a regular occurrence in winter.

I suspect a defect of the spring or corrosion.

+1. Defective spring or something. Would have to be mightly cold for steel to get brittle enough to crack like that...

+2 on defective spring

It was -5 C here today and mine are fine. It gets down to -15 to -25 C here several times during the winter, and I have never had an issue.

had to be defective. there's no possible way cold could do that. We just had temperatures of -30 (-45 with windchill) for a week here in alberta and my outlander didnt even flinch. They're feeding you a whole pile of ....

re broken coil spring
 

Thanks for the info gents; as I thought, you have much colder weather than us and I'm sure our springs must be made from same spec material !. It must have been a weakness as I could not see any sign of corrosion. Just glad that I have an extended warranty so repair will be free of charge!
Thanks again.

re broken coil spring
 

Further to my previous re above, my car is still off the road due to new coilsprings being not available from Mitsubishi until 14 th December ( expected delivery date) !!!!!
I am not happy especially as the car is needed more due to the weather we are having at present.......
With ref to the cold weather being the cause of failure, I have been told from several sources now that it is quite possible as this happens quite often, not only with 'Mitsubishi' cars but with other makes as well. It makes me wonder if the coil springs on Canadian and other ' cold climate' vehicles are of a different 'spec' than European made cars.Mine was made in Japan but I understand that all current Outlanders for European market are now made in the Netherlands ( including Peugot and Citroen versions).
Where are North American variants born?????

AFAIK all our Outlanders come from Japan.

Mine was born in Okazaki Japan.

Ron, as you state UK Outlanders came in from Japan until some time in early 09 when they transferred production to the Netherlands (NEDCAR - the old Volvo/Mitsubishi JV).

I know they also planned to transfer the PSA versions there and guess it's already taken place.

Interesting that despite my car coming from the Netherlands the VIN states country of origin as Japan. I questioned that with Mitsubishi and they reckon it's due to the lack of local content (i.e. they are 100% knocked-down-kits from Japan).

Have to say the build quality is excellent; much better than my 2009 UK built Civic Type-R.

Broken springs? We run a fleet of 200 trucks all over northern Canada and up to the north slope of alaska. Running day and night down to -40 C and beyond. I don't recall ever having a coil break "due to cold".

As I mentioned before there are mainly defective spring and/or corroded springs that fail.

By defective I mean there could be a bubble of void or a large inclusion in the metal of the spring or damage on the outside of the coil caused by an impact leading to stress fracture.

By corrosion I don't mean flaky large surface rust but micro pit of rust caused by the environment (salt in the air or on the road) and also how much carbon is in the steel, more carbon mean more corrosion susceptibility.

I copied the following paragraph from a VW forum where a few person had broken spring.

Quote:
I'm assuming my spring failed due to stress corrosion cracking (SCC), which is also a high profile cause in catastrophic bridge failures, and for basically the same reasons. Corrosion develops a tiny surface pit, and a crack begins to form at the pit and get bigger over time. Since spring are highly stressed in torsion, the crack finally reduces the stress bearing area enough to cause sudden failure. In northern Indiana, corrosion from road salts is still an issue; however, living in Florida or California (anywhere near the ocean) leads to similar corrosion issues.

Without looking at the fracture we can only suppose.

My right front coil spring broke yesterday , exactly one year to the day since the front left broke . I as well have never had this happen to any of my previous vehicles. We have 114k on it . They have to order the part , going to take a few days .... this one is a more costly as they also seen that the tire rod ends are loose. Up until now , it has been the best vehicle we have ever owned , but dissapointed in these coil springs .... I thought I would join the forum to see what others are saying about it. Thanks !!

Hi, are your new ones gonna be OEM from the dealer?

Has anyone changed aftermarket ones before considering aftermarket ones would be a little better in terms of price and maybe quality.

One Happy Mitsubishi owner right now .....
 

I am one happy camper ...recieved a letter today from Mitsubishi Canada that they are extending the warrenty for front coil springs . They have determined that there is a potential for them to corrode from prolonged exposure to anti freezing agents ( such as Calcium Chloride) used in cold weather areas to clear ice and snow from roadways which may cause the spring to fracture. I have had them both break exactly one year apart . Besides that , it has been by far the best vehicle I have ever owned. Way to go Mitsubishi for backing up your vehicles !! They want me to mail my reciepts in ..... this ice pellet/crazy snow day in April has just gotten better \o/ ....Going to bed now , hoping it is all gone ( the snow) by the time I get up !! ::o

Hi, I know this is an old thread but I'll share my experience all the same. I have an old Outlander 2007 (220.000 KM) and this week the coil spring from driver's side snaped just like described above.

I was leaving my parking spot and I first heard a poping sound coming from the front/left wheel, about 2km later I did a sharp turn to the right and this time a very loud noise came from the very same place. The next day I brought it to a garage and I has been confirmed the the coil spring snaped.

I live in Montreal/Canada, we get a LOT of snow here and there's always salt on the roads wherever you go. However it wasn't cold when it happened (18C). I can only believe this is due to corrosion/salt. A new pair will cost me $244 + taxes.

I have a 2007 Outlander AWD too, in H, and temperatures dropped to -20 F. First my driver side mcPherson strut spring snapped, and then the other front coil spring snapped while trying to move it to my neighbor's garage to be inspected. Mitsubishi extended their warranty on this failure to 9 years from new, or 100,000 miles, so I had to replace them myself, at considerable cost. I had 132k miles. One of the broken springs managed to shift and puncture one of the front tire sidewalls while making a tight left turn in my driveway too. I complained to NHTSA. I will never buy another Mitsubishi again.