Hiya Folks.

As some of you have already read, Ive recently bought a 2006 1.4 Aircon 3 dr. After A week of driving Ive realised that the F/O/S spring is snapped towards the bottom most coil and ive got a nice metal on metal sound going off.
After checking the VSO website this is listed as a recall due to insufficient shielding for the springs from road spray.
Just wondered if anyone has had the recall and whether you think there likely to replace my spring for me?
Thanks

LeeH

As far as I know, the recall didn't involve replacing springs, they just fitted "spring catchers" to prevent any fragments piercing the tyres in the event one snapped.

To be honest bud, snapping springs is a pretty common thing on recent cars. Don't know what there made of these days - plastic perhaps? - but when I used to work in a garage in the late 90's I never came across one we only ever replaced them if they were rusty

ive had em go on a really low milage c2(less than 20,000 miles ) one front bust and stabbed a tyre, and when the job was done the other looked ready to go anytime, just corroded pitted then bust.
just did disks and pads all round and looks like the rear springs wont last much longer as condition of lower coils looks similar to fronts.
everything is made to a cost nowadays and also weight savings mean they want everything just about man enough to do the job for a few years, and not still sitting on the car in the scrapyard in 20 years still looking good.
im sure aftermarket stuff is made to last a bit longer, at least my eibachs don't look too bad after 6 years.

I checked back on the MOT site for my car and it had a snapped spring in 2008 - 4 years old then. Some years back I had a Mk 4 Golf and that snapped a spring - luckily in my drive as I turned it around. Very strange - think they are making them thinner and thinner for weight etc...

the problem with the stilo was design, the plastic shroud that leads the strut assembly into the top mounts rubbed on the outside of the springs, this then removed the protective paint and allowed salt grit and general road dirt to grind against the spring and the plastic shroud causing corrosion.
When the spring catchers were fitted if you had a good main dealer they would have cut the plastic shroud out so the problem wont occur again.
My old 5 door they never done that and i suffered a broken spring, but my mw had it cut away and my springs were fine until i removed them last year as they had sagged (at 10 years old) .