Front coil spring breakage

An NHTSA Preliminary Evaluation into Acura vehicles. Closed 14 September 2005.

Investigation
PE05040
Type
Preliminary Evaluation
Opened
14 July 2005
Closed
14 September 2005

What NHTSA investigated

In an august 29, 2005 letter, honda notified NHTSA that it had identified a defect in the front coil springs of certain model year 2001 and EARLY-2002 acura mdx sport utility vehicles.according to honda, some front suspension coil springs have insufficient corrosion protection and, in areas where road salts are used, may be susceptible to corrosion.rubber sleeves applied near the top and bottom of some springs to eliminate noise can trap salt water, increasing the potential for excessive corrosion.over time, excessive corrosion can cause spring failure.in some cases, a broken spring could puncture a front tire, which increases the risk of a crash.evidence of tire damage was identified in at least 4 (29%) of the spring fracture reports and 13 (21%) of the warranty claims.one report also indicated that a fractured spring damaged a brake line failure, resulting in extended stopping distance. To correct the condition, honda is recalling approximately 22,861 mdx vehicles sold or currently registered in the states of connecticut, delaware, illinois, indiana, iowa, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, ohio, pennsylvania, rhode island, vermont, virginia, west virginia, wisconsin and the district of columbia where large quantities of road salt are used (honda recall P92, NHTSA recall 05V-385).THERE were no complaints or warranty claims involving vehicles from outside the recall region.dealers will replace both front suspension coil springs with improved springs.

The recall that followed

  1. Acura — Suspension: Coil Springs05V3850001 September 200522,861 vehicles

Vehicles covered

MakeModelModel years
AcuraMDX2001–2002

Source

From NHTSA’s investigation file, rebuilt daily. To report a problem with your own vehicle, go to nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem. All open investigations.