The MOT Files

MOT defect file

Road spring broken or fractured

Last updated

Quick answer

A suspension spring has cracked or snapped, usually near its bottom coil. The corner it sits on drops slightly and the car no longer holds its geometry, so it is a failure rather than something to watch.

Typical cost
£140–£320
DIY viability
Garage job
Road spring with a fractured coil near its lower endA road spring shown in elevation between its upper and lower seats. The spring is continuous through four turns, but the lowest working turn is broken close to the end of the coil. A highlighted gap and two jagged fracture faces identify the break, while a shaded band marks the final one-coil region where this common fracture occurs. A broken or cracked suspension spring is a major MOT defect.Fractured coilRoad springFracture lies within one coil of the lower end
A broken or cracked road spring is a major MOT failure, including the common fracture within one coil of the end. The coil pitch and fracture gap are exaggerated for clarity.

What you might notice

  • A sharp metallic clank from one corner over potholes and drain covers, worst at low speed
  • One corner of the car sitting visibly lower than the others, or a wheel arch gap that no longer matches the other side
  • The wheel looking slightly tilted or pushed out at the bottom, because the broken coil no longer holds the geometry
  • Sometimes nothing more than a faint tick — a fracture at the very bottom coil can stay quiet until it is found on the ramp

What causes it

  • Corrosion pitting the spring's protective coating, which then becomes the point the crack starts from
  • Fatigue: springs are cycled millions of times, and after ten to fifteen winters the steel simply reaches the end of its life
  • A heavy pothole strike or a kerb landing that overloads the spring in one movement
  • Stone chips at the bottom coil where the spring sits in its seat, combined with grit and salt trapped in the seat

Advisory or failure?

A road spring that is broken or fractured is a major defect and a failure — there is no advisory version, because a snapped coil cannot be relied on to hold the car's ride height or geometry. It escalates to dangerous where the broken end is likely to damage a tyre or a brake pipe or hose, which is a real risk with the sharp end of a front spring sitting close to both, and where the spring is so damaged that the suspension no longer functions. A spring that is corroded but intact is usually a minor defect or an advisory, and a spring modified or cut down so that it no longer performs properly is a major defect.

Can you fix it yourself?

Garage job

Springs on a front strut are the one suspension job that can genuinely kill an amateur: a compressed coil stores an enormous amount of energy, and the cheap hook-type compressors sold in bargain sets are exactly the ones that slip off a broken coil under load. Rear springs on many cars come out with the damper unbolted and the hub lowered, which is within reach of a careful home mechanic with axle stands. If you are set on doing the front, buy complete pre-assembled strut units so you never handle the spring at all, replace both sides across the axle, and have the alignment checked afterwards.

What it costs

A pair of springs for a mainstream car is £40 to £110 in parts, and the bulk of the bill is labour: allow around an hour and a half a side, more at the rear on a car with a torsion beam. Always fit them in pairs across the axle, or the new spring will sit the car unevenly. You reach the top of the band where the damper, top mount or bump stop has to go at the same time — which is common, since a broken spring has usually been hammering them — or where the strut bolts are seized and have to be cut out. Add £40 to £70 for a four-wheel alignment on any front spring job.

What happens if you ignore it

The immediate risk is the broken end of the spring itself. It is unsupported, it moves with every bump, and it sits within inches of a tyre sidewall and a flexible brake hose — cutting either at speed is the worst outcome on this list. Short of that, the car's ride height and camber are wrong at that corner, so it pulls under braking, wears the tyre unevenly and puts extra load on the damper, top mount and bushes around it. Because the defect is graded major and can be dangerous, using the car in that condition also risks a fine and penalty points quite separately from the MOT.

Common questions

Is a broken coil spring an MOT failure?
Yes. A broken or fractured road spring is a major defect, so the car fails — there is no advisory version, because a snapped coil cannot be relied on to hold the ride height or the geometry. It is graded dangerous where the broken end is likely to damage a tyre, brake pipe or hose, or where the suspension no longer functions properly.
Why is one corner of my car sitting lower than the others?
A fractured spring loses part of its working length, so that corner settles and the wheel arch gap no longer matches the other side. The wheel itself can look tilted or pushed out at the bottom, because the broken coil is no longer holding the camber where it was designed to sit.
Can a broken coil spring cut a tyre or a brake hose?
It can, and that is exactly why the defect escalates to dangerous. The fractured end is unsupported, it moves with every bump, and at the front it sits within inches of a tyre sidewall and a flexible brake hose. Cutting either at speed is the worst outcome of any suspension fault, so the car should not be driven on it.
Can I replace a coil spring myself?
Front struts are the one suspension job that genuinely kills amateurs, because a compressed coil stores an enormous amount of energy and cheap hook-type compressors slip off a broken spring under load. Rear springs on many cars come out with the damper unbolted, which suits a careful home mechanic. If you must tackle the front, buy complete pre-assembled strut units so you never handle the spring at all.
How much does it cost to replace a broken coil spring?
Expect £140 to £320. A pair of springs is only £40 to £110 in parts and the rest is labour, roughly an hour and a half a side. Always fit them in pairs across the axle or the new spring will sit the car unevenly, and add £40 to £70 for four-wheel alignment on any front spring job.

Cars this happens to most

Of every model with at least 2,000 tests in the DVSA data, these record road spring broken or fractured on the largest share of their MOTs. Across all of them the typical rate is 3.0% of tests.

  1. Renault Grand Modus16%

    440 times in 2,780 tests

  2. Citroen DS313%

    8,716 times in 68,173 tests

  3. Renault Modus12%

    1,223 times in 10,194 tests

  4. Citroen DS412%

    1,144 times in 9,558 tests

  5. Vauxhall Meriva12%

    9,518 times in 81,098 tests

  6. Vauxhall Corsavan11%

    322 times in 2,948 tests

  7. Chrysler Ypsilon10%

    469 times in 4,474 tests

  8. Peugeot Rcz10.0%

    1,029 times in 10,309 tests

A high rate here is a property of the fleet as much as the car: these models skew old, and almost everything fails more with age. It is a reason to check the item on a used example, not proof the model is badly built. Models with fewer than 2,000 tests are left out because a rate drawn from a few hundred cars moves too much to rank.

Pass rates for every make and model

Warning lights behind this

This defect is what a tester writes down. What you see from the driver’s seat is a symbol, and it is worth checking which one, because manufacturers reuse the same shape for more than one system.

This is general guidance, not a diagnosis. The severity DVSA records depends on the specific fault found, so the same item can appear as an advisory on one test and a failure on another. Ask a qualified tester or mechanic to inspect the vehicle.

Has this been recorded on your car?

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