XC 70 front coil spring failure

[Greszkev]

So, I was backing my '06 XC70 out of my driveway on 12/30, when there was a sudden bang and a jolt. Initially I thought it was just a flat tire, but further investigation revealed that the front passenger coil spring had snapped in half, jumped the bottom spring plate, and shredded my relatively new Yokohama tire. Anyone ever seen anything like this before?? Car only has 80k miles and has been garage kept it's whole life. Not much in the way of corrosion or rust on the spring. Seems like a huge safety problem as this could have been bad if I had been traveling at speed.

[Greszkev]

Anyone think I would have any recourse with Volvo due to the safety issue presented by this spring failure? I can understand springs wearing and effecting the ride, or breaking if badly corroded, but they shouldn't destroy the tire and create such an immediate safety hazard.

Also, as this is my first post, I meant to thank everyone for all the great info shared on this site. I've been lurking since I purchased the car last May and have learned a great deal.

[stinger04038]

No that really shouldn't have snapped, did you hit a huge pothole or road hazard when it was last driven? You will get absolutely no where with Volvo as the car is 11 years old and unless there is a recall they will do nothing( Google Volvo 06xc recalls and check). About all you can do is get a good pairs of spring compressors, new springs, and a new tire and if you're not familiar with the procedure (or not capable) take it to a shop. I've owned over 25 Volvos and the worst(and only) was the XC model. I would like to emphasize if you have never done it or don't feel comfortable don't try it. Any shop can do it, doesn't need to be a dealership. Good luck.

[Greszkev]

Thanks for the reply. No potholes or any significant driving event of any kind. I already pulled out the whole strut and plan to just purchase the pro parts Sweden quick strut assembly replacement from FCP Euro. I'll replace both sides as that's recommended, and the remaining stock spring now has me a bit gun shy. As you guessed, calling Volvo got me nowhere. Rather disappointing performance both mechanically and service wise from a company whose reputation is built upon safety.

[Greszkev]

How important is it too replace all four tires out of concern for the AWD system? The three remaining tires are noticeably worn, but nowhere close to in need of replacement. Probably have about 70% tread left.

[jjc1]

I've had a small fleet of 740 and 850 series volvos and have serviced the front strut assemblies on all of them and have never seen this type of failure. Given the low mileage and garage storage, I can't imagine why. Do you know if the car was ever in a front-end collision? That's the only thing I can think of, other than a manufacturing defect in the spring. I agree that given the age of the car, you likely won't have much satisfaction from Volvo. However, if this happened to me, I'd first research the NHTSA site to see if there's a record of other failures. You can file a report there and I would. Then I'd call the Volvo central number to report it and ask what they could do for you. They do take the "safety reputation" seriously. As an example, several years ago, I had a 1987 760 burn up on me. It stalled on the highway and when a re-start was attempted, something shorted under the hood and there was an engine fire. I was surprised by this as it had relatively low miles on it and was very well maintained. I checked the NHTSA site and found that there was a circa 1990 recall for engine fires associated with the positive cable under the hood. To satisfy my curiosity, I called Volvo and told them I was the third owner but wanted to see if a former owner was notified of the recall and if they had a record of it being performed, as I think I had that problem which destroyed the car. They put me on hold for a few minutes. Curiously, they then asked if my insurance covered the loss and I told them that although the car was in good shape, I only carried liability so it was a total loss. They put me back on hold... they came back and said that although the model was covered under a general recall, mine was not recalled as the recall skipped over that VIN and it didn't apply. I again said that I think I had the problem... put on hold again... then they came back and said they would fly an engineer out to me to inspect the car. Now this was a 28 year old car that was now a burnt shell. I met the engineer and we spend a couple of hours on the car. It turns out, that I had mitigated the positive cable issue with some mods I did but apparently missed another problem with the starter circuit through the firewall... which after 28 years of rattling and shaking had worn through because of how they routed it on the assembly line. So they wouldn't take responsibility for the loss (as it didn't fit the recall) but they did give me a $500 coupon towards a new Volvo (which I didn't use). Bottom line; they did spend the time to send out an expert to go through the car with me to find the failure point, even after 28 years. Now they probably were fearful that they missed a car in the recall and were liable for it but in any case, i was impressed. Good luck with your issue! J.

[oragex]

Yes, there are a few reports about broken front or rear springs, and interestingly most of these were on the xc70. Just google "volvo xc70 broken spring"

Obviously, from the picture the rust is not involved, so it's clearly and undoubtedly a forging quality problem. You may want to know that this affected other european vehicles such as Bmw.

For the safety of other drivers, try document this the best and send a notification with details to NHTSA or such Organizations.

As for Volvo, maybe if you contact Volvo US directly, it would help with repairs, and even help warning them (of course they know, but the more complains the better). Historically or culturally speaking, Volvo dealers would not care less helping you, but the main headquarters may be more receptive.

I would think replacing all those springs, with new ones. The fabrication process might have affected a whole batch. You can also bring the broken one to some engineering specialized company who can determine what kind of fracture is and what the real reason is - might give you a hind of what to do with the remaining springs.

Side note to a long post: do not use the car with different wear tires on the same axle, it will damage the AWD system. I'm not sure if all 4 must have the same wear, but surely the two on the same axle.

[Greszkev]

I first took the strut assembly to the local dealership who told me to contact Volvo USA. Volvo USA said they'd open a ticket for the regional manager and local service manager to review, but told me that without having the car towed to the dealership, there was basically no chance of them doing anything. I'll contact the dealership again and see, but so far no one at any level has shown any concern for what I consider to be a significant safety concern caused by a manufacturing defect. I have a relative who is a metallurgist who will look at it and try to determine the exact cause of the failure. There are several other reports on the NHTSA site of similar failures.

[JRL]

If you use a Pro Parts kit you may be looking at another failure soon.
Their stuff is CRAP.

And contrary to others, many XC70 springs around here have snapped due to rust, age and environmental conditions.
It's quite comoon

[precopster]

It's called poor metallurgy and happens often in the casting process. A small air pocket or impurities in the metal can have catastrophic results months or years down the track, especially on a part that is actively flexing on every drive and has already experienced millions of cycles. Happens to all makes and models, not just Volvos.