Broken coil spring at 53,000 miles?

[GaryS]

You can get them out without a spring compressor. Knew a guy who did that. Came time to put the new one in, he took the spring to a shop to get it compressed. They tied it up with coat hanger wire while compressed. On the way home it let loose in his trunk. Tore things up a bit.

That would make me want to tackle this job on my own!

Actually, I've done that job in the past, but it's been a long time. I had the use of someone elses spring compressor and a shop. I used to do all of my own work, but now I'm too old and the cars are mostly too complex.

BillK01, Toyota is very customer satisfaction oriented. At least my dealer is and the service manager tells me that corporate is all over them if a customer calls with a complaint. If you emailed Toyota directly and didn't try to resolve it with the dealership, the dealership is going to hear about it.

My experience is somewhat like NYlakesider. I've been buying from the same dealer since 2001 and my sister and her family have been buying from them since the mid 1980s. They like return customers and will often make accommodations to keep them happy.

I've been happy with my dealer and my Toyotas and don't plan to change either.

 

[labworm]

Just replaced a rear spring, hit a pot hole with a family of eight living in it.

 

[BillK01]

BillK01, Toyota is very customer satisfaction oriented. At least my dealer is and the service manager tells me that corporate is all over them if a customer calls with a complaint. If you emailed Toyota directly and didn't try to resolve it with the dealership, the dealership is going to hear about it.

Well I did grumble a bit about it to the service girl but she really didn't seem overly concerned since the warranty was expired. Which is why I emailed Toyota directly.

 

[S&WForty]

You can get them out without a spring compressor. Knew a guy who did that. Came time to put the new one in, he took the spring to a shop to get it compressed. They tied it up with coat hanger wire while compressed. On the way home it let loose in his trunk. Tore things up a bit.

Coat hanger wire? And not a chain? That is wild. He's fortunate it let loose in his trunk and not while trying to install it. People have died when not handling those kinds of springs safely.

 

[BillK01]

Got this reply from Toyota today. Very happy with Toyota (and totally didn't expect this outcome).

Dear Mr. XXXXXXX:

Thank you for your patience while we reviewed your documentation.

In the interest of maintaining your patronage as a Toyota customer, and in response to your appreciation of our product, we are willing to reimburse you $256.24 towards the front coil spring repair. The current reimbursement timeframe is approximately six to eight weeks.

Your email has been documented at our National Headquarters under case number XXXXXXXXXX. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Brett K.
Toyota Customer Experience

 

[JAT3]

Coil spring or front strut? Some struts come with their own coils and are not designed to last forever. They get replaced every 50K-75K.

This. That model has struts and should generally be replaced every 50,000 or 3 years. The shop should have atleast tried to sell you 2 new struts they struts with the springs attached and also with the mount as they are a wear item and should be replaced as a pair. You wouldn't replace a tire on one side but not the other. Or do a brake job on one side and not the other. Yes many of us will go well over 200k without every replacing them. It doesn't mean we should or that we should be upset if they need replaced. I knew a guy that swore oil never breaks down and refused to change his. I guess it could be an opinion but they are intact a wear item. And yes I am certified in this matter. Not that it matters lots of good wrenches that aren't but I'm not just shooting the breeze about the subject. I ask a lot of questions here I'm very happy that I get knowledgable answers that I was excited to be able to give some knowledge back. Sorry if its kinda long

 

[LoveAdks]

Both front coils broke

I have a 2009 Toyota Sienna CE, front wheel drive, 66K miles, and upon bringing it to my local repair guys due to "noises" just last week, they informed me both front coils springs had broken, and they had two other Sienna's at the same time with the same broken springs. This is a small town, so that seemed too much to be a coincidence. They suggested I contact Toyota to find out if there might be a recall. The springs had to have broken recently, since they were fine when I had a front end check just about 2 months ago, and what are the odds both would break? They estimated $150. or so per spring parts, and 3 hours labor each side. I found this thread when I began my search to find out if many others are having this problem. Any others out there? I will email Toyota and NHTSA, and will post back if/when I get responses.

 

[goldenlight]

I had a coil spring break on a 1980 Dodge Colt at less than 50K miles. But, I drove like a maniac, back then. I probably hit a really bad pothole. I remember it was in the spring.

I went to a junkyard, and bought a used spring, so I didn't have to buy a pair of new springs. I installed it myself, an easy job, and I never had a problem again.

Suspension parts can break 'early' if they are subjected to rough roads, especially with the mini van fully loaded. You articular spring may have had a manufacturing defect.

You were indeed very lucky not to shred a new tire. It seems like when a front coil spring goes, it takes the tire with it. It's so close to the rim, after all.

Chalk it up to just bad luck.

BTW: some cab companies tried using minivans in NYC taxi fleets. The biggest problem they had was suspension problems. I think they were using Chrysler (shudder!) products.

 

[Re-coil]

Broken coil spring

I too have a broken front coil spring on the driver's side of my wife's Toyota Sienna. Thankfully it broke while parked in the garage and the broken piece fell into the pocket that holds the spring and didn't break while she was driving. Her Sienna is a 2007 and has 85k miles. I have an estimate from the dealership to replace the spring and realign the front end for $440. I too thought a spring breaking was unusual so I contacted Toyota. They took my feedback but could not offer anything else. I didn't expect them to do anything but maybe they break more than we think.

 

[GaryS]

Not that I have all that much faith in the NHTSA, but I have to wonder if an inquiry to them might be in order. If enough people report this, they might start to look into it and prompt Toyota to look into it as well. I wouldn't be surprised if Toyota gets computer copies of all the service reports from dealers.

I too have a broken front coil spring on the driver's side of my wife's Toyota Sienna. Thankfully it broke while parked in the garage and the broken piece fell into the pocket that holds the spring and didn't break while she was driving. Her Sienna is a 2007 and has 85k miles. I have an estimate from the dealership to replace the spring and realign the front end for $440. I too thought a spring breaking was unusual so I contacted Toyota. They took my feedback but could not offer anything else. I didn't expect them to do anything but maybe they break more than we think.

 

[DeadAye]

I too have a broken front coil spring on the driver's side of my wife's Toyota Sienna. Thankfully it broke while parked in the garage and the broken piece fell into the pocket that holds the spring and didn't break while she was driving. Her Sienna is a 2007 and has 85k miles. I have an estimate from the dealership to replace the spring and realign the front end for $440. I too thought a spring breaking was unusual so I contacted Toyota. They took my feedback but could not offer anything else. I didn't expect them to do anything but maybe they break more than we think.

$440 to replace a $70 spring --- I was in the wrong biz!

 

[snubbyfan]

Not a coil spring but a broken rear leaf spring on our '08 Tacoma 4wd truck at around 50,000 miles.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/lounge/328939-i-got-my-truck-back.html