What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Why did my Clio pass an MOT with two broken rear springs?

I bought a 2006 Renault Clio three years ago with 22,000 miles on the clock; it came with a new MoT certificate. I do about 6000 miles a year, mainly on local roads, but noticed that when I joined a motorway the car would oversteer (the back would move out), on the curve of the slip roads. Two weeks ago, it was MoT tested again and a certificate issued. I noticed the car had a noisy nearside wheel bearing, so asked another garage to look at it and they showed me that the two rear springs were both broken. They had obviously been broken a long time as they were badly corroded at the ends. Now they have been replaced, the car does not oversteer, so it seems to me that three MoTs might have been issued for a faulty car. Does anyone check the MoT stations?

Asked on 26 October 2013 by DS, Wirral

Answered by Honest John
Yes, VOSA does. So if you report this to VOSA, VOSA may at any time take a car that has been passed and re-test it, with repercussions on the MoT testing station. Amazingly, this is the third report today of coil spring failure on a European badged, European built car. I think the blame lies with the quality of steel and probably the ambient temperature because the main supplier of springs in Europe is situated somewhere that suffers severe cold in winter that makes the springs brittle and sets up stress fractures.
Similar questions
Our 2001 Mercedes-Benz C180 Estate recently failed its MoT spectacularly due to a cracked coil spring and steering arm. The MoT inspector and our local dealer both say that they have never seen such a...
I just read a letter sent to Car Mechanics magazine (Oct. page 41). It was sent by an MOT tester who went on a refresher course run by VOSA. One of the things he wrote about was that it seems as though...
I took my car to my local dealer for service and MoT. I asked them to investigate a clanking noise at the rear of the vehicle at the same time. The car was returned with a fresh MoT certificate after...
Related models
Refined, comfortable and well equipped. Excellent crash test rating. 1.5 dCi is very economical. RenaultSport Clio now 197PS.
 

Value my car

Save £75 on Warranty using code HJ75

with MotorEasy

Get a warranty quote

Save 12% on GAP Insurance

Use HJ21 to save on an ALA policy

See offer